Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

6 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

7 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

10 hours ago

Elon Musk Says Senate Bill Would Destroy Jobs and Harm US

10 hours ago

Israel Strikes Pound Gaza, Killing 60, Ahead of US Talks on Ceasefire

11 hours ago

Trump’s Administration Finds Harvard Violated Students’ Civil Rights, WSJ Reports

12 hours ago

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

3 days ago
Britney Spears Got All to Agree She Needed to Be Freed
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
November 15, 2021

Share

There were no more of the heated arguments or dueling court filings of the past few months, no more tearful testimony or angry accusations.

For one day at least, everyone surrounding Britney Spears agreed. She needed to be freed.

Most important among them was Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny, who at a hearing Friday terminated the conservatorship that controlled the pop singer’s life and money for nearly 14 years.

Spears did not attend the 30-minute hearing that was almost anti-climactic after the courtroom drama of recent proceedings, in which Spears demanded first the ouster of her father from power over her, then the removal of the legal shackles on her life.

Jubilation Outside the Courthouse

It felt almost like a formality. The celebration that followed was plenty dramatic, though.

“Best day ever … praise the Lord … can I get an Amen???” Spears said on Twitter and Instagram minutes after the ruling.

Jubilation erupted outside the courthouse, with fans cheering and shouting after the decision was announced. The crowd chanted “Britney! Britney! Britney!” and fans sang and danced to Spears’ song “Stronger.”

“Good God I love my fans so much it’s crazy!!!” Spears said in her posts. “I think I’m gonna cry the rest of the day!!!!”

The decision capped a stunning odyssey that saw Spears publicly demand the end of the conservatorship, hire her own attorney, have her father removed from power and finally win the freedom to make her own medical, financial and personal decisions for the first time since 2008.

‘A Free Woman’

Those surrounding Spears said she is equipped to make those decisions.

“We have a safety net in place for Britney both on the personal side and on the financial side,” her attorney Mathew Rosengart said outside the courthouse. “But Britney, as of today, is a free woman and she’s an independent woman. And the rest, with her support system, will be up to Britney.”

Jodi Montgomery, the court-appointed conservator who oversaw the singer’s life and medical decisions starting in 2019, developed a care plan with her therapists and doctors to guide Spears into the aftermath.

“There is no reason Ms. Spears can’t lead a safe, happy, fulfilling life after this conservatorship,” Montgomery’s attorney, Lauriann Wright, said at the hearing.

Penny’s decision came with remarkably few caveats.

She gave no orders that Spears should undergo mental evaluations first, something legal experts had assumed would be part of the conservatorship’s endgame. The judge said California law did not require her to order further evaluation of Spears if no one requested it.

The judge kept a small part of the conservatorship temporarily in place so that the singer’s money can be moved around in the coming months as financial power is transferred back to her.

California law says a conservatorship, called a guardianship in some states, is justified for a “person who is unable to provide properly for his or her personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter,” or for someone who is “substantially unable to manage his or her own financial resources or resist fraud or undue influence.” The conservator, as the appointee put in charge is called, may be a family member, a close friend or a court-appointed professional.

Conservatorship Unraveled at Surprising Speed

As recently as last spring, it appeared that Spears’ conservatorship could continue for years. Then it unraveled with surprising speed.

Key to the unraveling was a speech Spears made at a hearing in June when she passionately described the restrictions and scrutiny as “abusive” and said “I just want my life back,” a line her lawyer repeated in court Friday.

The consensus on display Friday is unlikely to last.

Rosengart has further vowed to pursue an investigation of James Spears’ role in the 13 years he oversaw the conservatorship. He said he and his team have found mismanagement of Britney Spears’ finances, suggesting she could pursue further legal action. Court records put her net worth at about $60 million.

He also said law enforcement should investigate revelations in a New York Times documentary about a listening device placed in her bedroom.

James Spears’ attorneys said Rosengart’s allegations ranged from unsubstantiated to impossible, and that he only ever acted in his daughter’s best interest.

