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Everything You Should Know About Britney Spears’ Bombshell Statement

Britney Spears smiles for the camera at a red carpet event
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It’s been a long road to this point, but after months — no, years — of silence surrounding her high-profile conservatorship, Britney Spears has finally addressed the courts about her ongoing situation. And she didn’t hold back, calling it “abusive” and “exploitative.”

In a video appearance, the pop star, 39, asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny to bring an end to the 13-year conservatorship that has controlled her life (and financial assets) since 2008. The man behind the controversial conservatorship is none other than the singer’s father, Jamie Spears, who didn’t exactly receive the (pop) royalty treatment in the damning Framing Britney Spears documentary that dropped earlier this year.

Yesterday was a day of revelations — and Spears shared some pretty incredible details about her life behind-the-scenes. In addition to those revelations, the New York Times published a bombshell piece that further shed light on what life has been like for Spears for more than a decade.

See also: #FreeBritney: we stand with Britney Spears after release of shocking doc.

Members of the #FreeBritney movement gather outside, wearing face masks, in Orlando, holding pink protest signs
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We break down some of the biggest revelations (so far)

According to confidential court records obtained by the New York Times, Spears has opposed the court-appointed arrangement with her father since pretty much the start — which shouldn’t come as a surprise to loyal fans who started the #FreeBritney movement. Among some of Spears’ biggest complaints, she revealed some shocking info:

  • She’d been sent to a mental health facility against her will at least once.
  • Spears stated that she was put on the drug lithium against her will after cancelling her Vegas residency.
  • She isn’t allowed to date without her father’s approval and consent.
  • For a two-week period, Spears was subjected to psychological tests for “fours hours a day” and was told she’d “failed.”
  • The singer can’t make any financial or personal decisions without the approval of her father.
  • Spears was forced to perform a concert despite nursing a fever of 104 degrees.
  • In one instance, she was even prevented from changing the colour of her kitchen cabinets.

The most chilling revelation, however, raises so many questions about the lack of bodily autonomy allowed to the pop star, right down to whether or not she’s allowed to remove her IUD.

Related: Self-care vs. self-soothing: knowing the difference could save your mental health.

Spears isn’t allowed to remove her IUD

In a twist straight out of an episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, Spears told the courts, “I want to be able to get married and have a baby. I was told right now in the conservatorship, I’m not able to get married or have a baby, I have an IUD inside of myself right now so I don’t get pregnant. I wanted to take the IUD out so I could start trying to have another baby. But this so-called team won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out because they don’t want me to have children — any more children.”

Earlier this morning, Planned Parenthood president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson took to social media. “We stand in solidarity with Britney and all women who face reproductive coercion. Your reproductive health is your own — and no one should make decisions about it for you,” she wrote, adding the #FreeBritney hashtag.

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The Grammy winner has been in a relationship with model and fitness trainer Sam Asghari since 2016. Spears also admitted to lying to fans about being OK. In reality, she said she’s “traumatized” and “so angry it’s insane.” She claims her father “loved the control he had over me, one hundred per cent.”

Given all the public attention and outrage, it’s hard to fathom this conservatorship being allowed to continue. Only time will tell.

You may also like: It’s Britney, b*tch! Britney Spears’ style evolution.



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