In a major victory for Britney Spears, a judge on Wednesday suspended the singer鈥檚 father from the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money for 13 years, saying the arrangement 鈥渞eflects a toxic environment.鈥�
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny agreed with a petition from Spears and her attorney that James Spears needs to give up his role as conservator. The decision comes months after the pop star pleaded for her father鈥檚 removal in dramatic court hearings.
鈥淭he current situation is untenable,鈥� Penny said after hearing arguments from both sides. 鈥淚t reflects a toxic environment which requires the suspension of James Spears.鈥�
James Spears sought the conservatorship in 2008 and had been its primary controller and biggest champion. He reversed course in recent weeks, asking the judge to end the conservatorship.
Britney Spears and her attorney, Mathew Rosengart, agreed that the conservatorship should end and said in court documents that James Spears鈥� removal was a necessary first step in 鈥渆nding the Kafkaesque nightmare imposed upon her.鈥�
Spears鈥� attorney has been aggressively pushing for her father鈥檚 ouster since moments after the judge allowed her to hire Rosengart in July.
Fans were elated by the ruling.
鈥淢y heart鈥檚 racing out of my chest,鈥� said Lorin Sisco of Hawaii, who flew to Los Angeles for the hearing and said she鈥檚 been at the courthouse for every proceeding for the past year. 鈥淚 am so excited for what she has to do with the rest of her life.鈥�
Hours before the hearing, a major street outside the courthouse was closed to vehicles, allowing about 100 Spears supporters to march and host a rally where they shouted 鈥淗ey, hey, ho, ho, the conservatorship has got to go!鈥� and other pro-Britney chants. As the crowd grew, fans sang Spears hits 鈥淭oxic鈥� and 鈥淏aby One More Time,鈥� and speakers described abusive conservatorships that had affected their families.
鈥淲e鈥檙e making making history right now,鈥� said Martino Odeh, 27, who traveled from Phoenix. 鈥淎nd the fact that we could change a pop star鈥檚 life, who has been robbed of her rights for 13 years, is crazy. It鈥檚 monumental.鈥�
Rosengart said in another filing this week that James Spears 鈥渃rossed unfathomable lines鈥� by engaging in illegal surveillance of her, including communications with her lawyer, as reported in 鈥淐ontrolling Britney Spears,鈥� a documentary from The New York Times and the FX network, one of two dueling documentaries released on the eve of the hearing.
Britney Spears was also , earlier this month, which means putting together a prenuptial agreement that her father should not be involved in, her court filings said.
James Spears in 2019 stepped aside as the so-called conservator of his daughter鈥檚 person, with control over her life decisions, maintaining only his role as conservator of her estate, with control over her finances. He and his attorneys have said that renders many of his daughter鈥檚 complaints about his control over her life meaningless.
Jodi Montgomery, a court-appointed professional, now acts as conservator of Britney Spears鈥� person, and Rosengart said in court documents that Montgomery also consents to ending the conservatorship so long as it can be done safely and smoothly.
James Spears has denied acting in anything but his daughter鈥檚 best interest. He has said in court papers that he does not know of 鈥渁 single medical professional nor the report of a single probate investigator鈥� that concluded that his presence as conservator was harming his daughter or that he should be replaced.
The when Britney Spears鈥� began to have public mental struggles as hordes of paparazzi aggressively followed her everywhere and she lost custody of her children.
鈥� Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
