In January of 2008, Britney Spears was put on an involuntary psychiatric hold and was released after a few days under the condition that she enter a conservatorship run by her Father. He was worried that she was about to become a member of the 27 Club.
There are no Britney Spears songs in my musical library. I hold a special disdain for her brand of pop music, it is the female version of the pop of the Backstreet Boys or NSYNC. Mariyln Manson put the old tabloid fodder of the Spears/Timberlake Relationship into song here:
But I am aware of Spears due to her persona and the saturation of her music in American Pop Culture. I have never had a shred of interest in writing about her....
Until today.
Britney Spears is going to be 40. It is absolutely ABSURD that is she is still under that conservatorship. What should have happened is that her Father should have helped her sort out her business affairs and placed her back on her feet. That conservatorship should have been for a year, max, or at least until Britney was able to work again. Instead, Jamie Spears put his daughter to work immediately and then started cashing checks.
According to the New York Post:
"Britney pays (her Father) $16,000 a month, is forced to pay for his attorneys — who have argued for years against her stated wishes, namely to be free — plus the cuts he gets from Britney’s tours and Vegas show."
What Jamie Spears has done is unconscionable. Also from the New York Post:
"(Britney) Spears was pulling in millions from her residency, but was allowed only $2,000 a week."
On top of the monetary aspect, he still controls her personal life including her birth control and personal relationships. At 40, Britney should be allowed to fuck who she wants.
When she wants.
How she wants.
If she is mentally capable to work, she is mentally capable to make her own decisions, good, bad, or indifferent. I mean, that's the threshold of society right?
Let me share with you 2 quick stories:
When I was in High School, I had a friend, Mike R. One day a group of us stopped by his house after school. Mike's Mom had just arrived home after work and starting yelling at Mike's Dad. Once inside the entryway, there were toy trains everywhere. Across tables, in the living room, holes drilled through the walls with trains running through them. Mike's Dad came in from another room wearing a conductor's hat, t-shirt and shorts. Mike's Mom wanted to know why the trash wasn't taken out, Mike's Dad talked about all the new track he laid that day. As the fight escalated, Mike dragged us out by our arms. "Yeah, my Dad's crazy and hasn't left the house in a year. I think my Mom's finally had enough of him." Britney Spears is not Mike's Dad.
Syd Barrett was one of the founding members of the seminal rock band Pink Floyd. By 1968, Barrett's erratic behavior was intolerable and he was kicked out of the band. Barrett released 2 solo albums, then around 1972, he quietly withdrew from public life. What did Barrett do between 1972 and his death in 2006? Different accounts had him painting and gardening. Barrett lived off of early Pink Floyd royalties and his Mother's kindness for over 35 years. Some debated whether Barrett was an Acid Casualty or a Schizophrenic, it doesn't matter, Britney Spears is not Syd Barrett.
Unless Spears has early onset dementia (she doesn't), or had a traumatic brain injury, (she didn't), there is zero reason for her to still be on a conservatorship 13 years after a mental health crisis. Zero. Especially considering she's been working the whole time.
Jamie may argue that under his leadership, Britney has had many successful musical releases, tours, and even a Las Vegas Residency. But there is a huge difference between being her manager and running a conservatorship. Excuse my French, but Britney's not retarded.
Jamie Spears has made, AT THE VERY MINIMUM, $2 million by riding the Gravy Train. [If Jamie Spears was taking a manager's cut out of all of his daughter's earnings, on top of the money set aside for running the conservatorship, I could argue that between all his daughter's endeavors, he pulled down $40 million in 13 years.]
I.
Am.
Flummoxed.
It doesn't matter whether I am a fan of Britney's or not, what has happened to her is an egregious abuse of the American Legal System. Even former defenders of Jamie Spears have had an about face and (I'm not exaggerating here) called for his death.
Again, no matter what image of Britney is etched in your mind, she is not 15. She is 40.
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