Victory for the #FreeBritney movement looks to be near – but wider questions remain about conservatorships
It will be for Judge Brenda Penny alone to decide if Britney Spears’ conservatorship does finally come to an end.
But the application filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court by the singer’s father Jamie seems to signal that the controversial arrangement is now on its last legs.
Jamie Spears has always been seen as the villain of this story to the fans who built their support for the star into a global #FreeBritney movement.
For 13 years Mr Spears, 69, has been the court-appointed decision-maker with extensive control over his daughter’s finances and private life.
Spears has been under a conservatorship agreement since 2008. Pic: AP
To Britney Spears’ fans her father Jamie has always been the villain. Pic: AP
The arrangement, usually reserved for those unable to make their own decisions, was put in place in 2008 after Spears went through a series of high-profile crises.
But unease has continued to grow among supporters who alleged she was being held against her will in that arrangement. The documentary Framing Britney Spears this year added impetus to their campaign.
They wondered, how could a performer who was grossing millions of dollars in record sales and sell-out concerts not be able to make decisions about her own life?
It was this summer, during two extraordinarily intense court hearings in Los Angeles, that the world finally heard from Spears herself as to what she thought of the conservatorship.
It was “abusive”, she said, during her first impassioned address to the court. She said she had even been kept on birth control against her will.
Mr Spears has denied all of those allegations and said he had only ever acted in his daughter’s best interest.
Last month he offered to stand down from his role as conservator even as his lawyer told the court: “The public does not know all the facts and they have no right to know.”
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For the #FreeBritney movement it was vindication and, they hoped, the beginning of the end to an arrangement that had curtailed a stellar career.
But as important, they say, is the light they have thrown on the wider questions about conservatorships and the complex and labyrinthine court processes that operate around them.
It is estimated that 1.3 million people in the US are living under conservatorship or guardianship arrangements with some $50 billion of assets tied up in them.
Not many of them can count on an army of fans to make a noise on their behalf and that is why #FreeBritney is about far more than Britney Spears alone.
Jamie Oliver has withdrawn a children’s book he wrote from sale after criticism that it stereotyped First Nation Australians.
In his book, Billy And The Epic Escape, the TV chef tells the story of a First Nations girl living in foster care in an Indigenous community who gets abducted by the novel’s villain.
But the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation (Natsiec) blasted the book for contributing to the “erasure, trivialisation, and stereotyping of First Nations peoples and experiences”.
The body’s chief executive, Sharon Davis, said the book “ignores the violent oppression of First Nations people” and that its depictions of First Nations people and cultural practices were “irresponsible and damaging, reflecting a profound lack of understanding and respect”, according to The Guardian
In a statement, Oliver, 49, said: “I am devastated to have caused offence and apologise wholeheartedly.
“It was never my intention to misinterpret this deeply painful issue. Together with my publishers we have decided to withdraw the book from sale.”
A spokesman for publisher Penguin Random House said: “It is clear that our publishing standards fell short on this occasion, and we must learn from that and take decisive action.”
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The chef published his first children’s book, Billy And The Giant Adventure, last year and said in a social media post that he had “carefully chosen the font to make sure the text is as clear as possible” as people with dyslexia, which Oliver has, can find it hard to read.
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He is also well-known for fronting several TV series including Jamie’s Easy Christmas (2022), Jamie Cooks The Mediterranean (2023) and Jamie: Fast And Simple, which began airing on Channel 4 last month.
At the start of his career, he was known as The Naked Chef, after his 1999 book and TV series of the same name.
Dua Lipa has been forced to cancel a tour date in Indonesia after “unforeseen safety and logistical issues” with the stage were found, organisers said.
The New Rules singer said she was “heartbroken” over not being able to perform at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta on Saturday evening.
“I am here in your amazing country and ready to perform, but I am gutted to share that it has been determined that it is not safe for the performance to carry on due to safety issues with the staging,” she wrote on X.
“I was so looking forward to this night, and it truly pains me that we cannot perform for you all, especially after such a long time since my last performance in Jakarta.
“I love you all and truly can’t wait to be back together in the same room with you singing and dancing our hearts out as soon as possible.”
In a joint statement on Lipa’s website, organisers TEM Presents and PK Entertainment said the cancellation was “due to unforeseen safety and logistical issues”.
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They said the team had made “diligent efforts to resolve critical production issues related to the stage structure provided by Mata Elang Productions” but it was “not safe for the performance to carry on”.
“This very difficult decision to cancel was made with the utmost care and consideration for the safety of both the audiences and artist,” it said, apologising to the fans affected.
Pic: AP
Lipa, 29, won a Brit Award for best pop act earlier this year and has achieved two number one albums with her two latest records Future Nostalgia and Radical Optimism.
There have been two notable incidents recently of artists falling through stages.
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Moment Coldplay’s Chris Martin falls through stage
Last week, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin fell into a hole in the stage while performing in Sydney, Australia.
Olivia Rodrigo also fell last month during a gig in Melbourne, but told fans at the time: “Oh my God, that was fun. I’m OK.”
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