Larry Rudolph, the longtime manager of legend Britney Spears, has clarified his comments after various news outlets quoted him as saying that the singer might never perform again.
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The former entertainment lawyer told Billboard that while it may’ve seemed like he was “implying that Britney will never work again,” that wasn’t his intention. “I simply said that the Vegas residency is now officially off and that she hasn’t called me in months to talk about doing anything so I’m not sure if or when she will ever want to work again. It’s that simple.”
Rudolph previously told TMZ that based on her recent struggles, Spears has been forced to suspend all performances indefinitely.
“As the person who guides her career — based on the information I and all of the professionals who work with her are being told on a need-to-know basis — from what I have gathered it’s clear to me she should not be going back to do this Vegas residency, not in the near future and possibly never again,” he told the publication.
Rudolph has managed Spears for most of her career, going back to her first album, Baby… One More Time, in 1999.
“I’ve been with her for two-thirds of her life,” he told Variety. “I look at her almost like I look at my own daughter. It’s very emotional for me … and really rough. Personally, I want for her to just find a peaceful, happy place — whatever that means for her. It’s not about a career anymore — it’s about life.”
Spears performs onstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas
Britney is scheduled to undergo psychological evaluation after postponing her Las Vegas residency in the wake of her father’s recent treatment for a ruptured colon.
Rudolph says that though Spears had rehearsed the show which was due to launch on February 13, the Vegas shows have officially been cancelled.
The decision was made “not to move forward with the Vegas residency,” he explained.
“She’s taking time to regroup and get her head together,” says Rudolph. “She’s putting herself ahead of everyone else, and I’m proud of her for that. If she never works again, she never works again. My role is to handle her career when she wants a career. If she comes back strong and full of desire and passion and wants to do it, great. If she takes off six months or six years, it’s totally fine. To me, it’s about her finding her happy place.”
Spears’ father has been her co-conservator since 2008 when she suffered a very public breakdown. He became sole conservator this year after attorney Andrew Wallet resigned in March.
Jamie Spears reportedly has not been recovering well and after postponing her residency, Britney later checked herself into a health facility for a month-long stay, suffering from stress due to his illness.
