Britney Spears Won’t Perform Under Father’s Conservatorship, Lawyer Warns

A lawyer for Britney Spears warned that the singer would not perform again as long as she remained under the conservatorship of her father, James Spears.

The judge overseeing the Los Angeles case declined to suspend the conservatorship — which has been in place over the 38-year-old pop singer for 12 years — during the latest legal battle over the “strongly opposed” guardianship Tuesday.

During arguments at the Tuesday hearing, Britney’s lawyer Samuel D. Ingham III warned: “My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father. She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.”

The attorney also stated that Britney — “a high-functioning conservatee” — and her father have not spoken in a long while, according to the Associated Press.

The singer has been on an “indefinite work hiatus” from her Las Vegas residency since January 2019 due to emotional distress stemming from her father’s health issues followed by a stay in a mental health facility. In May 2019, Britney’s manager Larry Rudolph admitted that it was possible that she “should not be going back to do this Vegas residency, not in the near future and possibly never again.”

While Britney lost in her latest bid to terminate the conservatorship, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny did approve of the singer’s request to appoint financial company the Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator, as opposed to James Spears serving as sole conservator; Britney’s lawyers accused James of mismanaging the singer’s money over the past year, including a $300,000 payment to her previous business management team.

Britney’s mother and James’ ex-wife Lynne once again sided with her daughter following the latest hearing — which was attended by #FreeBritney supporters — saying in a statement that the relationship between Britney and James has become “toxic” and that the conservatorship should come to an end, noting it is “time to start fresh.”