TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Several House Republicans have asked House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) to hold a hearing on court-ordered conservatorships following the release of the new "Framing Britney Spears" documentary focusing on the pop star's own legal arrangement.
“If the conservatorship process can rip the agency from a woman who was in the prime of her life and one of the most powerful pop stars in the world, imagine what it can do to people who are less powerful and have less of a voice. I’ve heard the story of those people in Florida, and I am concerned about access to due process forwards,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz, (R-Fla.).
“In recent years, there has been growing public concern about the use of conservatorships to effectively deprive individuals of personal freedoms at the behest of others through the manipulation of the courts,” the letter continues.
The letter specifically calls out Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, who is her co-conservator.
Through court appearances and legal letters from the star’s court-appointed attorney, Spears has noted that she is “afraid” of her father and refuses to perform again until her father is no longer in charge of her career.
“The facts and circumstancing giving rise to this arrangement remain in dispute but involve questionable motives and legal tactics by her father and now-conservator, Jamie Spears,” the letter says, later stating that despite the musician’s “pleas,” her father remains a conservator of her estate.
In the letter, Gaetz writes, “Ms. Spears is not alone…Given the constitutional freedoms at stake and opaqueness of these arrangements, it is incumbent upon our Committee to convene a hearing to examine whether Americans are trapped unjustly in conservatorships.”
Spears’ conservatorship has been the subject of controversy ever since 2008 when the star was placed into the court-ordered arrangement.
The full letter from Gaetz and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH is available by clicking here.
