Britney Spears scored a major victory in court Wednesday. A judge granted her request to remove her father from her conservatorship.
Judge Brenda Penny stated that Jamie Spears’ control over his daughter’s life was “toxic,” it was in the pop star’s “best interest” he was removed. Spears’ father has overseen her conservatorship, which includes almost all aspects of her life and finances, for the last 13 years.
“Suspension is in the best interests of Britney Spears,” the judge told a packed court. “The current situation is not tenable.”
A court-appointed temporary conservator was ordered control of Spears’ $60 million estate. The court-appointed a certified public accountant named John Zabel.
Jamie’s camp argued that Zabel was not qualified to handle the singer’s estate. His attorney also asked the court to bypass the suspension and move to begin dissolving the conservatorship.
Spears has been working for years to have her father removed from handling the conservatorship. In June, she testified that her father was abusive, including making her take birth control and drugging her.
Things have moved quickly since the singer was able to hire her own attorney back in July. Spears began working with Mathew Rosengart, who moved aggressively to suspend her father from overseeing her conservatorship.
He cited a New York Times report that alleged Jamie hired a private security company to put her under surveillance in his court filing. Those included recording discussions she had with her attorney and even bugging her bedroom.
“Mr. Spears has crossed unfathomable lines,” Rosengart said in court documents.
