Everything You Need To Know About The #FreeBritney Protest
Including a guest appearance from her ex-husband (of 55 hours), Jason Allen Alexander.
Britney Spears has been in conservatorship since ‘08, following many high-publicized personal endeavors. It had seemed she emerged on top, managing to continue to produce record-breaking singles and stadium tours soon after.
And yet, in February of this past year, Spears underwent an indefinite hiatus. While the reasons were varied (and entirely her own prerogative), her followers were quick to ensure controversies and speculations. Her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, commented on Instagram “I have been here long before anyone else, and I’ll be here long after. I love my sister with everything I have. So, anyone or anything that speaks to the contrary can GTFOH with all the comments about what you don’t understand. Do not come for me or the ones I love anymore.” Britney later followed up with her own message, assuring fans all was well.
There’s been a few more semi-concerning posts on social media, each subject to scrutiny from those concerned with her wellbeing.
Certainly, there’s underlying tensions left unresolved, many of which surfaced at a hearing yesterday. Spears had requested that her father, Jamie Spears, be removed as her sole conservator (the individual responsible for a majority of her financial decisions). Instead, she sought to give the role to Jodi Montgomery—her longtime caretaker—who had been appointed as a temporary conservator last September.
“Britney is strongly opposed to Jamie continuing as sole conservator of her estate,” the documents state. “Rather, without in any way waiving her right to seek termination of this conservatorship in the future, she strongly prefers to have a qualified corporate fiduciary appointed to serve in this role.”
The latest court documents, however, extended the temporary conservatorship through February, 2021. Her attorney, Samuel Ingham, has until Sept. 18 to file a petition.
The ruling wasn’t uncontested: her devout fans held a #FreeBritney protest outside the courthouse, even featuring a guest appearance from her ex-husband (and not Kevin Federline). Jason Alexander’s been in contact with Britney semi-frequently over the last few years, and told US Weekly “I wanna see Britney get what she rightly deserves, and from personal conversations, she doesn’t want to be under the conservatorship obviously and it’s affecting her life still to this day in a negative way. And it’s time for it to be over.”
Since the protest, ACLU has pledged to support Britney through the process. “The ACLU has a long history of advocating for the rights of people with disabilities to live independent, self-directed lives as active members of their communities,” Zoe Brennan-Krohn, a staff attorney with the organization’s Disability Rights Project, said in an official Q&A. “Our concerns about conservatorship and guardianship are part of that commitment: ensuring that people with disabilities retain their civil rights and liberties and a belief that disabled people are protected through the exercise — rather than the removal — of these rights.”
People with disabilities have a right to lead self-directed lives and retain their civil rights.
If Britney Spears wants to regain her civil liberties and get out of her conservatorship, we are here to help her. https://t.co/uLRakw7c4C
— ACLU (@ACLU) August 19, 2020
