Britney Spears finally speaks her truth about controversial conservatorship
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Britney Spears: “I just want my life back. And it's been 13 years. And it's enough.”
On Wednesday, June 24, pop icon Britney Spears finally poured her heart out in a statement she made about her conservatorship.
The long-embattled “I'm A Slave” singer gave her 24-minute statement remotely by phone to Los Angeles probate judge Brenda Penny and it was livestreamed to the media.
Britney unleashed several truth bombs in her statement, including the one where she revealed she was threatened to go on tour in 2018.
“I was on tour in 2018. I was forced to do. My management said if I don't do this tour, I will have to find an attorney, and by contract my own management could sue me if I didn't follow through with the tour.”
She also refuted claims that she was uncooperative during rehearsals and that she didn't take her medications.
Britney said it all started when she refused to do a particular dance move.
“I'm not here to be anyone's slave. I can say no to a dance move.
“I was told by my at-the-time therapist, Dr. Benson -- who died [in 2019] -- that my manager called him and then that moment and told him I wasn't cooperating or following the guidelines in rehearsals.
“And he also said I wasn't taking my medication, which is so dumb, because I've had the same lady every morning for the past eight years give me my same medication.”
The embattled pop icon finally spoke her truth to a judge on Wednesday about her conservatorship / Source: @britneyspears (IG)
After the said issue happened, Britney said she declined doing another Vegas show.
Then she was allegedly suddenly put on stronger medication by her therapist.
“Three days later, after I said no to Vegas, my therapist sat me down in a room and said he had a million phone calls about how I was not cooperating in rehearsals, and I haven't been taking my medication. All this was false.
“He immediately, the next day, put me on lithium out of nowhere. He took me off my normal meds I've been on for five years.
“And lithium is a very, very strong and completely different medication compared to what I was used to.
“You can go mentally impaired if you take too much, if you stay on it longer than five months.
“But he put me on that and I felt drunk. I couldn't even have a conversation with my mom or dad really about anything.
“I told him I was scared, and my doctor had me on six different nurses with this new medication, come to my home, stay with me to monitor me on this new medication, which I never wanted to be on to begin with.”
Britney also lamented the fact that her family did nothing, and worse, that her dad was behind all of it.
“Not only did my family not do a goddamn thing, my dad was all for it. Anything that happened to me had to be approved by my dad.”
Britney also narrated how she was required to do a psych test over the Christmas holidays and when she reportedly failed the test, she was then told to enter a rehab program.
“I got a phone call from my dad, basically saying I'd failed the test or whatever, whatever.
“'I'm sorry, Britney, you have to listen to your doctors. They're planning to send you to a small home in Beverly Hills to do a small rehab program that we're going to make up for you. You're going to pay $60,000 a month for this.'
“I cried on the phone for an hour and he loved every minute of it.
“The control he had over someone as powerful as me -- he loved the control to hurt his own daughter 100,000%. He loved it.”
Britney also said she had no privacy in the rehab facility that she was sent to. She allegedly had to change clothes in front of people who looked after her and there was no door in her room.
Moreover, she said she was forced to work while in rehab and threatened her if she didn't do so.
“If I didn't do any of my meetings and work from eight to six at night, which is 10 hours a day, seven days a week, no days off, I wouldn't be able to see my kids or my boyfriend.”
Britney then revealed that she lied in the past about being okay.
“And that's why I'm telling you this again two years later, after I've lied and told the whole world 'I'm OK and I'm happy.' It's a lie.
“Because I've been in denial. I've been in shock. I am traumatized. You know, fake it till you make it.
“But now I'm telling you the truth, OK? I'm not happy. I can't sleep. I'm so angry it's insane. And I'm depressed. I cry every day.”
She also explained why she chose to be silent for many years.
“It's embarrassing and demoralizing what I've been through. And that's the main reason I've never said it openly.
“And mainly, I didn't want to say it openly, because I honestly don't think anyone would believe me.”
After her shocking revelations about how her conservatorship had mistreated her, Britney then laid down what she wants to do moving forward.
“I just want my life back. And it's been 13 years. And it's enough. It's been a long time since I've owned my money. And it's my wish and my dream for all of this to end without being tested.
At one point, she reiterated why she doesn't want to do any more psychiatric test or evaluations.
“Now, going forward, I'm not willing to meet or see anyone. I've met with enough people against my will, I'm done.
“All I want is to own my money, for this to end, and my boyfriend to drive me in his f***ing car.”
Britney also added, “I don't feel like I should even be in room with anyone to offend me by trying to question my capacity of intelligence, whether I need to be in this stupid conservatorship or not. I've done more than enough.
“I don't owe these people anything -- especially me, the one that has roofed and fed tons of people on tour on the road.”
Aside from being freed from her conservatorship without having to go through psychiatric evaluation, Britney said she also wants the intrauterine device (IUD), a form of birth control, removed from her body so she could have another child.
“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 a (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.”
The "Overprotected" singer also cried for justice and reveals intent to sue her own family.
“I would honestly like to sue my family, to be totally honest with you.
“I also would like to be able to share my story with the world, and what they did to me, instead of it being a hush-hush secret to benefit all of them.”
Britney also told the judge what she truly feels about her conservatorship.
“I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive, and that we can sit here all day and say oh, conservatorships are here to help people.
“But ma'am, there's a thousand conservatorships that are abusive as well.
“I don't feel like I can live a full life. I don't owe them to go see a man I don't know and share him my problems.
“I don't even believe in therapy. I always think you take it to God.”
Britney then said that she'd like to continue seeing a therapist, but wants the therapy done at the privacy of her home and only once a week. Because she admits that she does need “a little therapy.”
Finally, the pop icon then expressed how grateful she is to have spoken to the judge on Wednesday.
“I wish I could stay with you on the phone forever, because when I get off the phone with you, all of a sudden all I hear all these no's -- no, no, no.
“And then all of a sudden I get I feel ganged up on and I feel bullied and I feel left out and alone.
“And I'm tired of feeling alone. I deserve to have the same rights as anybody does, by having a child, a family, any of those things, and more so.”
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Take inspiration from Filipino celebrities who opened up about their mental health struggles in the gallery below.
