Britney Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, has been suspended from the conservatorship that controls the singer’s finances following a ruling yesterday in a Los Angeles Court.
Judge Brenda Penny sided with the singer’s attorney, who had filed a petition to have her father removed from the conservatorship that has been in effect for the past 13 years. Jamie Spears’ suspension was in the singer’s best interest, said Penny, adding that the “current situation is not tenable,” the New York Times reports.
Penny appointed a certified public account, John Zabel, as temporary manager of Britney Spears’ finances. The ruling cannot be appealed.
“This suspension is directly what Britney wanted,” said the singer’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart, speaking in court on Wednesday, adding, “she does not want Jamie in her life.”
In a statement released this morning, representatives for Jamie Spears called the ruling “disappointing,” adding that Spears “loves his daughter unconditionally” and that “he has tried to do what is in her best interests, whether as a conservator or her father.”
The conservatorship has been in effect since 2008, awarding control of Britney Spears’ finances to her father following her public breakdown. However, the singer has petitioned the courts to end the arrangement, leading to a legal battle between the two Spears.
In June, Britney Spears testified for the first time publicly about the conservatorship, claiming that she had been “traumatized” by living under her father’s control. Among the allegations, she claimed that she’d been forcibly medicated and made to perform against her will, and denied control over her reproductive choices.
Following an earlier ruling that allowed her to retain her own counsel in lieu of court-appointed representation, Spears celebrated her victory in a post on Instagram with the hashtag #FreeBritney.
For now, the conservatorship remains in place, pending a hearing on November 12 that will determine whether or not it is terminated.
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