NOS News•today, 3:17 PM
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her father. This puts a definitive end to the case surrounding Spears’ father’s guardianship of the American pop singer, lawyers for both parties report. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The settlement comes more than two years after a court ordered the termination of a conservatorship that gave father Jamie Spears control over his daughter Britney. Since then, the two have fought a legal battle over attorney fees and the way father Spears had handled the curatorship.
The conservatorship began in 2008, when Spears had a breakdown and needed treatment for mental health issues. Her father Jamie Spears was appointed as curator. For thirteen years, the singer was hardly allowed to make her own decisions about her personal life and her assets.
‘Shadow of Myself’
In testimony, Spears, 42, said that while under conservatorship, she was forced by her management to tour against her will, was given lithium that left her feeling “drunk” and was not allowed to marry or have a baby.
Britney Spears, who scored world hits around the turn of the century with songs such as Baby one more time and (You drive me) crazy, fought against the supervision order for five years. In 2021, the court ruled in her favor. Her autobiography was published last year. In it she wrote about the years of curatorship in which she “felt like a shadow of myself”. She also felt like her soul had been destroyed.
Commenting on the settlement, Spears’ attorney Mathew Rosengart called it “an honor and privilege to protect and defend Britney Spears.” “Her wish came true, she is now free.”
Alex Weingarten, lawyer for the singer’s father, told CNN that Jamie is glad this is all over. “Jamie loves his daughter dearly and has worked tirelessly to protect her,” Weingarten said. “He wants the best for Britney, nothing less.”
