Britney Spears' father Jamie would 'love' to see pop star 'not need a conservatorship,' his lawyer says

Britney Spears' father isn't opposed to his pop star daughter's conservatorship coming to an end, according to Jamie Spears' lawyer.

"(Jamie) would love nothing more than to see Britney not need a conservatorship," Vivian Thoreen told CNN on Friday. "Whether or not there is an end to the conservatorship really depends on Britney. If she wants to end her conservatorship, she can file a petition to end it."

Public interest in the pop star's battle to remove her father as a conservator of her estate began after the hashtag #FreeBritney gained traction on social media and later grew following the release of The New York Times' documentary "Framing Britney Spears," which highlighted the rise of Spears' career, discord over the conservatorship and the singer's mental health challenges.

Thoreen told CNN the court evaluates the need for a conservatorship every year and after doing so they continue to keep the order in place.

"Jamie is not suggesting that he is the perfect dad or that he would receive any 'Father of the Year' award. Like any parent, he doesn't always see eye-to-eye on what Britney may want. But Jamie believes every single decision he has made has been in her best interest," Jamie Spears' lawyer said.

On Thursday, Thoreen said fans pushing for the pop singer to be freed from her father's conservatorship "have it so wrong."

"I understand every that story needs a villain, but people have it so wrong here," Jamie Spears' lawyer Vivian Thoreen told ABC News.

Thoreen claims that before Jamie Spears stepped in as conservator of his daughter's estate, people were "harming" and "exploiting" the singer and her father becoming her conservator in 2008 "saved Britney's life."

"Britney's assets were clearly being mismanaged and she was being taken advantage of financially by those around her," Thoreen said.

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USA TODAY has reached out to Britney Spears' lawyer on Thoreen's latest claims.

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A year after the "Baby One More Time" singer suffered a widely publicized mental breakdown, a judge tasked her father with looking after her finances and life decisions. This conservatorship has lasted since the beginning of 2008, lacking independent control over her personal life and her fortune, now estimated at more than $60 million.

She continued to perform as a pop superstar post-conservatorship, with a string of platinum-selling records, a gig as an "X Factor" judge and a reigning queen of Las Vegas residencies.

Jamie Spears temporarily stepped aside as sole conservator in 2019, but still handled her finances while a professional conservator handled her person. The singer hasn't performed since she postponed her latest Las Vegas residency show, "Domination," in January 2019 after her father became ill with a ruptured colon.

'The whole world is watching': Britney Spears battles father to open up conservatorship case

Britney Spears' lawyer Samuel Ingham told a judge in a 2020 court hearing that the singer did not want her father to remain as her guardian, that she feared him and that she would refuse to perform again if he continued to be in control. When asked about Ingham's statement, Thoreen said Britney Spears never expressed those feelings to her father.

"Throughout 2020, Britney and her father had many conversations," Thoreen said. "In that time Britney never expressed those words to her father, she's never asked him to step aside."

A court ruling established Bessemer Trust Co. to as an equal co-conservator to Jamie Spears in 2019. Jamie Spears objected to the arrangement with Bessemer, arguing that it reduced the power he's held for years in the case. Los Angeles Superior Court overruled Jamie Spears' objections in February, one week after the "Framing Britney Spears" documentary was released.

On Friday, Thoreen told CNN that her client "never contested or objected to Bessemer being appointed as his co-conservator."

She said reports that Jamie Spears was trying to get more power than Bessemer were "inaccurate."

"What we were arguing is that Jamie and his co-conservator should have equal power, that was always consistent," Thoreen said.

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Contributing: Maria Puente and Devon Link, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Britney Spears conservatorship: Jamie Spears 'saved' her, lawyer says