Britney Spears has lost her bid to remove her father, James Spears, from the conservatorship of her estate, as a Los Angeles court declined her application.
According to reports, Britney Spears who has gotten the support of her mother over her conservatorship battle with her father, has threatened to never perform again.
In a hearing on Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court judge Brenda Penny declined to remove James Spears from his conservatorship, though she did not rule out future petitions for his removal or suspension.
“My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father,” Britney Spears’ attorney Samuel D. Ingham III told the judge. “She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.”
James Spears has been her co-conservator since 2008, when the singer suffered a very public breakdown. He became sole conservator in 2019 after attorney Andrew Wallet resigned from his co-conservatorship.
Meanwhile, the financial company Bessemer Trust has been appointed as a co-conservator.
James Spears’ attorney Vivian Thoreen argued that under her client’s conservatorship, Britney Spears’ net worth has come out of debt to reach $60 million.
The move takes place amid the ongoing #FreeBritney campaign, which claims that the singer is being controlled by her father against her will. The most recent development, last month, allows Britney Spears to expand her legal team.
He took on the role in the wake of his daughter’s very public mental breakdown in 2007. More recently, acting conservator Jodi Montgomery stepped in to assist Spears, who has since criticized the #FreeBritney movement, likening its supporters to conspiracy theorists.
The singer reportedly requested that he be removed from the role earlier this year, but his conservatorship was subsequently extended until February.
In September, the singer’s father also withdrew his attempt to rehire Wallet, who Spears said was “uniquely unsuited” in his first stint working for her.
Wallet worked from 2008 to 2019 in a co-conservator capacity, but Britney Spears said she had “difficult budgetary choices going forward” and could not afford his services.
Wallet subsequently claimed that the star could be under her conservatorship for the rest of her life.
According to reports, Briteny’s mom, Lynne Spears’ who has distanced herself from the case for the past 12-years and let her ex-husband handle it, gave the court her opinion through her lawyer during a hearing in Britney’s conservatorship.
Jamie and Lynne Spears divorced in 2002 after 30 years together. Her attorney told the court Britney and Jamie’s relationship is “toxic.”
She said her daughter should not be forced to obey Jamie’s unreasonable demands. Her lawyer said, “It has broken Lynne’s heart that things have come to this point.” Lynne’s rep told the court his client had no ill will towards Jamie. She said it’s time “to start fresh” and remove him as a conservator.
Her lawyer noted, “Contentiousness is not uncommon in families, but this is not a usual family.”