Britney Spears is a mother of two sons. But for 12 years, she has been unable to make personal and financial decisions. Her father holds the role – by law – of her conservator, essentially a legal guardian.
The 38-year-old has been subject to a court-ordered conservatorship since 2008.
At the time, it was the mega-star meltdown the world will never forget: the world's most famous pop-star was on a decline characterised by erratic behaviour.
In one particularly infamous moment, Spears shaved her own head in full view of paparazzi. She later bashed a photographer's car with a green umbrella.
A year later, in January 2008, a wild-eyed Britney was photographed being wheeled into an ambulance from her apartment after suffering a psychiatric breakdown that lasted 72 hours.
Her public unravelling in 2007 and 2008 was as shocking as it was distressing; as unwatchable as it was... watchable. It was also the catalyst for her conservatorship.
A conservatorship is designed for those incapable of making rational decisions, such as those with mental disabilities and people with dementia.
The arrangement asserts that her estate, plus financial and personal assets, are controlled by her father, Jamie Spears, and a lawyer (who was Andrew Wallet, before he quit in 2019, leaving her father with sole legal control).
A 2016 article by The New York Times detailed the extreme control her conservator holds: "Her most mundane purchases, from a drink at Starbucks to a song on iTunes, are tracked in court documents as part of the plan to safeguard the great fortune she has earned but does not ultimately control."
But unlike most people who are put under the constraints of a conservatorship, Spears has managed to continue her highly successful career.
Since 2008, she has released three albums, been a judge on X-Factor and done several live shows, particularly in Las Vegas. According to Business Insider, her net worth in 2019 stood at $US59 million. Whilst it is largely speculated that the conservatorship was the saviour of her career, others condemned the tight control her father legally holds over her.
Watch: Britney Spears's famous performance of ‘I’m A Slave 4 U’ at the 2001 Video Music Awards. Post continues below.
Britney Spears has only once spoken publicly about her feelings towards her lack of freedom. In 2008, Spears told MTV she was not a fan of the conservatorship. "It's too in control," she told the publication.
"If I wasn't under the restraints I'm under, I'd feel so liberated," she said. "There's no excitement, there's no passion... Even when you go to jail, you know there's the time when you're going to get out. But in this situation, it's never-ending."
In recent months, the "Free Britney" movement has gained widespread momentum. And in the most telling sign yet that Britney Spears is trying to break away from the conservatorship, she is now trying to permanently remove her father from the conservatorship, as reported by The New York Times.
Here's everything we know.
So, what is the ‘Free Britney’ campaign?
In 2009, fan site Breathe Heavy began an unofficial campaign, Free Britney. The site condemned the conservatorship, before the owner was contacted by Britney’s father who furiously asked them to stop.
A decade on, the movement was revived. In April 2019, a playful podcast called "Britney’s Gram" - devoted to analysing the singer’s Instagram in a light-hearted fashion - released audio from an anonymous paralegal who was involved in Spears’ conservatorship.
The paralegal said Spears had stopped taking her medication in January 2019, and had since been checked into a mental health facility. The podcast's hosts - comedians Tess Barker and Barbara Gray - used the anonymous tip-off to theorise why Spears had been noticeably absent from social media at the time.
The "Free Britney" movement took off, even attracting high profile names including Miley Cyrus.
The comments section is awash with fans posting their concern for the singer, asking her if she is safe in her own house, and posting the hashtag #FreeBritney.
Even Modern Family actress Sarah Hyland commented on one of her recent Instagram posts: "You ok Britney?"
"We love you and its not that we don't like your posts it's that we can tell you're being manipulated and controlled," another person wrote.
There is even a change.org petition that has amassed over 100,000 signatures.
As fans continue to plea, protest and petition for Britney Spears to be freed, her latest move to remove her father as sole conservator is their most solid sign yet that Spears needs her fans now more than ever.
Feature Image: Getty.
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