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Ever since Britney Spears broke her silence during bombshell court testimony last month, celebrity pals and acquaintances have clamoured to voice their support for the pop icon.
But one person who’s remained relatively silent is Britney’s mother, Lynne Spears, leading fans to question her role in the conservatorship her daughter has described as “abusive”.
“Where the hell is Lynne Spears and what does she have to say for herself!?,” one angry Twitter user asked.
Another wrote, “Please help me understand, how come @britneyspears’ mom Lynne didn't step in?”
On 3 July, The New Yorker published an investigation into Britney's conservatorship, which has been in place since her father, Jamie Spears, first took control of her professional and personal affairs in 2008.
After the investigation was published, reporters Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino, wrote that in a call with Lynne, she "spoke in a whisper and apologised that she might have to hang up abruptly if other family members walked in and discovered her speaking to a reporter."
"I got mixed feelings about everything," Lynne told them. "I don't know what to think. . . It's a lot of pain, a lot of worry."
A later statement, which was written on July 22, was much more direct.
As part of the latest court filing in Britney's ongoing conservatorship case, Lynne (66) made an incendiary declaration in support of her daughter's request to remove Jamie (69) from the guardianship. In it she even offers to testify should the matter go to court.
"I became involved in this conservatorship during what I will term a 'time of crisis' that began at the end of 2018 and continued into 2019," Lynne began.
She says she got involved because she didn't think the conservatorship was in Britney's best interests and still doesn’t believe so.
Lynne states that Jamie had "absolute control" over Britney's money and healthcare decisions due to the conservatorship, which was put into place when the pop star suffered a series of mental health breakdowns 13 years ago.
In the testimony Lynne claims the relationship between the once close father and daughter has turned sour.
Britney's feelings toward her father have "dwindled to nothing but fear and hatred" of him because of his "complete control" over her, Lynne writes.
She gives insight into "his mistrust of her, his coercion of her, his bartering with her over what she can and cannot do for whatever reward or punishment he’s willing to mete out, his constant threats, and his decision-making over all aspects of her life."
Elsewhere in the court filing, Lynne noted that Jamie had members of Britney’s staff “report back to him each and every detail of every action that takes place” in her life, and “such scrutiny is exhausting and terrifying, like living in custody.”
Lynne also raised questions about Britney’s health care, saying Jamie hired a doctor who forced her to enter a medical facility against her wishes.
“[Jamie is] incapable of putting my daughter’s interests ahead of his own on both a professional and a personal level,” the mom of three further claims.
She says one major event that solidified the breakdown in Jamie and Britney’s relationship was an alleged "physical altercation between Mr Spears and the conservatee’s minor children".
Lynne states this was "appalling and inexcusable" and that it "destroyed whatever was left of a relationship between them".
The alleged incident occurred in August 2019 and resulted in Britney's sons, Sean (15) and Jayden (14), being granted a temporary restraining order. It seems the boys have yet to make amends with their grandfather.
Early last year Jayden ripped into Jamie in a no-holds-barred rant on Instagram Live.
When a fan asked the teen, “Is your grandpa a jerk?,” Jayden responded, “Yeah, he’s a pretty big d*ck. He’s pretty f*cking gay as sh*t. He can go die.”
A hearing to determine if Jamie will be removed as Britney’s conservator will take place on 29 September.
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, nytimes.com, vulture.com, pagesix.com, tmz.com, eonline.com
