Everything you need to know about the #FreeBritney movement

It's been a long time coming but Britney Spears finally addressed the court directly during her conservatorship case's June 23 hearing.

Samuel D. Ingham, the lawyer who was representing Spears, told the court on April 27 that the pop star wanted the chance to “address the court directly” after previously revealing her wishes to remove her father, Jamie Spears, as conservator of her and her $60 million estate.

The #FreeBritney movement has been trending on social media again after the release of Framing Britney Spears (stream now on Crave) and after the June 23 hearing.

Fans have been discussing the conservatorship that Spears has been under for the last 13 years and we're here to help you catch up on everything you need to know about the #FreeBritney movement.

What is the #FreeBritney movement?

The #FreeBritney movement originally began in 2009 and was created by her fans after the 2008 decision by courts to appoint a conservator for the "Toxic" singer.

Britney is governed by the conservatorship, which gives her conservator control over her career decisions, personal life and finances. 

#FreeBritney gained a lot of momentum in 2020 after she began posting her dancing videos on Instagram and TikTok. The singer’s chaotic energy worried some of her fans, leading some to believe she was trying to send cryptic messages to her followers through her posts.

The strong public interest led the New York Times to create the documentary that fans had been waiting for. Some of Britney’s former colleagues, lawyers, paparazzi and journalists are interviewed in the doc. 

After the doc aired, a judge denied Jamie Spears' request to become the sole person to have control over Britney's investments. The move came after Britney petitioned to remove her father as sole conservator and replace him with a financial institution. Jamie's team argued that he should not have to give up the rights and powers that were previously granted to him now that he has been told to work with Bessemer Trust. 

There have been many Change.org petitions dedicated to the #FreeBritney movement, that encourage fans to sign the petition to get Spears' conservatorship investigated for abuse and to attempt to ultimately terminate it so Spears can have control of her life and finances again.

Spears' father has called his daughter's fans who started the #FreeBritney movement conspiracy theorists and says those who fight for Spears to be free don't understand the totality of the situation. 

What is a conservatorship and how has Britney's worked?

A conservatorship is an involuntary status usually reserved for elderly or ill people who are suffering from dementia or otherwise incapacitated and unable to make their own decisions.

Conservatorships are rarely used for people as functional as Spears, who has seen her career continue to succeed. 

Her conservatorship was established 13 years ago during her very public meltdown and has been kept in place since then. 

Spears has remained tight-lipped on the conservatorship but she will finally speak on it during the court hearing on June 23.

For years, the "Everytime" singer has been publicly silent about the severe restrictions on her decisions put in place by the conservatorship established in 2008.

Her conservator has control over her finances, her estate, her health, signing documents, deciding where she lives and other important life decisions including her career. They also have the right to revoke the power of attorney on her behalf.

Spears' father temporarily stepped down as her conservator to "focus on his health" in 2019 and her "care manager" Jodi Montgomery took over the role.

Last November, the court approved Spears' request to appoint Bessemer Trust as her new co-conservator but the order still hasn't taken effect because both sides continue to argue over the language of that decision. 

Another hearing will take place on July 14 to hopefully work through that language.

"(Jamie) would love nothing more than to see Britney not need a conservatorship," Jamie’s lawyer, Vivian Thoreen, told CNN in March. "Whether or not there is an end to the conservatorship really depends on Britney. If she wants to end her conservatorship, she can file a petition to end it."

Why is she under conservatorship?

The Grammy-winning singer has been under her court-order conservatorship since February 2008 for unspecified mental health issues.

The singer suffered a mental breakdown in 2007 and the paparazzi caught her behaving erratically and spun it out of control. Images of her attacking a car with an umbrella and with her head shaved were spread, scrutinized and made the butt of jokes.

Her life began to unravel in front of the public in 2007 after she and Kevin Federline, the father of her sons, filed for divorce and a custody battle ensued.

While Spears was suffering, the paparazzi continued to capture every moment and spread it across tabloid magazines. They criticized her every move from driving a car with her infant son on her lap to speaking with a British accent in 2008. 

In 2008, the "If U Seek Amy" singer was committed to a psychiatric ward under a 5150 hold, which means she was taken involuntarily for evaluation, twice in the same month.

A 5150 hold "allows an adult who is experiencing a mental health crisis to be involuntarily detained for a 72-hour psychiatric hospitalization when evaluated to be a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled,” according to the Orange County Behavioral Health Agency.

After being committed for a second time in January 2008, Spears' father stepped in and petitioned the Los Angeles Country Superior Court to put her under "temporary conservatorship" as an emergency but it wasn't that "temporary" 13 years later.

It was made permanent with her lawyer, Andrew Wallet, and her father having long-term control over her assets, business affairs and decisions. 

When Wallet resigned as co-conservator in 2019, that left Jamie in charge of his daughter's conservatorship.

What happened at the June 23rd hearing?

Britney addressed the court directly during her conservatorship case's probate hearing in Los Angeles on June 23 and said that her father "loved the control" he had over her with the "abusive" conservatorship.

Spears was almost denied access to the virtual feed due to "technical difficulties" but when she joined the hearing, she requested that her remarks not be closed to the public as her fans rallied outside the courthouse downtown L.A.

"I’ve lied and told the whole world “I’m OK and I’m happy.” It’s a lie. I thought I just maybe if I said that enough maybe I might become happy, because I’ve been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. You know, fake it till you make it. But now I’m telling you the truth, OK? I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry it’s insane. And I’m depressed. I cry every day," Spears told the court when speaking about her conservatorship.

Spears said that her father, Jamie Spears, “loved the control he had over me, one hundred thousand percent.”

The singer said that she has lied about her well-being "for years" and "wants changes going forward."

The "Womanizer" singer said that she doesn't want to be evaluated to determine if she has regained her mental capacity.

“I just want my life back,” she said. "All I want is to own my money and for my boyfriend to be able to drive me in his car. I want to sue my family."

Spears wants her conservatorship to end immediately without any testing and doesn't want to attend therapy twice a week. She also wants to handpick her own legal counsel. 

“It’s not OK to force me to do anything I don’t want to," Spears said. "The conservatorship should end. I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive."

“I am not happy, I can’t sleep. I’m so angry, it’s insane. And I’m depressed,” the 39-year-old singer continued. “My dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship, including my management … they should be in jail.”

Spears told the court that her family should be reminded that "they work for me."

She also said that she "wants to be able to get married and have a baby," adding that she wants her IUD taken out. She alleged that she has not been allowed to make those decisions by herself.

"I deserve to have a life. I've worked my whole life. I deserve to have a two to three-year break and just do what I want to do," Spears added,

She told the court that she wished she could stay on the phone with them "forever" because once she hangs up she only hears "no, no, no" from the people around her.

"I feel ganged up on and I feel bullied and I feel left out and alone. I'm tired of feeling alone," Spears said. "I deserve to have the same rights as anybody does."

Ingham said that Spears has never sought to terminate her conservatorship and added that if the court wants to replace him with private counsel, he will follow the court.

The lawyer for Spears' "care manager" Jodi Montgomery wants to move forward with a care plan for the singer. Spears said that she has to be in agreement with the plan and doesn't want to do therapy at locations where photographers can take photos of her.

The singer has now asked for any proceedings going forward to be sealed from the public and the court shut down the audio proceedings after it found out someone was recording the hearing. 

A full transcript of the recording can be found here.

What has Britney and her family said following her testimony?

Britney returned to Instagram the following day to "apologize for pretending" like she's been OK for the last couple of years.

In the lengthy post, the pop star said that she wanted to tell her fans "a little secret."

"I believe as people we all want the fairy tale life and by the way I've posted … my life seems to look and be pretty amazing," Spears wrote in her first public statement since the court hearing. "... I think that's what we all strive for!"

She said that she learned that habit from her mom, Lynne Spears.

"That was one of my mother's best traits … no matter how shitty a day was when I was younger … for the sake of me and my siblings she always pretended like everything was okay," Britney explained.

She continued: "I don't want people to think my life is perfect because IT'S DEFINITELY NOT AT ALL," Spears wrote. "And if you have read anything about me in the news this week 📰 … you obviously really know now it's not !!!!"

"I apologize for pretending like I've been ok the past two years," the singer said. "I did it because of my pride and I was embarrassed to share what happened to me … but honestly who doesn't want to capture there Instagram in a fun light 💡🤷🏼‍♀️ !!!!"

The week after the hearing, Jamie Lynn Spears spoke out in support of her sister Britney after the singer publicly testified for the first time in 13 years. 

"I just want to take a second to address a few things. The only reason I hadn't before is because I felt like until my sister could speak for herself and say what she felt she needed to say publicly, it wasn't my place and it wasn't the right thing to do. But now that she's very clearly spoken and said what she needed to say, I feel like I can follow her lead and say what I feel I need to say," Jamie Lynn began in her video.

"I think it's extremely clear that since the day I was born that I've only loved adored and supported my sister. This is my freakin' big sister before any of this bulls**t. I don't care if she wants to run away to the rainforest and have a zillion babies in the middle of nowhere, or if she wants to come back and dominate the world the way she has so many times before," she continued. "I have nothing to gain or lose either way. This situation does not affect me either way because I am only her sister who is only concerned about her happiness."

Jamie Lynn said that she's made "a very conscious choice" to only participate in Britney's life "as her sister" and she began to get teary-eyed as she explained why she's been silent on the topic of her sister recently.

"Maybe I didn't support her the way the public would like me to with a hashtag on a public platform. But I can assure I have supported my sister long before there was a hashtag, and I'll support her long after," she said.

"If ending the conservatorship or flying to Mars or whatever the hell else she wants to do to be happy, I support that, 100 per cent," Jamie Lynn said.

"Because I support my sister. I love my sister, always have, always will, as long as she's happy. So let's keep praying. That's all," she concluded.

Jamie Lynn's husband Jamie Watson shared support for Britney on Friday while speaking to Page Six.

"I can assure you her family loves her and wants the best for her," he said. "I wouldn't be around people who weren't. Who wouldn't want to be in support of Britney?"

Britney's ex-husband Kevin Federline said he "only hopes to best" for his ex-wife and the mother of his children following her conservatorship hearing.

Federline's divorce lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan shared his client's thoughts regarding Spears' public testimony in a statement to People.

Kaplan said that the "best thing would be" for Spears to be "healthy and happy."

"And if either of those things aren't true, it doesn't provide for the best setting for custody to be exercised," Kaplan said, referring to the singer's sons, Sean Preston, 15, and Jayden James, 14.

He continued: "[Kevin] certainly respects Britney and only hopes the best for her because when the best for her is achieved, it's the best for their kids. The kids love their mother and he wants there to be a healthy and strong relationship."

Has Britney's dad Jamie Spears responded?

Britney Spears' dad claims he's not the one making her life miserable and he puts all the blame on Jodi Montgomery.

According to TMZ, Jamie has filed legal docs claiming he has not had any involvement in his daughter's personal conservatorship for nearly two years.

Jamie also claims that he hasn't had any communication with his daughter in a long time because "he has been cut off from communicating" with her at all.

Jamie puts any blame for the restrictive rules his daughter is under on the current personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery. He also said that when Britney's lawyer filed documents to appoint Montgomery, his daughter didn't have the mental capacity to make decisions about her medical treatment and it was all left up to Montgomery.

He also alleges that it was Britney's lawyer, Sam Ingham, who has been seeking to take away his daughter's right to make medical decisions on her behalf and put all of those decisions in Montgomery's hands.

"Ms. Montgomery has been fully in charge of Ms. Spears' day-to-day personal care and medical treatment, and Ms. Montgomery has made all decisions related to those matters," according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Jamie also added that if Britney has been restricted from getting married or having a baby, it was on Montgomery and not him. 

"Mr. Spears believes it is important for the integrity of the conservatorship proceedings and in the best interests of Ms. Spears for the Court to order an investigation into the issues and claims raised by [Britney] at the June 23, 2021 status hearing," Jamie's lawyer said.

Jamie's lawyer continued: "Either the allegations will be shown to be true, in which case corrective action must be taken, or they will be shown to be false, in which case the conservatorship can continue its course.

Has there been any fallout since the hearing?

Britney's lawyer Samuel D. Ingham III filed a motion to resign as her counsel almost two weeks after she testified that she wanted to choose her own legal counsel. 

In the documents filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Ingham said that he will resign as soon as a new counsel is selected.

Britney's longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, also sent a letter to the singer's co-conservators, Jamie Spears and Jodi Montgomery, announcing his departure from her team. 

“It has been over 2 1/2 years since Britney and I last communicated, at which time she informed me she wanted to take an indefinite work hiatus,” Rudolph wrote the a letter. “Earlier today, I became aware that Britney had been voicing her intention to officially retire,” he continued.

“As you know, I have never been a part of the conservatorship nor its operations, so I am not privy to many of these details. I was originally hired at Britney’s request to help manage and assist her with her career. And as her manager, I believe it is in Britney’s best interest for me to resign from her team as my professional services are no longer needed.”

Rudolph said that he wishes Britney all of the “health and happiness in the world” and he’s proud of what they accomplished together. “I’ll be there for her if she ever needs me again, just as I always have been,” he concluded.

Bessemer Trust, the court-appointed company that managed her assets, also filed a petition asking to resign following her testimony.

Bessemer said it entered into the conservatorship because it "relied on the representations of the parties that the ongoing conservatorship was voluntary."

But now Bessemer is aware that Britney "objects to the continuance of her conservatorship and desires to terminate the conservatorship" and the company wants to respect her wishes.

What's next?

Everyone is expected back in court on July 14 for the next hearing.

BEFORE YOU GO: Britney Spears doesn’t know if she’ll ever return to the stage

[video_embed id='2225354']BEFORE YOU GO: Britney Spears doesn’t know if she’ll ever return to the stage[/video_embed]