Just like a circus – Australians want Britney Spears’ conservatorship removed.

American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress Britney Spears, worth a reported $79 million, has been living under a court ordered conservatorship for the past 13 years after her family claimed she was unable to take care of her own affairs in 2008 after a very public, media-fuelled breakdown.

The conservatorship involved a judge stripping the now 39-year-old of all personal and financial decision-making power and placing that power in the hands of a conservator, her father, Jamie spears who is now co-conservator of her estate alongside financial group, Bessemer Trust.

Since August 2020 Britney has been fighting to have her father removed as conservator and was again denied that request by Judge Brenda Penny on the 1st of July this year. While that request was denied, her request to hire her own lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, was granted and he is moving swiftly to end the current arrangement.

A survey conducted by Hunter and Bligh shows that while 55 per cent of Australians believe that the conservatorship was the right thing to do at the time, nine in 10 (91 per cent) agree that it is time for the conservatorship to end, and for Britney to reclaim control of her own life.

Just as toxic as it sounds, not only do Aussies think it is time to #FreeBritney, 85 per cent believe that her father and conservator, Jamie Spears, should be charged with conservatorship abuse for the way she has been treated since the conservatorship was instated in 2008.

On the 24th of June 2021 Britney Spears spoke for the first time in court about the conservatorship saying, “I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. I don’t feel like I can live a full life.”

Britney further expressed to the court and to Judge Brenda Penny that she (Britney) believes the conservatorship is doing her more harm than good, believing that there is no longer any need for such an arrangement to be in place. “I shouldn’t be in a conservatorship if I can work and provide money for other people.”

Since 2008 Britney has released three albums, had a successful Las Vegas residency and gone on world-wide tours. Ninety-seven (97) percent of Australians agree that her family is working hard to make her look unstable in order to keep the conservatorship intact, with close to three quarters (73 per cent) believing that she is not actually in control of her own social media accounts.

With Britney’s sister Jamie-Lynn (Zoey 101 and Sweet Magnolias) – the only family member not on her pay-roll – the family have no desire to end the current arrangement.

To read a more in-depth description of the conservatorship Britney is living under, head to the New Yorker website.

Data received by Hunter and Bligh and conducted by CoreData Research, a global specialist financial services research and strategy consultancy. The survey was conducted in July 2021 and received results from 1004 Australians.
Feature image: Photographed by Hayk_Shalunts. Image via Shutterstock.