Britney Spears conservatorship: Pop singer’s brother-in-law defends family
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Britney Spears’ brother-in-law Jamie Watson has defended the pop singer’s family days after her explosive courtroom testimony.
Married to the 39-year-old musician’s sister Jamie Lynn Spears, Watson told The New York Post that Spears’ family only wanted what was best for her.
“I can assure you her family loves her and wants the best for her,” he said. “I wouldn’t be around people who weren’t. Who wouldn’t want to be in support of Britney?”
The “Womaniser” singer spoke directly to Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny about the conservatorship, which has controlled her money and affairs since 2008.
It was the first time she had appeared in open court in the 13 years of the conservatorship, and at the hearing she called for her father to “be in jail”.
“My dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship, including my management… they should be in jail,” she said. “I’ve told the world I’m happy and OK.
“I lied. I am not happy, I can’t sleep. I’m so angry, it’s insane. And I’m depressed.”
She spoke about wanting to end her conservatorship without being medically evaluated, given the extent to which she has already been seen multiple times, for many years.
At one point she claimed she was forced to take lithium after she publicly announced that she was taking a break from live performances.
“It’s a strong drug. You can go mentally impaired if you stay on it longer than five months. I felt drunk, I couldn’t even have a conversation with my mom or dad about anything,” she said.
She also explained that her team allegedly did not want her to get pregnant with another child.
“I want to be able to get married and have a baby,” Spears said. “I have an IUD in my body right now that won’t let me have a baby and my conservators won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out.
“I feel ganged up on. I feel bullied and I feel left out and alone,” she told the court.
The conservatorship has the power to make Spears’ medical decisions and her business deals, the Associated Press previously reported. It can restrict her visitors, take out restraining orders in her name, and it has the power to approve her major life decisions, such as getting married.
Spears spoke out on the matter in the wake of a number of documentaries about the conservatorship, including Framing Britney Spears produced by the New York Times. She said that among other things, the agreement forced her to go on a tour when she didn’t want to, and to change her medications.
Dear @britneyspears ….I feel like we owe you an apology. We bought into the whole hype of BRITNEY the performer, without much consideration for how Britney Jean Spears, the person, was coping through each day. Looking back now, I remember you saying this in front of me… pic.twitter.com/I80ODPKPvq
— Zachary Gordon (@ZacharyGordon95) June 22, 2021
Spears became famous at a young age and was hounded by the paparazzi, tabloids and TV interviewers until she had a public breakdown, famously shaving her head in 2007.
Fans had maintained the #FreeBritney movement for years, until more recently documentary makers re-examined her circumstances and showed it in a more sympathetic light, fuelling greater public pressure for an end to the conservatorship arrangement.
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