James P. Spears, the father of Britney Spears and the man who has long played a leading role in overseeing his daughter’s affairs, on Tuesday called for an investigation into the singer’s allegations last week that she was molested under her supervision, including convicting them to carry out and take medication against their will.
The court records on behalf of Mr. Spears followed the singer’s first full public statement in 13 years about the complex legal regime that oversees her personal welfare and finances, calling for her to quit conservatory without undergoing a mental evaluation .
In her remarks at the June 23 hearing, broadcast in the courtroom and streamed online, Ms. Spears blamed her management team, janitors and family for their treatment, and made explicit mention of her father.
Now, Mr. Spears’ attorneys have requested an evidence hearing and challenged the actions of Ms. Spears’ current personal guardian and court appointed attorney, saying that “It is crucial that the court confirm that Ms. Spears’ testimony was correct or not “carefully to determine what corrective action, if any, needs to be taken.”
The filings, filed late Tuesday in Los Angeles and received by the New York Times, continued: “It is also imperative that all parties are given a full and fair opportunity to function properly in the Conservatory trial before this court Responding to allegations and claims. “Asserted against them.”
The twin-pronged conservatory, which manages Ms. Spears ‘personal life and estate, was first cleared by a probate court in Los Angeles in 2008 when Ms. Spears’ father moved for control of the singer’s business and welfare amid concerns regarding their mental health and their potential for substance abuse. The arrangement is usually reserved for people who cannot fend for themselves, although Ms. Spears continued to work and perform in the years that followed.
Mr. Spears is currently overseeing the singer’s finances, along with a corporate trustee whom Ms. Spears asked last year to join the arrangement. Her personal curator, Jodi Montgomery, temporarily took over from her father in September 2019 after Mr Spears resigned due to health issues.
But Ms. Spears’ recent statement, along with confidential court records obtained from the New York Times, revealed that in private Ms. Spears had consistently urged quitting conservatories, calling it “too, too much,” according to the Reported by a court investigator in 2016, adding that she was tired of being exploited.
In court last week, Ms. Spears called the setup abusive, likened it to sex trafficking, and described that in 2019 she was forced to tour, undergo psychiatric exams and take medication before her father gave up his role as her personal conservator.
She also said she could not remove her contraceptive even though she wanted to get married and have more children. Ms. Spears referred to her father as “the one who approved of everything”.
In a second filing on Tuesday, Mr. Spears’ attorneys denied the characterization that he was in command, arguing that Ms. Montgomery “has been fully responsible for the daily personal care and medical treatment of Ms. Spears” as of September 2019. , despite some allegations made by Ms. Spears prior to Ms. Montgomery’s appointment.
“Mr. Spears just is not involved in decisions related to Ms. Spears’ personal care or medical or reproductive problems,” his attorneys wrote. Spears cannot hear his daughter’s concerns and address them directly because he has been cut off from communicating with her. “
They added that Mr Spears had no intention of returning as his daughter’s personal curator, but said he was “concerned about the management and care of his daughter”.
Lauriann Wright, an attorney for Ms. Montgomery, said in a statement Wednesday that Ms. Montgomery, as a personal conservator, has been “a tireless advocate for Britney and her well-being” with “one primary goal – to support and encourage”. Britney on her way to no longer needing the person’s care. “
Ms. Wright pointed to Ms. Montgomery’s role as a “neutral decision maker in complex family dynamics” and said that Ms. Spears’ “decision to get married and have a family was never influenced by the Conservatory while Ms. Montgomery” was the Conservatory of the person. “
She added that Ms. Montgomery was looking forward to “finding a way to end the Conservatory.”
Mr. Spears attorneys also raised concerns about the role of Mrs. Spears’s court-appointed attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, who was hired on the case in 2008 when the singer was deemed unable to choose her own representation.
In the documents, Mr. Spears’ attorneys asked if an earlier move to make the role of Ms. Montgomery permanent was what the singer wanted or even aware of, and found that “Ms. Spears has neither signed nor reviewed the petition to appoint her personal curator, “which was instead signed by Mr. Ingham.
Citing Mr. Ingham’s earlier claim that Ms. Spears was found to be unable to consent to medical treatment in 2014, they stated, “There has been no such finding and there is no such order.” This, too, requires an investigation in a subsequent hearing, the lawyers wrote.
When requesting an investigation, Mr. Spears’ attorneys said, “Either the allegations will turn out to be true and corrective action must be taken in this case, or they will be proven false, in which case the conservatory can continue.” It is unacceptable for restorers or the court to respond to Ms. Spears’ testimony. “
Previously, Ms. Spears had raised concerns about her father’s control over her, according to the investigator’s 2016 report. She cited her inability to make friends or to date without her father’s approval; the limits of her weekly allowance of $ 2,000, despite her success as a performer; and the fear and “very harsh” consequences she said are linked to conservatory violations, the investigator said.
At the time, the estate investigator concluded that the Conservatory was in Ms. Spears’ best interests because of her complex finances, vulnerability to outside influences, and “intermittent” drug problems, the report said. But it also called for “a path to independence and the eventual termination of the conservatory”.
Ms. Spears said in court last week that she did not know she could move to terminate the conservatories. “I’m sorry for my ignorance, but honestly I didn’t know,” she said.
