Britney Spears Lashes Out At Conservatorship: 'Support System Hurt Me Deeply'
WEST HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA) – Dozens of fans of Britney Spears, part of the #FreeBritney movement, gathered Sunday in West Hollywood to support the singer in her ongoing fight to end her conservatorship, while Spears herself took to social media to blast those involved in the case.
An L.A. County Superior Court judge has granted Spears permission to hire her own attorney moving forward. Spears will now be represented by former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart.
The 39-year-old Spears has had the same court-appointed since the conservatorship began in 2008, Samuel D. Ingham III. However, following her explosive testimony last month, Ingraham resigned.
On July 14, Spears spoke to the court via telephone -- the second time she has done so in the past month -- again lashing out at her father, Jamie Spears, who is the conservator of his daughter's estate. Spears has repeatedly asked for his removal from the conservatorship, and on Wednesday accused him of "abuse."
In scathing Instagram posts over the weekend, Spears said her "so-called support system hurt me deeply."
"There's nothing worse than when the people closest to you who never showed up for you post things in regard to your situation whatever it may be and speak righteously for support," she wrote.
She also criticized her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, for performing her songs at an awards show.
"I don't like that my sister showed up at an awards show and performed MY SONGS to remixes," Spears wrote.
Spears also indicated that she would not perform again while her father remains the conservator of her estate.
In her virtual testimony on June 23, Spears lashed out at everyone involved in her conservatorship, accusing them of abusive treatment, forcing her to perform against her will and requiring her to take medications she did not want and undergo intensive therapy sessions.
In response to the testimony, a financial management company that had recently come on as a co-conservator for Spears' estate also asked the court to end its role.
Spears' longtime manager Larry Rudolph also resigned. Rudolph said that he and Spears have not communicated for 2 ½ years.
Spears' mother, Lynne, recently filed paperwork in support of her daughter's request to hire her own attorney.
Jamie Spears filed court papers recently asking the court to investigate his daughter's allegations of abusive treatment by those involved in the conservatorship "to determine what corrective actions, if any, need to be taken."
Meanwhile, Spears' personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery, claims in court papers that since the singer appeared in court on June 23 and lashed out at the conservatorship and most of the people involved with it, Montgomery has seen a "marked increase" in threats directed at her on social media and through text messages, phone calls and emails.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
