Britney Spears' father defends conservatorship in first interview after court battle
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Britney Spears' father, Jamie Spears, spoke out publicly for the first time in a decade and defended his role during her conservatorship.
In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, the Spears patriarch, 70, said he doesn't know if his daughter would be alive without the legal arrangement, which came to an end in November 2021 after 13 years. "Not everybody's going to agree with me," Jamie Spears said. "It's been one hell of a time. But I love my daughter with all my heart and soul. Where would Britney be right now without that conservatorship? And I don't know if she'd be alive. I don't."
"For protecting her, and also protecting the kids, conservatorship was a great tool," he said. "Without it, I don't think she would have got the kids back."
Steve Granitz/WireImage; Nick Ut/AP/Shutterstock Britney Spears and her father, Jamie Spears
Britney Spears shares two sons, Sean Preston, 17, and Jayden James, 16, with ex-husband Kevin Federline. Jamie Spears said he was no longer estranged from Federline, who previously accused him of physically abusing Sean Preston in 2019. "I miss my two boys really, really bad," Jamie Spears said. "I do. You know, we were very, very close. They were around that age where you could start having a good time with them."
"But they were developing a mind of their own," he said. "God makes things happen for a reason. I don't know what that reason is but it's been a tough three years without them. The family's a mess. All we can do is keep praying."
The Spears patriarch also claimed that the conservatorship — put in place in 2008 after the singer's highly-publicized breakdown at a hair salon — helped rebuild his daughter's finances because "she was broke" and "had no money whatsoever." He said, "My understanding of a conservatorship is to help someone regain their life and return back to society, and to be able to live normally. I want to say that I made a difference. There were a few people behind me that really helped bring it to a point where we could help her."
Steve Granitz/WireImage Britney Spears
Much of Britney Spears' fans and advocates of the #FreeBritney movement disagreed. In January 2019, the pop star canceled her second planned Vegas residency and entered a psychiatric facility, which prompted fans to believe that her father had admitted her against her will. The #FreeBritney campaign maintained that the "Baby One More Time" singer was being manipulated and controlled under the arrangement, similar to claims that Britney Spears ultimately testified about in court during her legal battle last year.
"All I can say is that most people don't have a clue what the truth is," Jamie Spears said. "Her lawyer doesn't have a clue what the truth is. The media has not heard the truth. They've heard the allegations from Britney."
Reps for the pop star didn't immediately respond to EW's request for comment Sunday.
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