Britney Spears Reveals She’s Trying To Retire
Britney Spears is trying to end her career.
This article is more than 2 years old
Following Britney Spears’ explosive testimony to end her court-mandated conservatorship, it seems like the princess of pop wants to retire. The latest twist in the ongoing saga was revealed in a statement by her long-time manager Larry Rudolph, who is stepping down from his role.
Rudolph has been Britney Spears’ primary manager since the early years of her career. Except for a period between 2007 and 2008, he has been at the singer’s side since 1995, through the Baby One More Time era, and even after the conservatorship began in 2008.
In a letter (via Deadline) sent to her co-conservators Jamie Spears and the court-appointed Jodi Montgomery, Rudolf cited Britney Spears’ intent to retire as his reason for leaving.
“It has been over 2 1/2 years since Britney and I last communicated, at which time she informed me she wanted to take an indefinite work hiatus. Earlier today, I became aware that Britney had been voicing her intention to officially retire. As her manager, I believe it is in Britney’s best interest for me to resign from her team as my professional services are no longer needed.”
The news comes days after co-conservator Bessemer Trust removed themselves from assisting and overseeing the performer’s career and multimillion-dollar fortune. The 13-year long conservatorship came under intense public scrutiny following Britney Spears’ hearing on June 23rd in which she told the court that it is her “wish and dream for all of this [the conservatorship] to end.”
Britney Spears has also indicated online and elsewhere that she may never return to the stage. Most recently, a probing New Yorker piece by Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino detailed the extremes the conservatorship has gone to over the years and leaned into Spears’ displeasure over the machine her career has become.
The star’s harrowing conservatorship ordeal became public knowledge thanks to the FX/Hulu documentary Framing Britney Spears which aired on 5 February 2021. Released as an edition of The New York Times Presents series, the film chronicled Britney Spears’s rise to fame, her treatment by the paparazzi, her highly publicized 2007 breakdown, and the conservatorship that she has been living under since 2008. It also focused on the #FreeBritney Movement.
Why Do Fans Want To #FreeBritney?
The California Courts state that a conservatorship refers to instances when a judge appoints an individual or organization to care for another adult who is deemed unfit to care for themselves or manage their finances. Due to her seemingly erratic behavior and very public breakdown in 2008, Britney Spears was put under a “5150 hold” in a psychiatric hospital for a mental health evaluation.
At the time, she was released into her father’s care after Jamie petitioned courts for an emergency “temporary” conservatorship. His reason for filing the petition was due to his daughter being (seemingly) unable to care for herself and manage her mental health issues. Jamie was then given the legal right to oversee and make decisions regarding Britney’s finances, health, business deals, and personal life which he managed until 2019.
But during the years of Britney Spears’ conservatorship, she has repeatedly toured the world, released multiple albums, and worked on a variety of television shows. This has led fans to wonder why someone capable of so much is still having her basic rights infringed upon. The singer’s supporters have also protested on her behalf, demanding an end to the conservatorship.
Although Britney Spears indicated that she wanted to end the conservatorship, and perhaps replace her court-appointed attorney, neither the singer nor her team has filed paperwork to terminate it – a move that is within her legal rights in California. The next hearing is scheduled for has July 14, 2021.
