(Madison Square Garden, NYC)
Britney Spears gave an emotional speech in a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday sharing the details of her 13-year conservatorship.
The virtual address was nearly 30 minutes in length where the singer spoke out against her father Jamie Spears and her management team. She asked Judge Brenda Penny to end the conservatorship that has controlled her finances and affairs since 2008.
The pop star shared that it has been too long since she’s been in control of her own life and shared that she would like to sue her family to gain autonomy back in her life. “I just want my life back,” Spears said in her address to the court. “It’s been 13 years and it’s enough. I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive.”
“I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m OK and I’m happy,” she began. “I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m depressed. I cry every day.”
Britney revealed that she spoke because she wanted the ability to share her story personally instead of having the conditions of her conservatorship and her relationship with her family be such a “hush hush secret.”
“It’s not fair that they’re telling lies about me openly,” she said. “They do interviews to anyone they want on news stations — my own family doing interviews — and talking about the situation, and making me feel so stupid, and I can’t say one thing.”
Britney’s conservatorship was put in place in 2008 after she suffered a mental health crisis. Britney’s emotional address in court marked the first time she has spoken publicly in court about the conservatorship with a full courtroom and open transcripts.