Britney Spears’ conservatorship hearing may be her most important one yet
By Chloe Melas and Faith Karimi, CNN
A sobbing Britney Spears lashed out at her father Wednesday for the second time in less than a month, saying she wants him out as the co-conservator of her estate and charged with abuse.
“I want to press charges against my father today,” Spears told the court by phone, breaking down in tears at times. “I want an investigation into my dad.”
Her comments Wednesday follow a hearing last month in which she told Judge Brenda Penny that she wanted to hire her own attorney to advocate on her behalf. Spears stated on June 23 that she had been forced by her conservators to perform, take lithium and remain on birth control against her will.
Judge Penny agreed to the singer’s request to select her own counsel on Wednesday.
Since the inception of her conservatorship in 2008, Samuel D. Ingham has been her court-appointed attorney.
He submitted his petition to resign last week after Spears criticized his representation. The judge accepted Ingham’s resignation Wednesday, along with Bessemer Trust, a wealth management firm that been appointed co-conservator of the singer’s estate.
Spears retained former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart, who attended the hearing Wednesday.
Attorney for her father says he’s not stepping down
In a series of new bombshell allegations, Spears described the conservatorship as “f—–g cruelty,” describing severe limitations she is living under, like not being able to have a cup coffee.
“If this isn’t abuse, I don’t know what is,” the singer said. “I thought they were trying to kill me.”
Spears told the court she was not willing to be evaluated to remove her father from the conservatorship, saying she has “serious abandonment issues.”
Her father, Jamie Spears, remains co-conservator of her estate, while Jodi Montgomery is conservator of Spears’ person.
Speaking publicly on her behalf for the first time, Rosengart urged her father to voluntarily step down as her conservator.
“Jamie Spears should be removed as conservator because it is in best interest of the conservatee,” Rosengart, a former federal prosecutor and veteran entertainment litigator said outside court. “We will be moving promptly and aggressively for his removal. The question remains, why is he involved? He should step down voluntarily because that’s what’s in the best interest of the conservatee.”
Rosengart praised the pop star’s “courage, passion, and humanity” in speaking out in court, and called her testimony “clear, lucid, powerful and compelling.”
He said he plans to take a deeper look into what has transpired since the conservatorship started.
“My firm and I will be taking a top to bottom look at what’s happened over the past decade,” Rosengart said.
When called on by Rosengart in court to step aside from his position as co-conservator, an attorney for the elder Spears, Vivian Thoreen, said he would not resign.
Since her testimony last month, many of the key figures who managed her affairs under the complex conservatorship setup have distanced themselves.
In addition to Ingham and Bessemer Trust, her longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, also resigned, citing Spears’ desire to retire.
Spears’ mother, Lynne Spears, and the American Civil Liberties Union filed court briefs in support of her desire to select her own lawyer.
Other petitions in the case, including a request by Montgomery for additional security support in light increased threats, were continued.
The-CNN-Wire
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