The post-conservatorship fight has in some ways already begun. James Spears has parted ways with the attorneys who helped him operate it, and he has hired Alex Weingarten, a lawyer specializing in the kind of litigation that may be coming.

In court filings last week, Britney Spears’ former business managers, Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group, pushed back against Rosengart’s demands for documents about the firm’s involvement in the conservatorship from 2008 to 2018. The group also denied any role in or knowledge of any surveillance of the superstar.

Followed Mental Health Struggles at Age 26

Britney Spears was a 26-year-old new mother at the height of her career when her father established the conservatorship, at first on a temporary basis, in February 2008 after a series of public mental health struggles.

It ends a few weeks before her 40th birthday, with her sons in their mid-teens and her career on indefinite hold, as she is engaged to be married a second time.

A turning point came early in 2019, when she canceled a planned concert residency in Las Vegas. Her career has been on hold ever since.

Convinced she was put in a mental hospital against her will, fans began coalescing and demanding that the court #FreeBritney. At first, they were dismissed as conspiracy theorists, but the singer herself gave them validation in 2020 in a series of court filings that said they were correct to demand greater transparency and scrutiny of her legal situation.

Those filings proved to be the first indication from Spears, who had remained silent on the conservatorship for years, that she would seek major changes.

Britney Spears has indicated that she’ll focus on family and her newfound freedom for now. She may or may not resume making music.

“Whether Britney performs again will be up to Britney, at the right time,” Rosengart said.

[activecampaign form=73]

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

DON'T MISS

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

DON'T MISS

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

DON'T MISS

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

DON'T MISS

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

DON'T MISS

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

DON'T MISS

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

DON'T MISS

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

UP NEXT

Buying a Home With Solar? Beware of CA Bill Written by Former Utility Co. Exec

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Sues Los Angeles Over Immigration Enforcement

UP NEXT

Immigration Raids Leave Crops Unharvested, California Farms at Risk

UP NEXT

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

UP NEXT

CA’s Population Shrank in Trump’s First Immigration Crackdown. It Could Happen Again

UP NEXT

Jury in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Sex Trafficking Trial to Start Deliberating

UP NEXT

Controversial Climate Rule That Could Raise Gas Prices About to Take Effect

UP NEXT

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

UP NEXT

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

UP NEXT

Anna Wintour to Step Down From Vogue Editor-in-Chief Role, Media Reports Say

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

4 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

4 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

4 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

4 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

5 hours ago

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

5 hours ago

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

5 hours ago

DOJ Announces Arrest, Indictments in North Korean IT Worker Scheme

5 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Clovis for Sex-Related Crimes Against Minor

5 hours ago

Dyer’s Lobbying Works. Fresno Gets $100M for Downtown From State

5 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

The Clovis Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating an at-risk missing adult last seen on Thursday. Pathmani Goonawarde...

2 hours ago

Clovis Police are searching for Pathmani Goonawardena, 82, who went missing nearly three weeks ago and was last seen driving a white Volvo near Copper and Auberry, possibly en route to Coarsegold. (CHP)
2 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

fresno
3 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
4 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

4 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

Bryan Koberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, listens during a hearing to overturn his grand jury indictment in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., October 26, 2023. (Reuters File)
4 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

The Blanca Fire, burning 12 acres northwest of Lake Madera Country Estates in Madera County, remains active with 0% containment and no reported injuries or structural damage as the cause is under investigation as of Monday, June 30, 2025. (CalFire)
4 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

Fresno County CHP arrested two on Interstate 5 after finding about one kilogram of suspected cocaine, a loaded ghost gun, and counterfeit money during a vehicle search on Sunday, June 29, 2025. (CHP)
4 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

Gov. Newsom warns Californians to celebrate the Fourth of July safely, emphasizing zero tolerance for illegal fireworks which have surged to over 600,000 pounds seized this year. (Shutterstock)
5 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend