Britney Spears ‘Welcomes’ #FreeBritney Movement, Asks For Conservatorship Case To Be Unsealed

There’s been a fair amount of doubters who have spoken out against the #FreeBritney movement, with Britney Spears’ own father describing people who back the movement as “conspiracy theorists.” However, Britney’s recent court filing has proven that it’s not just a group of stans reading too much into nothing. There’s actually something serious going on here, and she’s taking actual steps to make sure people know exactly what’s going on.

In a Wednesday filing in Los Angeles Superior Court, the singer released a statement via her court-appointed attorney, who filed a motion opposing her dad’s request to keep the conservatorship case sealed, meaning she wants the public to be in on it.

“Far from being a conspiracy theory or a ‘joke’ as James reportedly told the media, in large part this scrutiny is a reasonable and even predictable result of James’ aggressive use of the sealing procedure over the years to minimise the amount of meaningful information made available to the public,” wrote Brit’s attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III.

The motion asked the court to open up Spears’ conservatorship case to the public eye after being sealed at her father’s demand for years. Jamie Spears has argued that the family’s business should remain private.

“The public has a legitimate interest in understanding how its court system operates,” Ingham wrote, citing the California Constitution.

Ingham argued that Spears’ father’s strategy might have made sense years ago, when the pop musician was trying to restart her career, but it sure as shit does not make sense now.

“At this point in her life when she is trying to regain some measure of personal autonomy, Britney welcomes and appreciates the informed support of her many fans,” her attorney said. “Although the sealing motion is supposedly for her ‘protection,’ Britney herself is vehemently opposed to this effort by her father to keep her legal struggle hidden away in the closet as a family secret.”

The #FreeBritney movement has been fuelled by the few publicly available developments in the case, and supporters have protested outside the courthouse during hearings. The campaign has called for an investigation of the conservatorship, which was put into place back in 2008.

The campaign’s Change.org petition has amassed more than 107,500 signatures in the past year and garnered celebrity support, including from Miley Cyrus, Ariel Winter, Ruby Rose and Paris Hilton as well as the American Civil Liberties Union.

Some organisers want to see the abolition of the arrangement altogether, alleging abuse or theft that James Spears has denied, while other fans have been looking for coded messages in Spears’ recent Instagram posts.

However, in a filing earlier this week, Spears’ attorney said the conservatorship is “voluntary.” He added that Spears is “strongly opposed” to her father remaining the sole conservator of her person and estate and requested that a corporate fiduciary, Bessemer Trust Co., be appointed to manage her estate.

Head here for a TL;DR version of the #FreeBritney movement.

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV