- During a Los Angeles court hearing on Wednesday,
Britney Spears spoke out against the conservatorship. - She switched lawyers and said she wanted to press charges for abuse of conservatorship.
- "I am not perfect, but their goal has been to make me feel like I am crazy, and I am not," Spears said.
With the sun beaming down on a crowd of die-hard Britney Spears supporters dressed in black and pink marching with signs immortalizing the pop star, the pop star called into a hearing and for the second time in two months and shared deeply personal testimony.
In this hearing, Spears had tangible wins: a petition was granted for Spears to select her own counsel, and Spears is now represented by Matthew Rosengart, a prominent Hollywood attorney who has represented celebrities like actor Sean Penn and famed filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
Judge Brenda Penny also allowed Bessemer Trust to withdraw from co-managing Spears' estate alongside her father, Jamie Spears, meaning that for the time being he has sole control over the estate.
But, as with the previous hearing, Spears' own testimony about the 13-year-long court-appointed conservatorship was one of the most moving segments of the 2-hour long hearing.
Unlike the previous hearing, however, Spears' voice was only heard by those in the courtroom - counsels representing Britney, her mother, father, conservator Jodi Montgomery, and roughly 60 reporters from all over the world. After the audio of the first hearing leaked online, the court shut down its remote audio program, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
On Wednesday, Spears repeatedly asked Judge Penny if she could clear the courtroom before addressing the judge. Penny was reluctant to grant a private address for the open hearing, and eventually, Spears changed her mind.
"Fine, I don't mind if the court is open," Spears said, marking the second time she would speak openly on the conservatorship.
During her testimony on June 23, Spears spoke for 20 minutes and said her former lawyer had advised her not to speak up against the conservatorship, which she called "abusive," and she also detailed the obsessive level of control her father had over her day to day life.
On Wednesday, Spears spoke for 10 minutes and again addressed specific aspects of the conservatorship that controls her business, estate, and wellbeing, saying she wanted to press charges against her father for abuse of conservatorship.
"It's not just abuse, it's f---ing cruelty," Spears said. "I am angry, and I will go there."
"I want you to understand how much of my time they've wasted with these stupid check-ups," Spears said, calling for her conservatorship to end without her having to undergo an evaluation related to her mental health.
"I am not perfect, but their goal has been to make me feel like I am crazy, and I am not," Spears told the courtroom.
During the prepared statement, Spears grew emotional and broke down crying as she detailed experiences with her father, apologizing as she collected herself multiple times.
Spears said the conservatorship had allowed her father "to ruin her life" and that she was frequently worried about him being inebriated around her and her family.
Spears spoke in vivid detail about instances she felt abused by her father, alleging that her father had taken away her driver's license for 8 months after she drove ten miles over the speed limit.
"I want an investigation into my dad," Spears said, adding that she had "serious abandonment issues" due to the involved nature of her conservatorship.
In one section of her testimony, Spears said that during the span of a week of performances, she was left alone in a trailer 63 times and not allowed to leave as different people visited her.
Attorneys for Jamie Spears disputed Spears' recollections, alleging she may have misremembered incidents and calling her testimony, "hysteria on the record."
Spears repeatedly expressed that she wanted Montgomery to remain as co-conservator.
"I would rather Jodi stay in place, my family never cared," Spears said.
As for her father, Spears said, stoically, "he needs to be removed today."