Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Has Officially Ended After 13 Years

Britney Spears’s conservatorship has officially ended after 13 years. 

“The court finds and determines that the conservatorship of the person and the estate is no longer required, therefore effective today, the conservatorship of the person and estate of Britney Jean Spears is hereby terminated,” Judge Brenda Penny said in a Los Angeles court room on Friday, November 12, according to People. 

Per the outlet, Spears’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, said in court, “I don’t want to bury the lede— we believe the conservatorship as a practical matter should end today.” 

This was the expected outcome of today’s hearing. In October, after Judge Penny ruled to suspend Spears’s father, Jamie, as her conservator, Rosengart said the plan was to follow up in 30-45 days with a request for full termination. That is exactly what happened. 

Britney Spears was placed under a conservatorship in 2008 following well-documented personal struggles. But the arrangement never made sense to fans. Conservatorships are typically given to those who cannot feed or care for themselves, but under this legal arrangement, Spears recorded several albums, embarked on world tours, and completed a very lucrative Las Vegas residency. 

The #FreeBritney movement was started by fans in 2019 to raise awareness of Spears’s conservatorship and eventually end it. Their efforts gained momentum in early 2021, when the New York Times released a documentary called Framing Britney Spears. A follow-up, Controlling Britney Spears, only increased public outcry. 

Spears has been quite active on social media these past few months, opening up about the conservatorship in ways she hadn’t before. In one October post, she took aim at her family for not doing anything to help her situation. 

“This message is to my family … for hurting me deeper than you’ll ever know !!!” Spears wrote. “I know the conservatorship is about to be over but I still want justice !!! I’m only 5’4″ and I’ve played the bigger person my entire life … do you know how hard that is ???”

At last, though, Britney is free.