Britney Spears ‘was forced into mental health facility’ as ‘punishment’, shock court files claim
Britney Spears announcing her second Las Vegas residency, Domination, which was ultimately cancelled. (Getty)
Britney Spears was allegedly forced into a mental health facility as “punishment” for standing up for herself amid her ongoing conservatorship, according to leaked court documents.
The pop icon reportedly claimed that an April 2019 stint in a mental health facility was forced upon her against her will.
According to documents seen by the New York Times, Britney Spears appeared in court that year, where “she asserted that she had been forced into a mental health facility against her will on exaggerated grounds, which she viewed as punishment for standing up for herself and making an objection during a rehearsal”.
Spears spent time in the facility after cancelling a Las Vegas residency and announcing an indefinite work hiatus that continues today.
At the time, she cited her father’s own health issues, after he suffered a life-threatening colon rupture that she said had taken a toll on her own wellbeing.
The star is due to appear in court on Wednesday (23 June) to discuss her conservatorship, the legal arrangement that has seen her father Jamie Spears control her life and business interests for the majority of the past 13 years.
According to the Times, Spears has been fighting the conservatorship since at least 2014.
“She articulated she feels the conservatorship has become an oppressive and controlling tool against her,” the outlet reported a court investigator writing.
She has previously asked for her father to be removed from the arrangement. A judge denied this request but agreed to install a professional co-conservator.
Britney Spears’ father is ‘obsessed’ with her
Via her lawyer, Britney Spears has previously said she is afraid of her father.
The investigator’s report seen by the Times reportedly quotes Spears as saying her father was “obsessed” with controlling her. It’s alleged he would not allow her to make friends without his approval, and would even tell her she wasn’t allowed to re-stain her kitchen cabinets because she was spending too much money.
Her Las Vegas residency, Piece of Me, grossed a reported $137 million over four years.
Jamie Spears’ representatives declined to comment to the Times.
Via his lawyers, he has previously denied controlling her daughter and insisted she is free to exit the conservatorship.
Attorney Vivian L Thoreen told People in March: “Any time Britney wants to end her conservatorship, she can ask her lawyer to file a petition to terminate it; she has always had this right, but in 13 years has never exercised it.
“Britney knows that her daddy loves her, and that he will be there for her whenever and if she needs him, just as he always has been — conservatorship or not.”
Britney Spears’ lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
