Amy Pugsley 
American superstar Britney Spears is almost 40 years old but has been living under a conservatorship for the past thirteen years, to put that in perspective that is almost as long as the Kardashian family has been in the public eye. Amidst the release of a documentary earlier this year discussing at length her legal conservatorship, fans of the pop star have been rallying around her under the #freebritney hashtag. Yesterday, she addressed a Los Angeles court calling for an end to the legal restraints that have stripped her from her rights since 2008. Addressing Judge Brenda Penny; Spears spoke out against the arrangement for over twenty minutes sharing harrowing details about her daily life. Below are some of the most painful quotes from the transcript.
โMaking anyone work against their will, taking all their possessions away โ credit card, cash, phone, passport โ and placing them in a home where they work with the people who live with them. They all lived in the house with me, the nurses, the 24-7 security. There was one chef that came there and cooked for me daily during the weekdays. They watched me change every day โ naked โ morning, noon and night.”
โAnd thatโs why Iโm telling you this again two years later, after Iโve lied and told the whole world โIโm OK and Iโm happy.โ Itโs a lie. I thought I just maybe if I said that enough maybe I might become happy, because Iโve been in denial. Iโve been in shock. I am traumatized. You know, fake it till you make it. But now Iโm telling you the truth, OK? Iโm not happy. I canโt sleep. Iโm so angry itโs insane. And Iโm depressed. I cry every day.โ
โI donโt owe these people anything โ especially me, the one that has roofed and fed tons of people on tour on the road. Itโs embarrassing and demoralizing what Iโve been through. And thatโs the main reason Iโve never said it openly. And mainly, I didnโt want to say it openly, because I honestly donโt think anyone would believe me.โ
โI shouldnโt be in a conservatorship if I can work and provide money and work for myself and pay other people โ it makes no sense. The laws need to change. What state allows people to own another personโs money and account and threaten them and saying, โYou canโt spend your money unless you do what we want you to do.โ And Iโm paying them.โ
โThe control he had over someone as powerful as me โ he loved the control to hurt his own daughter 100,000%. He loved it.โ
โMaโam, my dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship and my management who played a huge role in punishing me when I said no โ maโam, they should be in jail.โ
“I would like to progressively move forward and I want to have the real deal, I want to be able to get married and have a baby. I was told right now in the conservatorship, Iโm not able to get married or have a baby, I have an (IUD) inside of myself right now so I donโt get pregnant. I wanted to take the (IUD) out so I could start trying to have another baby.”
โ I also would like to be able to share my story with the world, and what they did to me, instead of it being a hush-hush secret to benefit all of them. I want to be able to be heard on what they did to me by making me keep this in for so long, it is not good for my heart.โ
