Britney Spears is free.
After 13 years, the conservatorship controlling the pop star's life and finances has come to an end. A judge in Los Angeles on Friday terminated the controversial legal arrangement, which the singer has been under since 2008, BuzzFeed News reports. This decision takes effect immediately.
"The conservatorship of the person and estate of Britney Jean Spears is no longer required," the judge said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This officially brings to an end Spears' efforts to be freed from the conservatorship set up more than a decade ago, when she was suffering a public breakdown. Fans for years have questioned how the arrangement could still be appropriate, given that Spears appeared capable of taking care of herself while continuing to perform and release new music. In an explosive court hearing in June, Spears broke her silence on the conservatorship, which she called "abusive." She alleged the arrangement has been so controlling that it prevented her from getting married and having children.
"I just want my life back," Spears said. "And it's been 13 years. And it's enough."
Spears had already scored a major legal victory in September when a judge suspended her father, Jamie Spears, from the conservatorship. Jamie Spears had long defended the conservatorship as necessary, but he pulled a surprising reversal in September when he filed a petition to end it. At the time, Spears' father said her circumstances had changed to the point "that grounds for establishment of a conservatorship may no longer exist." Spears' lawyer suggested this was an attempt to "avoid accountability and justice, including sitting for a sworn deposition."
Last month, Spears wrote on Instagram that she expected her conservatorship was "about to be over," but, she added, "I still want justice." Her attorney has vowed to continue an investigation into her father's conduct.
-
3 killed in Trump’s second Venezuelan boat strikeLegal experts said Trump had no authority to order extrajudicial executions of noncombatants
-
September 16 editorial cartoonsCartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include bad news for inflation, Brian Kilmeade's solution, and Kash Patel's dinner order
-
Fit for a king: must-visit palaces around the UKThe Week Recommends Our pick of the nation’s most magnificent residences for nobles and royals
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
