Britney Spears Used the #FreeBritney Hashtag for the First Time

Britney Spears’s conservatorship case has a few new developments.

The pop icon appeared in front of a judge on Wednesday, July, 14, during a plea to be released from her 13-year long conservatorship. (Under this arrangement, Spears has had no legal control over her life and finances.) Before her moving testimony, Judge Brenda Penny approved the “Stronger” singer’s request to hire her own attorney, Mathew Rosengart. Rosengart attended the hearing to represent Britney in her effort to remove her father, Jamie Spears, as conservator of her estate. The ultimate goal is to terminate the conservatorship altogether. 

“Coming along, folks … coming along 🖕🏻!!!!! New with real representation today … I feel GRATITUDE and BLESSED !!!!” Spears captioned the video, referencing her ability to use her own lawyer during the case. “Thank you to my fans who are supporting me … You have no idea what it means to me be supported by such awesome fans !!!! God bless you all !!!!! Pssss this is me celebrating by horseback riding and doing cartwheels today 🤸‍♂️🤷‍♀️🐎 !!!! #FreeBritney.”

Britney Spears’s post marks the first time she’s formally acknowledged the #FreeBritney movement, which was started by fans in 2019. This is huge because fans in the past have questioned whether or not Britney is controlling her social media.

The “Gimme More” singer’s boyfriend, Sam Asghari, commented on her photo, writing, “Internet is about to explode #freebritney.” Ariana Grande wrote, “🤍 YOU ARE SO VERY LOVED AND SUPPORTED.”

During the July 14 hearing, Britney revealed she believes her conservatorship is abusive. “I’m here to get rid of my dad and charge him for conservatorship abuse,” she said, per Variety. “I want to press charges for abuse on this conservatorship today… all of it.” 

“Instead of trying to investigate my behavior or my capacity, I want my dad investigated,” Britney added. “This conservatorship is literally allowing my dad to rule my life…. That is abuse, and we all know it.”

Her lawyer, Rosengart, told the judge his firm will be questioning whether Britney needed a conservatorship in the first place. He told the judge, “A conservatorship was probably not necessary.”