Opinion: #FreeBritney, B*tch

Everyone has heard of what happened to Britney Spears in 2008. The mental break, head shaving, rehab, and more. When this all happened, her father, Jamie Spears, became her conservator. This meant he held legal responsibility over her, including her personal and financial affairs. 

Britney, after 13 years, wanted this to end. 

Britney asked to address the court handling her conservatorship directly in April 2021. This began the #FreeBritney movement on social media. 

Britney began to discuss the case freely on her Instagram. She continuously thanked her fans for the support they gave her and provided updates on what was happening. 

In June 2021, Britney made a plea in court. 

“I just want my life back. I’m not here to be anyone’s slave,” she said. 

Britney continued to fight for her freedom through the summer. Her court-appointed lawyer resigned in July. The court denied her lawyer’s request to move the trial up to August. 

Everything seemed to be going wrong for Britney, but on Aug. 12, her father stepped down as her conservator. 

CNN obtained documents from the court to try and figure out why this happened so suddenly. 

“There are, in fact, no actual grounds for suspending or removing Mr. Spears as the conservator of the estate. It is highly debatable whether a change in conservator at this time would be in Ms. Spears’ best interests,” the documents said. 

However, CNN learned that her father stepped down for his benefit, not Britney’s. 

“Nevertheless, even as Mr. Spears is the unremitting target of unjustified attacks, he does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests,” Jamie Spears’ lawyer said. 

Britney took one step in the right direction, but there is no end in sight. Her father had to name another conservator in his place, and requested he be replaced by her accountant, John Zabel. Brtiney meets back in court on Nov. 12. This could be the end of her 13-year-long conservatorship. 

I believe that Britney has the right to feel the way she does. She has not been able to do anything on her own free will for 13 years. Of course she is going to want that freedom. 

It is strange that Jamie wants to control her life that badly. She is now 39 years old. Britney is a grown woman and now knows her limits. She has proved that to the court. 

Social media, in my opinion, helped Britney in this instance. She may not have had the breakthroughs she had in this court case, without her fan base. 

I hope for Britney’s sake that she comes out on top. She has been through too much in these 13 years and deserves to be free of these constraints.