Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship

CNN
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Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after a court-ordered conservatorship ended that gave her control of her life, their lawyers said.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed by lawyers for the pop star and her father, who confirmed the settlement to CNN.

“It has been our honor and privilege to represent, protect and defend Britney Spears,” the singer’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, said in a statement to CNN.

“MS. Spears is and always will be a brilliant and courageous icon and artist of historic and epic proportions,” Rosengart’s statement continued. “Although the conservatorship ended in November 2021, her desire for freedom is now truly granted. As she wished, her freedom now includes the fact that she will no longer need to appear or be involved in court in this matter.

Alex Weingarten, the singer’s father’s lawyer, told CNN: “Jamie is delighted that everything is over.”

“Jamie loves his daughter dearly and has worked tirelessly to protect her,” Weingarten said. “He wants the best for Britney, nothing less.”

Spears’ conservatorship ended in November 2021. But legal battles persisted, with lawyers for the singer and her father clashing in frequent court visits over attorney fees and allegations of inappropriate behavior in management of guardianship. His father has always denied these accusations.

The star was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship in 2008, with her father serving as her conservator for most of the 13-year agreement, overseeing and controlling all of his adult daughter’s finances and medical decisions.

In June 2021, Spears gave explosive testimony, marking the first time she spoke in open court in 13 years. She begged the judge to release her from the conservatorship, which she called “abusive.”

In her testimony, Spears claimed that while under conservatorship, she was forced by her management to go on tour against her wishes, was put on lithium, which made her feel “drunk,” and was not not allowed to marry or have a baby. as she wished and was forced to use an IUD as contraception.

“I just want my life back. It’s been 13 years and it’s enough,” Spears said during the emotional hearing.

After this testimony, Spears was given the option to hire her own lawyer, rather than working with a court-appointed attorney, as she had done for the previous 13 years. That’s when she retained Rosengart, a former federal prosecutor and attorney who has represented many Hollywood stars.

In September 2021, less than two months before her conservatorship ended, a judge suspended Spears’ father, Jamie, as his daughter’s conservator.

Since her conservatorship ended in November 2021, Spears has been very active on her social media, frequently posting videos of herself dancing and writing lengthy captions to her fans. She released two songs, “Hold Me Closer” with Elton John” and “Mind Your Business” with Will.i.am. She also published an instantly successful memoir, “The Woman In Me.”

In her memoir, she wrote about the “heartbreaking” years of her conservatorship, writing that she felt “like a shadow of myself.”

“Guardianship stripped me of my femininity and made me a child,” Spears wrote in the book. “I became more of an entity than a person on stage. I had always felt music in my bones and in my blood; They stole that from me.