Britney Spears’ dad isn’t stepping down… just yet
Image taken from Instagram @britneyspears
Now that official court documents have been published, it’s been revealed that Jamie Spears will step down “when the time is right”, but could be prepared “for an orderly transition to a new conservator”.
Society
Words: Jade Wickes
Last night, TMZ broke the news that Britney Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, had agreed to step down as her conservator amidst the pop star’s highly publicised battle to remove him from the egregious arrangement, which she has called “embarrassing and humiliating”.
On the surface, this looked like a massive, long overdue win for Britney. Many supporters, fans and other news outlets were quick to celebrate – after all, it was just two weeks ago that her new attorney, Matthew Rosengart, announced that removing the pop star’s father from the conservatorship would be his first order of business.
But once Jamie Spears’ official response to this petition via court documents was made public, it became apparent that crucial context and nuance had been lost. According to the papers, rather than stepping down from the conservatorship altogether, Spears will resign “when the time is right”, and has requested a transition period to work with the court and Britney’s attorney.
Britney Law Army, a Twitter account run by two lawyers who are experienced in civil rights litigation, posted the documents on the social media platform. The account’s admins have suggested that Jamie Spears wants assurances that criminal charges against him won’t be pursued.
As per the court documents, Jamie Spears’ response to Britney’s petition for his suspension from the conservatorship states that “there are, in fact, no actual grounds for suspending or removing Mr. Spears as the Conservator of the Estate” and “it is highly debatable whether a change in conservator at this time would be in Ms. Spears’ best interests.
“Nevertheless […] he does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests. So even though he must contest this unjustified Petition for his removal, Mr. Spears intends to work with the Court and his daughter’s new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator.”
As Twitter user @notedyourhonour points out, this is the first time in the 13-year conservatorship that the idea of Jamie Spears relinquishing control of Britney and her estate has even been entertained. Even though the wording of these new court documents doesn’t sound promising, the fact that Spears’ removal is being discussed at all is nevertheless encouraging for the pop star.
As we wait with baited breath for what might (or might not) happen next, the fight to #FreeBritney continues.
