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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bradley U chapter.

Since 2008, the beloved pop singer Britney Spears has been under a court-sanctioned conservatorship leading to the #FreeBritney movement and the release of the New York Times’ Britney Spears documentary, “Framing Britney Spears.”

In 2007, Britney Spears had a mental breakdown that was put all over the news and was received with little sympathy. According to an ABC article written in 2007, Psychoanalyst Bethany Marshall claimed Spears was acting, “like a three-year-old having a tantrum.” Many criticized Britney for shaving her head and acting sporadically even though she was going through a separation, a battle for her kids and mental illness.

Shortly after Spears’s public breakdown, her father petitioned the courts for a temporary emergency conservatorship over her estate and well-being. This conservatorship gave him authority over her finances and other important matters, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

A conservatorship occurs when a court appoints a person to handle an incapacitated or minor’s financial and personal affairs. According to LawHelp.org, a person is deemed incapacitated when they are, “unable to understand the facts about their financial, healthcare or living situation well enough to make decisions on the matter or if they are unable to clearly communicate their wishes about any or all of those matters.” The court made the decision that Spears was incapacitated and allowed her father to be her conservator. 

What was supposed to be a temporary emergency conservatorship has turned into a 13-year conservatorship with seemingly no end.

Fans have claimed that Spears has been posting cryptic messages on social media hinting at her desire for freedom from her conservatorship. Britney has also made it clear in court that she does not want her father to be her conservator, but the courts haven’t accepted her request for a new conservator. 

Thus, the #FreeBritney movement and the “Framing Britney Spears” documentary arose. The New York Time’s “Framing Britney Spears” documentary delves deeper into the conservatorship and #FreeBritney movement. If you wish to learn more about it, I highly recommend you watch. The documentary is available on Hulu with a premium subscription. 

Bradley University Public Relations/Advertising and Spanish major graduating in May 2022. In the free time I have, I love reading, writing, and drinking a good cup of coffee.
Allison is the Campus Correspondent and the Founder of the Bradley University chapter of Her Campus. She is a senior at Bradley majoring in Journalism and Social Media Marketing with a minor in Management & Leadership. In her free time she enjoys baking, hiking, or curling up on the couch with her cats.