Britney Spears shared – and then deleted – a 22-minute voice note revealing new allegations about her 13-year conservatorship, which governed almost every aspect of her life. “They threw me away – that’s what I felt like, my family threw me away,” she said.
Spears claimed that the action that prompted the arrangement was simply speaking “in a British accent to a doctor to prescribe my medication … three days later there was a Swat team in my home, three helicopters”.
Spears was placed involuntarily under conservatorship on 1 February 2008 by her father, Jamie Spears, and lawyer Andrew M Wallet after showing erratic behavior in public for several months.
She described the “extent of my madness” as “playing chase with paparazzi, which is still to this day one of the most fun things I did about being famous, so I don’t know what was so harmful about that”.
She claimed that the arrangement was “all premeditated,” and claimed that “a woman introduced the idea to my dad and my mom actually helped him follow through and made it all happen,” apparently referring to Lou M Taylor, Spears’ former business manager and the figure believed to have introduced Jamie Spears to the idea of the conservatorship. Taylor has denied having any involvement in its growth.
“There were no drugs in my system, no alcohol, nothing. It was pure abuse and I haven’t even really shared even half of it,” said Spears.
In response to the tape, Spears’ mother, Lynne Spears, posted a photograph of the pair on Instagram with a lengthy caption insisting that she had tried to help her daughter.
“Britney, your whole life I have tried my best to support your dreams and wishes! And also, I have tried my best to help you out of hardships!
I have never and will never turn my back on you! Your rejections to the countless times I have flown out and calls make me feel hopeless! I have tried everything. I love you so much, but this talk is for you and me only, eye-to-eye, in private.”
Spears stated that she was immediately put to work after being hospitalized for two weeks while “completely traumatized out of my mind,” filming a TV show and starting work on her 2008 album Circus.
“All I remember is that I had to do what I was told. I was told I was fat every day, I had to go to the gym … I never remember feeling so demoralized… they made me feel like nothing and I went along with it because I was scared.”
