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Several US Congressional representatives are inviting Britney Spears to speak about her conservatorship.
Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is leading the charge alongside a handful of Republicans who want Spears to testify before Congress. “You have been mistreated by America’s legal system. We want to help,” Gaetz writes to Spears in a letter sent on Wednesday after her explosive testimony.
“The United States Congress should hear your story and be inspired to bipartisan action. What happened to you should never happen to any other American,” the letter continues. Gaetz mentions other US Congressional representatives, including Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Burgess Owens (R-UT), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
The #FreeBritney movement online has brought attention to the controversial conservatorship. Spears herself has refused to speak out publicly, but last week the pop star finally had her day in court. She told a judge how the conservatorship has thwarted her desires for more children, to get married, and to take time off.
“I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive,” Spears told the judge. “I just want my life back. It’s been 13 years and it’s enough.” Judge Brenda Penny has denied Spears’ request to end her fathers’ role in her conservatorship. Bessemer Trust, the organization appointed co-conservator alongside her father, has pulled out.
The wealth management organization has not yet received any of her assets or taken any fees. The Trust mentions Britney’s testimony as their reason for pulling out of the arrangement.
“As a result of the conservatee’s testimony at the June 23 hearing, however, [Bessemer Trust] has become aware that the conservatee objects to the continuance of her conservatorship and desires to terminate the conservatorship. Petitioner has heard the conservatee and respects her wishes,” the court petition reads. The same judge who denied Spears’ request to end the conservatorship allowed Bessemer Trust to exit.
Britney Spears’ court-appointed lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, has not filed a petition to terminate the conservatorship. The next court date is scheduled for July 14.
Florida representative Matt Gaetz has been an outspoken proponent of reforming conservatorship and guardianship at the Congressional level. In March 2021, he and Jim Jordan (R-OH) wrote a letter to House Chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY) to ask for a hearing on conservatorship and Spears’ case.
So far, Britney Spears’ lawyer has not confirmed whether his client intends to file a letter to request the termination of the conservatorship. Spears’ father has been the legal manager of his daughter’s multi-million dollar estate since 2008. He was the conservator of her person until 2019 when a judge appointed a private professional fiduciary to assume that role.
