Testifying in court a few days ago, Britney Spears told a US judge that she has undergone so much abuse as she was drugged and forced to perform against her will, including being barred from having children. All of which constitutes to her petition of the removal of her 13-year conservatorship over her life.
The singer read a prepared statement in which she referred to the arrangement as “abusive” and has left her “traumatized.” Britney went on to say, “I just want my life back.”
Britney’s 23-minute long testimony which came via phone, saw the singer disclose jarring details of her experience with her management firm, her mental health and her family.
Britney mentioned being threatened by her management firm, to be sued if she didn’t finish the 31-city Piece Of Me tour, which also included stops at the O2 Arena in London and Brighton Pride.
She said: “My management said if I don’t do this tour, I will have to find an attorney, and by contract my own management could sue me if I didn’t follow through with the tour,” she told the court.
“It was very threatening and scary. And with the conservatorship, I couldn’t even get my own attorney. So out of fear, I went ahead and I did the tour.”
She also claimed that her management lied to her therapist about her not taking her meds and refused to participate in rehearsals.
“it was as if I planted a huge bomb somewhere,” she said when she opposed to a section of choreography. “Ma’am, I’m not here to be anyone’s slave. I can say no to a dance move.”
After canceling her Las Vegas residency in late 2018, the diva claimed she had no say in her healthcare, alleging that physicians put her on Lithium, a mood-stabilizing medication.
“Lithium is a very, very strong and completely different medication compared to what I was used to,” she told the court. “You can go mentally impaired if you take too much, if you stay on it longer than five months.”
Adding that, anytime she took the medication, she “felt drunk” and “couldn’t even have a conversation with my mom or dad, really, about anything.”
Britney went on to say that she had “six different nurses” monitoring her at her home “and they wouldn’t let me get in my car to go anywhere for a month”.
Britney brought attention to the fact that she was earning money for others while being denied access to her own riches, which is estimated to be worth over $60 million (£43 million).
She’s been granted a weekly stipend of $2,000 (£1,432), according to court records, while her father’s pay as conservator was around $16,000 (£11,459) each month.
Britney said in court: “I shouldn’t be in a conservatorship if I can work and provide money [for] other people.”
Adding: “It makes no sense whatsoever for the state of California to sit back and literally watch me with their own two eyes, make a living for so many people, and pay so many people, [taking] trucks and buses on the road with me and be told, I’m not good enough.
“But I’m great at what I do. And I allow these people to control what I do, ma’am. And it’s enough. It makes no sense at all.”
Speaking of her family, Britney claimed her father at one point forced her into rehab despite her anguish and that he absolutely enjoyed hurting her.
She said: “The control he had over someone as powerful as me – he loved the control to hurt his own daughter 100,000%. He loved it.”
“I cried on the phone for an hour and he loved every minute of it.”
Adding that, her father “works me so hard” and has threatened to “punish” her if she refused to follow his orders.
Following her statements in court, her father’s attorney released a statement on his behalf, saying:
“He is sorry to see his daughter suffering and in so much pain. Mr Spears loves his daughter, and he misses her very much.”
Britney’s court-appointed attorney, Samuel D Ingham III, looked surprised by the star’s statement, telling the court that he had no idea what it said until she spoke it. If she requested, he stated he would resign as her representative.
Listen to the full 23-minute testimony below.
Education: Computer Network Engineering, Computer Desktop Administration
Fave Song: Destiny's Child 'Dangerously in love'
Fave Colour: Grey.
With £1m what would you do: I would do my part to provide opportunities to the less fortunate. Then do my best to change the world in my own way through sports and talent building.
