In recent weeks, Jamie Lynn Spears has broken her silence regarding her sister’s, singer Britney Spears’, conservatorship. A conservatorship is defined as, “legal status to which a court appoints a person to manage the financial and personal affairs of a minor or incapacitated person”. Britney Spears was under a strict and abusive conservatorship managed by her father since 2008, which recently came to an end in 2021. She was placed under this conservatorship after making questionable decisions, possibly caused by the amount of pressure the young pop star has been under since the age of 11 years old, where she starred in, “The All New Mickey Mouse Club” with other young stars like Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling. She then became a pop sensation at the age of 15, with her hits “…Baby One More Time” and “Oops… I Did it Again”. She became the most famous teenager in the world and her life became constantly exposed to the public. With constant stress and pressure, Britney began to suffer mentally with her stardom. She went through a divorce, shaved her head, and had several run-ins with the law from 2007 to 2008. As a form of precaution, a conservatorship was established. This conservatorship wasn’t intended to be permanent but her father abused his power and had the conservatorship last for 13 years. In 2020, Britney’s fan base began the “Free Britney” Movement, advocating for Britney and her deserved freedom. On November 12, 2021, Britney’s conservatorship was terminated.
Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney’s younger sister, made her debut on Nickelodeon’s hit show, “Zoey 101”. The show aired from 2005 to 2008, with the ending of the show ultimately being caused by Jamie Lynn Spears’ teen pregnancy. Since the termination of the conservatorship, Jamie Lynn has written a book called, Things I Should Have Said, and has taken this time to finally speak out regarding her sister’s conservatorship after remaining silent for 13 years. She first appeared on “Good Morning America” on January 18th to “promote” her new book. However, in reality she used this interview to clear her name. She followed this interview up with a feature on Alexandra Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, further sharing her side of the story. In these interviews, Jamie Lynn did reveal the abuse her and her siblings faced from her parents, specifically their father who suffered from a severe drinking problem. I do feel for Jamie Lynn for having to experience a traumatic childhood caused by her parent’s negligence and maltreatment. However, that is the only thing I feel bad for her about. Jamie then began to share that her pregnancy distracted her from knowing the truth about Britney’s conservatorship and that she legally couldn’t do anything to stop it. In my opinion, this was her sob story to the public to clear her name. If she was distracted from being pregnant, that only makes her distracted for 9 months, not 13 years. Furthermore, if she couldn’t do anything legally, she could have spoken up for Britney and advocated for her, which she failed to do. If she started the “Free Britney” movement sooner, Britney could have had the freedom she deserved when she deserved it. Jamie Lynn acted like her hands were tied, meanwhile it was Britney’s hands who were tied.
“I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized… I just want my life back.”– Britney Spears
https://variety.com/2021/music/news/britney-spears-full-statement-conservatorship-1235003940/
With the conservatorship controlling Britney’s salary and income, her parents and legal team had complete control of the money she was making. I truly believe this was the real reason that the Spears family kept the conservatorship, as they were pocketing Britney’s well deserved money, including Jamie Lynn. Other aspects of her life that they controlled were her social media accounts, her tours and music, whether or not she could get married, and even her visitation rights with her 2 sons. The conservatorship may have had good intentions in 2008, when Britney had severe mental health issues. However, the entire Spears family and legal team manipulated their power into completely controlling Britney’s life for 13 years. Jamie Lynn Spears is not the true victim, Britney is. Jamie Lynn turned a blind eye to what was going on and now that she is being exposed for it, she wants us to feel bad for her. Talk shows and podcasts should be interviewing Britney, as she is the one who experienced the years of sadness and pain. Jamie Lynn Spears is a villain in this story.