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MOVIE REVIEW
Britney v. Spears By Jessica L. Chapman, Esq.
T
he documentary, which aired on September 28, 2021, tracks Britney Spears’ conservatorship. It discusses the events that led to the conservatorship and speculates as to the reasons for it lasting over a decade. The documentary does a good job of trying to cover every part of Britney’s life and how it was impacted by the conservatorship. It features several interviews from people close to her at different times in her life, including her former assistant, a photographer who became a close friend, and her former manager. It also includes video clips from televised interviews and from Britney’s Instagram. A big question that was raised was: “What is a conservatorship?” The documentary described it as a legal process by which a person’s abilities to make decisions are taken away from them and given to a third party (“conservator” or “guardian”). Conservatorships can be of the person or of the estate. A conservatorship of the person means that the individual can’t make decisions regarding certain aspects of their personal life, for example, healthcare decisions. A conservatorship of the estate means that the individual can’t be in charge of their own money. Britney’s father Jamie was made the sole conservator of the person but had to share conservatorship of the estate with Andrew Wallet. Britney was not always in a conservatorship. Her career was on the rise as early as 16 years old. Her songs resulted in hit after hit and, as the documentary said, “the world couldn’t get enough of Britney.” While she quickly rose to the top and everything seemed to be going great, things took a turn for the worst. Britney fell in love with a backup dancer named Kevin Federline and proposed to him. They got married and had two children. The marriage was shortlived and, two years later, they divorced. A custody battle ensued between the two, which took a toll on Britney’s mental health. In January 2008, police were called to her residence after she locked herself up in her room and refused to return the children to Federline’s bodyguard at the court-appointed
time. She was hospitalized. Following this incident, Federline was granted full custody and the custody battle became even more contentious. Britney was hospitalized for a second time on an involuntary psychiatric hold. This is the point where the conservatorship was born. On February 1, 2008, Britney’s father, James “Jamie” Spears, was granted his petition for a temporary conservatorship over Britney. Jamie was the sole conservator of the person but shared the role of conservator of the estate with Andrew Wallet. The first issue Britney came across was retaining proper representation to advocate for her interests. Since the inception of the conservatorship, Britney had objections to Jamie being the conservator of the person. Her complaints fell on deaf ears. In her attempts to have Jamie removed, she attempted to retain Attorney Adam Streisand. The court, however, stated that Britney did not have the capacity to retain a lawyer. Thereafter, the court appointed a lawyer, Sam Ingham, who the documentary hints, never advocated for Britney. The next year, Britney tried to obtain another lawyer to replace Ingham but her attempt had the same result. Another issue Britney encountered was whether the conservatorship was required at all and, if it was, whether the severe restrictions placed upon her were necessary. A document purportedly filed by Britney stated, “Certainly this woman who can complete two new CD’s and be set to go on a national tour has sufficient capacity, after nearly one year of a protective conservatorship, to retain counsel of her choice, and in whom she has confidence.” The conservatorship remained with Ingham as her attorney. In fact, Jamie requested that the conservatorship become permanent and requested additional restrictions including the authority to lease a car for himself, cancel all Britney’s credit cards, and make decisions regarding professional opportunities. Despite the alleged need for the conservatorship, Britney continued to create music successfully and hold tours, including the Circus and Femme Fatale
tours. Throughout the years, more awareness was created regarding Britney’s life subject to the conservatorship, which created public outrage and resulted in her fans creating the movement: “Free Britney Spears.” On June 23, 2021, Britney was set to address the court regarding her conservatorship. In her heartfelt address, she opened up about how she felt during the past 13 years, how this conservatorship destroyed her mentally, and how her father exploited the control he had over her. She also expressed her frustration with the California court system in allowing this conservatorship to remain in place for so long. Despite her best efforts, one week later, her request was denied and Jamie was allowed to remain as her conservator. Shortly after this, Ingham resigned and Britney was appointed a new lawyer who quickly made requests and filings that seemed to finally advocate for Britney. On September 7, 2021, Jamie formally asked to be removed from his role as conservator and recommended that the conservatorship be terminated. The documentary states that from 2013 to 2018, Jamie earned $2.1 million from tour revenues in addition to a $16,000 month salary. Meanwhile, he gave Britney’s a monthly allowance of $8,000 per month at a time when she was earning millions of dollars. I highly recommend this documentary even if you never heard “Baby One More Time” on replay. The documentary not only sheds light on the issues surrounding Britney’s conservatorship but also presents a bigger issue regarding the dangers of family members serving as conservators. Ultimately, there are always three sides to every story – Britney’s side, Jamie’s side, and the truth somewhere in the middle. However, something we can all agree on is that a conservatorship is not a first resort option. This should be carefully considered and safeguards should be set in place to ensure that a scenario like this does not occur. Conservatorships are meant to protect people and, in this case, it seemed to do all but that.
WINTER 2022 15
