Attorney for Britney Spears’ father calls suspension ‘a loss for Britney’
Jamie Spears, father of Britney Spears, is not pleased with a Los Angeles court’s decision Wednesday to suspend him as conservator of his daughter’s estate, which he had controlled for 13 years.
On Thursday, an attorney for Jamie Spears denounced the suspension and insisted that her client “loves his daughter Britney unconditionally” after L.A. Judge Brenda J. Penny replaced him with another fiduciary, interim conservator.
A newly appointed attorney for Britney Spears, however, celebrated the outcome of Wednesday’s hearing, promising that Jamie Spears “and others” involved in the conservatorship would face “even more serious ramifications” for their alleged misconduct.
Jamie Spears, father of Britney Spears, was suspended as conservator of the pop star’s estate Wednesday during a landmark hearing in Los Angeles.
“For 13 years, [Jamie Spears] has tried to do what is in [Britney Spears’] best interests, whether as a conservator or her father,” Vivian Thoreen, attorney for Jamie Spears, said in a statement.
“Respectfully, the court was wrong to suspend Mr. Spears, put a stranger in his place to manage Britney’s estate, and extend the very conservatorship that Britney begged the court to terminate earlier this summer.”
During Wednesday’s landmark hearing, Thoreen urged the court to wholly terminate the conservatorship, which has significantly restricted the “... Baby One More Time” hitmaker’s personal, medical and financial autonomy for more than a decade.
A Los Angeles judge on Wednesday ordered the suspension of Jamie Spears, father of Britney Spears, as conservator of the international pop star’s estate. Here’s what comes next.
Mathew Rosengart, attorney for Britney Spears, accused the singer‘s father of scheming to skip the suspension phase in an effort to evade accountability for his allegedly “abusive” and “cruel” behavior under the conservatorship.
“I said at the outset that my firm and I were going to take a top-to-bottom look at what Jamie Spears and his representatives have done here ... to get justice for Britney,” Rosengart said while addressing a jubilant crowd of #FreeBritney demonstrators Wednesday outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.
“The goal today was to suspend Jamie Spears. That’s what today was about. ... We expect the ultimate termination will be ... this fall — specifically by Nov. 12, which is the next hearing date.”
Outside a downtown Los Angeles courthouse Wednesday, demonstrators donned pink-accented “Free Britney” T-shirts and held signs calling for investigations of the singer’s management and security personnel, who have come under immense scrutiny following the buzzy release of FX/Hulu’s “Controlling Britney Spears” documentary.
After delivering the verdict, Penny ordered Jamie Spears to immediately surrender all assets to his temporary successor, John Zabel, a certified public accountant handpicked by Britney Spears’ team.
Appearing via video, Thoreen “vehemently” opposed the court’s ruling — a move Rosengart called “disrespectful.” On Thursday, Thoreen credited her client with helping the Grammy winner “revive her career and reestablish a relationship with her children.”
“These facts make the outcome of yesterday’s hearing all the more disappointing, and frankly, a loss for Britney,” she continued in her statement.
From Cher to Amanda Knox, celebrities and fans applauded today’s ruling that Jamie Spears could no longer serve as Britney’s conservator.
“Despite the suspension, Mr. Spears will continue to look out for the best interests of his daughter and work in good faith towards a positive resolution of all matters,” Thoreen added.
In the courtroom, Rosengart challenged the motivation behind Jamie Spears “180-degree” attempt to rush the termination of the conservatorship and avoid suspension.
“What are they afraid of?” Rosengart said. “His daughter wants him gone. ... What he’s afraid of is the revelation of his corruption.”
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