#FreeBritney: Britney Spears uses hashtag in post celebrating court hearing
Britney Spears said her conservatorship case is "coming along" after a Los Angeles judge allowed her Wednesday to hire her own legal counsel. The pop star posted about the decision on Instagram, sharing how she celebrated and using the #FreeBritney hashtag — long used by fans to criticize her conservatorship.
Spears posted a video of herself horseback riding and doing cartwheels, writing: "New with real representation today ... I feel GRATITUDE and BLESSED !!!! Thank you to my fans who are supporting me ... You have no idea what it means to me be supported by such awesome fans !!!! God bless you all !!!!!"
Many fans and celebrities praised Spears in the comments of her post, including her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, who wrote: "Internet is about to explode #freebritney."
"YOU ARE SO VERY LOVED AND SUPPORTED," fellow pop star Ariana Grande wrote.
"You're a warrior," wrote Chris Crocker, a longtime Britney advocate, who went viral in 2007 for posting a video in which he begged people to "leave Britney alone."
Spears also included the #FreeBritney hashtag in her post – which appears to be a first for her.
While fans have long used the hashtag to raise awareness about what many deemed an unfair conservatorship, Britney only recently began speaking publicly out about her situation. In court last month, Britney called her conservatorship "abusive," and made several claims about her father, Jamie Spears, who became the sole conservator in 2008.
Jamie recently began splitting conservator duties with financial group Bessemer Trust and Jodi Montgomery, a licensed care manager.
During this week's hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny approved resignations from Bessemer Trust and Britney's court-appointed attorney, Samuel Ingham III. Now, Mathew Rosengart, a former federal prosecutor, will represent Britney.
Rosengart made a request to remove Jamie Spears as conservator on the star's behalf, but an attorney for her father declined, saying he "will not resign this way."
Zoe Christen Jones contributed to this report.
