Jamie Spears Claims That Ending Conservatorship "Depends On Britney"

The fight to #FreeBritney rages on, and even her father is stepping in with a surprising opinion. In a new interview with CNN, Jamie Spears' lawyer said he hopes Britney would "not need" a conservatorship in the future. This contradicts his previous statements that the conservatorship is still necessary and his refusals to step down as her conservator.

His attorney Vivian Lee Thoreen spoke to CNN on his behalf, saying that he "would love nothing more than to see Britney not need a conservatorship," and placed the onus on Britney to end it. "Whether or not there is an end to the conservatorship really depends on Britney," she said. "If she wants to end her conservatorship, she can file a petition to end it."

Britney has not filed a motion to end her conservatorship entirely, but she has requested in court documents that Spears step down as conservator of both her person and estate, asking to have her current "temporary" care manager Jodi Montgomery take over permanently and to have a "qualified corporate fiduciary" handle her estate. Spears stepped down as her personal conservator in September 2019 after an alleged physical altercation with Britney's son Sean Preston, citing "personal health reasons," but courts decided he would remain in charge of her estate alongside Bessemer Trust.

Thoreen has been on a press tour to give Spears' side of the story following the release of the New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears, which analyzes the conservatorship and the singer's tumultuous journey with the media that led up to it, as well as her fraught relationship with her father. In a recent interview on Good Morning America, Thoreen claimed that Spears "saved Britney's life" and remained her conservator "because he loves her."

The online #FreeBritney movement started in hopes that she would be released from her conservatorship entirely. The singer has embarked on three world tours, released three studio albums, served as judge on The X Factor and completed a four-year Las Vegas residency while under her father's watch. Fans argue that if she can tackle these huge ventures successfully, then how is she deemed incapable of making her own personal and financial decisions?

However, Thoreen argued to CNN that neither her client nor Britney herself would be the deciding factors in whether to end the conservatorship. "The court investigator also interviews everyone who is involved in the conservatorship, and they do a deep dive to really study the conservatorship to find out what's going on," she explained. "What I can tell you is every year the court has kept the conservatorship in place." Thoreen argued that Spears was not looking for a "Father of the Year" award. "Like any parent, he doesn't always see eye-to-eye on what Britney may want," she said. "But Jamie believes every single decision he has made has been in her best interest."