Why a Florida Republican congressman has Britney Spears on his mind

Florida congressman Matt Gaetz waded into the #FreeBritney movement on Monday when he invoked the name of multi-platinum pop singer Britney Spears in a letter to the chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

Gaetz (R-Florida) invoked the pop princess’ name when he joined fellow Republican Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) in requesting a congressional hearing regarding the practice of court-ordered conservatorships. Spears, 39, has been under one since 2008.

In the letter to Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Gaetz and Jordan wrote that Spears — a pop princess with an estimated $60 million estate — is among countless Americans “unjustly stripped of their freedoms by others with little recourse.”

It seems the congressmen consider the practice potentially, ahem, “Toxic.”

The Gaetz-Jordan letter also mentioned “questionable motives and legal tactics” used by Spears’ father, Jamie.

The elder Spears has had control of his daughter’s estate for the past 13 years. At the time, a judge agreed Spears wasn’t capable of handling her financial or personal affairs. The conservatorship was put in place after Spears had highly-publicized incidents that led to her being put in a rehab facility and a psychiatric hospital.

“In recent years, there has been growing public concern about the use of conservatorships to effectively deprive individuals of personal freedoms at the behest of others through the manipulation of the courts,” the letter stated.

In August, Spears once again filed a motion to have her father removed as conservator. The court declined, but appointed Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator.

A recently-released documentary, “Framing Britney Spears,” has led to increased publicity regarding her situation, including a #FreeBritney hashtag.

Vivian Thoreen, Jamie Spears’ attorney, told CNN earlier this month, “[Jamie] would love nothing more than to see Britney not need a conservatorship. Whether or not there is an end to the conservatorship really depends on Britney. If she wants to end her conservatorship, she can file a petition to end it.”

Thoreen responded to the Gaetz-Jordan missive in a statement to Fox News.

“(Britney’s) Conservatorship of the Person is not managed by her father but by a private professional fiduciary,” the statement read.

And, in what could fall under the umbrella of “...Baby One More Time,” Spears’ next conservatorship hearing is scheduled for March 17.