Britney Spears looked downtrodden as she was seen leaving the Ventura County Sheriff’s department on Tuesday afternoon.
The 39-year-old pop star is set to address the Los Angeles court on Wednesday, June 23, regarding her ongoing conservatorship and the control her father Jamie has over her $60million fortune.
Spears, seemingly accompanied by a bodyguard, was wrapped up in a grey longline cardigan for her Sheriff’s department visit.
Spotted: Britney Spears looked downtrodden as she was seen leaving the Ventura County Sheriff’s department on Tuesday afternoon
Court hearing: The 39-year-old pop star is set to address the court on Wednesday, June 23, regarding her conservatorship and the control her father Jamie has over her $60million fortun
The Toxic hitmaker layered the cardigan over a crinkled white button up shirt and a pair of pale blue linen shorts.
Britney strolled around in a pair of open-toed platform heels.
She arrived to the Sheriff’s department with her long blonde hair down, before exiting with it styled into a messy bun.
Britney’s complexion looked noticeably devoid of makeup and she concealed her brown eyes behind a pair of tortoise shell shades.
Guarded: Britney was accompanied by a bodyguard
Casual: Spears donned a casual ensemble for her visit to the Ventura County Sheriff’s department
Covered up: The Womanizer songstress covered up with a grey longline cardigan
Flowing: She arrived to the Sheriff’s department with her long blonde hair down, before exiting with it styled into a messy bun
The Lucky singer’s outing comes after it was revealed that she told a court investigator in 2016 that her father had ‘too much’ control over her estate and was ‘oppressing’ her, as per newly unearthed records obtained by The New York Times ahead of Spears’ Wednesday court hearing.
Britney has been without control of her business or finances since her father obtained the conservatorship in the wake of her mental health struggles in 2008.
He says it is a smooth-running arrangement that allows him to protect her and that she can take control at any time.
Layering: The Toxic hitmaker layered her cardigan over a crinkled white button up shirt and a pair of pale blue linen shorts
Leaving: Britney’s demeanor appeared to change as she left the department following Tuesday’s visit
Natural: Britney’s complexion looked noticeably devoid of makeup and she concealed her brown eyes behind a pair of tortoise shell shades
Wednesday will be the first time Britney, now 39, addresses the court.
In the papers obtained by the Times ahead of that appearance, a court investigator wrote in a 2016 report that Britney told them the people involved in the conservatorship – her father and a lawyer – tried to intervene on who she dated and what color she painted her kitchen cabinets.
She complained that her father drinks too much and that it can impact his judgement too.
Heading off: With her bodyguard by her side, Spears made her way back to her parked car
Bombshell: The Lucky singer’s outing comes after she told a court investigator in 2016 that her father had ‘too much’ control over her estate and was ‘oppressing’ her, according to newly unearthed records obtained by The New York Times ahead of Spears’ court hearing
Overprotected: Spears was forbidden from re-painting her kitchen cabinets as it’s revealed the singer has been opposing father Jamie’s role as conservator for the past 7 years
First time: Wednesday will be the first time Britney, now 39, addresses the court
In a 2016 report, a court investigator who had spoken to Britney wrote: ‘She articulated she feels the conservatorship has become an oppressive and controlling tool against her.
‘She is “sick of being taken advantage of” and she said she is the one working and earning her money but everyone around her is on her payroll,’ the investigator wrote.
She also said her father was ‘obsessed’ with her to the point that he had to approve who she became friends with.
Despite her complaints, the court investigator ruled that the conservatorship should remain in place.
Control: Jamie Spears (pictured, 2012) has been in charge of Britney’s affairs since 2008
The records say that Jamie, a recovering alcoholic, drank and was abusive not long after taking control of the conservatorship.
Britney’s Circus tour in 2009 was supposed to not involve any alcohol for her benefit but, according to the testimony of a housekeeper, he was guilty of ;verbal abuse, tirades, inappropriate behavior and alcoholic relapses’.
During the conversation, Britney allegedly told the investigator she wanted the conservatorship terminated ‘as soon as possible’ and was ‘sick of being taken advantage of.’
The investigator added: ‘She is the one working and earning her money but everyone around her is on her payroll.’
Jamie, 68, was appointed as Britney’s conservator in 2008, after she was admitted into involuntary psychiatric care twice, as concerns grew over her mental health and substance abuse.
Free Britney: Spears fans protest outside a conservatorship court hearing at Los Angeles Superior Court in March this year
However, the court documents reveal that Britney first raised concerns over her father’s fitness for the role as early as 2014, when she had begun her years-long residency in Las Vegas.
Her court-appointed lawyer Samuel D. Ingham III said at the time that Britney wanted Jamie to be removed as her conservator, citing a ‘shopping list’ of grievances that including his alleged drinking.
Britney also told a court in 2019, that she had felt ‘forced’ into staying at a mental health facility as well as performing against her will by her conservator.
The singer claimed the enforced stay was under ‘exaggerated grounds’, after she made an objection during rehearsal, and also claimed she was forced to perform in Vegas while suffering a 104-degree fever.
According to the court documents revealed by the New York Times on Tuesday, Britney was limited to a $2,000 weekly allowance despite generating millions of dollars with her Vegas show Britney: Piece of Me.
Britney reportedly said in the documents that the conservatorship ‘comes with a lot of fear’ and any mistakes would result in ‘very harsh’ consequences.
Jamie – who went to rehab for alcoholism in 2004 according to court filings – is known to be a strict parent, and Britney’s mother divorced him 2002 following troubles in their marriage.
Despite releasing her ninth album and performing more than 50 times in Las Vegas in 2016, Britney was privately fighting against Jamie having control of her life, the documents allege.
The pop singer told the investigator she was ‘very angry’ about how her life was being run, revealing she had security around her at all times.
She was forbidden from making cosmetic changes to her kitchen cabinets by Jamie who told her it was too costly.
But Britney is said to have been unwillingly footing the bill for the conservatorship that she is keen to get out of – having to pay lawyers on both sides of the argument with a recent bill from Jamie totaling $890,000.
In 2019, Britney dramatically announced she would be taking an ‘indefinite work hiatus’ which was originally put down to her caring for father Jamie after he almost died from suffering a ruptured colon.
Way back when : Jamie was appointed as his daughter’s conservator in 2008 following her very public mental and emotional breakdown (seen in 2002)
However, during a closed-door hearing that was mistakenly unsealed, Britney alleged that she had been forced into a mental health facility against her will, as punishment for standing up for herself during a rehearsal.
According to the NYT report, Britney’s father Jamie recently returned home to Kentwood, Louisiana, where he hosts crawfish boils and is living in an RV that is parked by a warehouse that holds memorabilia from his daughter’s career.
Tomorrow, Britney will virtually address the Los Angeles County Superior Court and Judge Brenda Penny about her desire to have her father Jamie removed as her sole conservator.
In a press release, the court confirmed that for the hearing on June 23rd ‘all parties, including Ms. Spears, are scheduled to appear remotely’.
It is not expected that Britney will ask to end her long running conservatorship at the hearing.
Rather, she will request that the judge permanently remove her father Jamie from being in control of her estate.
Britney has appeared to be in favor of the temporary conservator currently in place, Jodi Montgomery, who stepped in back when her father fell ill.
In court documents, the A-lister’s lawyers have explained that their client would like Montgomery to be permanently put in place in lieu of her dad Jamie.