Britney Spears settles legal battle with estranged father, officially ending conservatorship

Pop music icon Britney Spears reached a settlement with her estranged father, James P. Spears, more than two years after the court-ordered termination of her conservatorship that gave him control over her affairs.

The terms of the settlement were not disclosed following court filings made by both parties in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, as legal battles persisted over attorney fees and Spears’s allegations of her father’s improper behavior during the 13-year-long conservatorship.

“Although the conservatorship was terminated in November 2021, her wish for freedom is now truly complete,” Spears’s attorney, Matthew Rosengart, told CNN in a statement. “As she desired, her freedom now includes that she will no longer need to attend or be involved with court in this matter.”

Spears was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship under her father’s supervision in 2008 after a series of high-profile, public breakdowns, including being committed twice to a psychiatric hospital in California.

A public campaign to end the conservatorship gained significant attention during the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic with the slogan #FreeBritney going viral on Instagram and TikTok in July 2020.

In July 2021, Spears made her first testimony in open court to challenge the conservatorship, which she claimed was highly “abusive.” Spears claimed that during the conservatorship she was forced to go on tour by her management, was forced to take lithium, and was coerced to use an IUD for birth control.

The two sides in the legal dispute have fought in court for nearly two years since the end of the conservatorship, with Jamie Spears seeking court approval for over $2 million in fees to multiple law firms he hired during his capacity as conservators on top of payment for his ongoing legal bills.

Rosengart has consistently objected to the fees, arguing the elder Spears engaged in severe financial misconduct during his tenure as his daughter’s legal guardian.

Alex Weingarten, lawyer for James Spears, told the New York Times that he could not discuss the terms of the confidential settlement but that both parties had resolved the longstanding issues. 

“Jamie is thrilled all this is over,” said Weingarten. “He would love nothing more than to reconcile and be a family again. He has only ever acted in Britney’s best interests.”

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In her post-conservatorship memoir, The Woman in Me, which has sold over 2 million copies, Spears said that she does not plan to push forward her music career at the moment. 

“It’s time for me not to be someone who other people want; it’s time to actually find myself,” wrote Spears.