Britney Spears' New Lawyer Files Motion to Oust Her Father From Conservatorship
01:04 GMT 27.07.2021 (Updated: 13:21 GMT 06.08.2022)
Subscribe
The legal battle of American pop music icon Britney Spears to end her "abusive" conservatorship has been in the spotlight since June 2021, when the singer delivered an emotional speech in court, linking her custody to "sex trafficking".
A newly-appointed attorney for Britney Spears, Mathew Rosengart, filed a motion on Monday to replace the singer's father, Jamie Spears, as her guardian, in a second attempt to end the 13-year-long conservatorship that controls the singer's finances and personal life.
According to court documents cited by NBC News, the request to replace Jamie Spears with certified public accountant (CPA) Jason Rubin is an "objectively intelligent preference to nominate a highly qualified, professional fiduciary in this circumstance."
In the motion, Rosengart also called the conservatorship a "Kafkaesque nightmare" that has grown "increasingly toxic and is simply no longer tenable."
Earlier in the week, Rosengart pledged to move "aggressively and expeditiously" towards removing Jamie Spears from his famous daughter's conservatorship. The new attorney stepped into the case in the middle of July, when the courts greenlighted the singer's request to change her lawyer.
In the event that Rubin, a CPA with a long list of credentials, is named as the singer's guardian, he would "obtain all documents and records relating to the [Spears] and her assets, whether held in her name or in the name of another, all contracts, information relating to credit cards, bank statements, estate planning documents, receivables, and any and all powers of attorney."
© REUTERS / MARIO ANZUONIMathew Rosengart, attorney for pop star Britney Spears, is pictured on the day of a conservatorship case hearing at Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 26, 2021
Mathew Rosengart, attorney for pop star Britney Spears, is pictured on the day of a conservatorship case hearing at Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 26, 2021
© REUTERS / MARIO ANZUONI
Britney Spear's battle to end her father's conservatorship reappeared in the spotlight after the "Toxic" singer delivered a bombshell testimony comparing her custody to sex trafficking and calling it "abusive". She claimed that she was forced to take strong medication, was stripped of access to her finances, and was not permitted to marry her boyfriend or have children.
In her standoff with her father, the singer declared that she would not be "performing on any stages" with her dad "handling" what she wears, says or does.
Her struggle to end the conservatorship has received the support of fans, celebrities, and even political figures around the world, in what breathed new life into the viral sentiment "#FreeBritney".