The network is becoming more and more active in support of singer Britney Spears. Activists are demanding the end of the guardianship, which has been restricting the rights of a celebrity for over a decade.
On Wednesday, fans of the popular singer staged a peaceful rally outside a courthouse in Los Angeles, where hearings were to be held on the terms of custody of the singer by her father. Since 2008, the court has repeatedly extended temporary custody.
The singer's fans are convinced that custody of their idol is illegal. The founder of the Freebritneyla Twitter page, Kevin Wu, who led the action, in an interview with Variety suggested that this legal tool is being used against Spears only to gain access to her accounts. Wu does not exclude that there may be other reasons, but considers the financial factor to be the main one.
Britney Spears' fortune is estimated at $ 59 million, but she cannot dispose of this money. At the same time, the media report that about $ 130 thousand are paid annually to James Spears as a guardian. Also, according to some reports, in 2018 the singer's expenses for legal costs and custody amounted to $ 1.1 million - this is the largest item of her expenses.
- AFP
- © FRAZER HARRISON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA
Lawyer Lisa McCarley also spoke at the action. She emphasized that the Britney Spears case is a prime example of the imperfection of the guardianship system: “I oppose this guardianship because it symbolizes what, on so many levels, seems to be wrong in other cases of guardianship that I know," she said.
Meanwhile, the court hearing was disrupted. It was held in a remote format via Zoom, and outsiders joined the conference. After they ignored the order to disconnect, the judge decided to postpone the hearing.
Continuous tutelage
Guardianship over Britney Spears was established in 2008. This decision was the result of a series of events. In 2007, the singer divorced Kevin Federline. In February of that year, Spears, previously known for her scandalous behavior, went to a hairdresser and shaved her hair on her own. A few days later, she attacked the photographer with an umbrella.
Spears underwent treatment in a psychiatric clinic, but subsequently repeatedly demonstrated inappropriate behavior. In January 2008, the singer locked herself in the bathroom with her youngest son, because she did not want to give him to her ex-husband, with whom the boy lived by court order.
After that, she was hospitalized forcibly. Then Britney Spears' father James issued temporary custody over his daughter. Another guardian is attorney Andrew Wallet.
Britney Spears is seriously restricted in her rights. For example, she cannot independently manage her finances, drive a car and other vehicles, seek medical help and choose a lawyer.
Already in 2008, the singer's fans doubted how legitimate such actions are, and demanded that Spears be released from custody. Over the next 12 years, the artist was actively involved in creativity and looked like a person capable of taking responsibility for her actions.
The singer has released four albums, gave many concerts, went on tour and played small roles in several TV series. In 2018, Britney Spears entered the top ten highest paid female singers according to Forbes. Nevertheless, guardianship was constantly extended.
In January 2019, Britney Spears announced the cancellation of the planned show Britney: Domination. She attributed this decision to her father's illness, who needed care. In March 2019, TMZ, citing its own source, reported that the singer was being examined in a psychiatric clinic. At the same time, it became known that Andrew Wallet had left the post of guardian.
Meanwhile, Tess Barker and Barbara Gray, hosts of the BritGram podcast, which previously discussed the singer's Instagram, shared other information. As bloggers closely followed Spears' content, they noticed changes on the page.
- © @britneyspears
“We ran a podcast about her Instagram, and when we had nothing to discuss because the posts stopped appearing, we started digging deeper. Over time, it became even weirder from the fact that she stopped appearing anywhere, because Britney is one of those whom the paparazzi love to secretly photograph, "Barker said.
The presenters received a voice message. A man who introduced himself as a paralegal said that Spears refused to take the medication. For this reason, the father placed the singer in a psychiatric clinic.
“After that, many representatives of show business contacted us. Completely different people came out to us and shared their observations of changes in her behavior, which seemed alarming to them. They spoke to us with caution, because they did not want to jeopardize their work, "- recalls Tess Barker in an interview with Rolling Stone.
Then the hashtag #freeBritney went viral. In May, following a new hearing, where the singer was present in person with her parents, Britney Spears was scheduled for an examination. However, the situation did not change in the end. Due to health problems in September 2019, James Spears transferred custody of his daughter to specialist Jody Montgomery for a period until January 31, 2020.
In early May 2020, the media reported that custody of Britney Spears was renewed again. A new hearing was scheduled for August 22, but then the meeting was postponed to July 22.
Rose McGone, Paris Hilton, Miley Cyrus and other famous personalities have previously joined the #FreeBritney movement.
Spears subscribers ask the singer to sign if she needs help. So, in one of the comments, she was asked to wear yellow clothes when she takes pictures or shoot a video for her social networks. After that, Spears actually appeared in front of the audience in a yellow top, which made netizens even more suspicious. However, it seems impossible to confirm such guesses.
Y'all .... this is not good .. # freebritneypic.twitter.com/FjeTKbqDJq
- valeska ⚖️ (@iatemuggles) July 13, 2020On July 9, 2020, a petition was posted on the White House website to end custody and return Britney Spears' rights. The document was signed by 128 thousand people.