Just one week after Britney Spears' shocking testimony about her "abusive" conservatorship — which is in part managed by her father, Jamie — a judge has denied the pop star's request to have her dad removed.
Here, we break down what this means for Britney and her case going forward.
Why did a judge refuse to remove Britney Spear's dad from her conservatorship?
According to court documents, the judge who refused Britney's request has not yet issued any reasoning — though it likely comes down to the fact that the process of ending conservatorship is long and complicated.
Legal experts told the Guardian that Britney could remain in the conservatorship for months and years, and it would require an investigation and several court hearings. Scott Rahn, an LA-based lawyer and expert on conservatorship said that he expects a "long, involved process" that could take years.
Court documents filed by Britney's attorney, Samuel Ingham III, on Wednesday, read: "The conservatee’s request to suspend James P. Spears immediately upon the appointment of Bessemer Trust Company of California as sole conservator of estate is denied without prejudice."
Although the decision was filed a week after the pop star explosively called for an end to the "abusive" arrangement, it is not a direct response to her recent criticism of the conservatorship. In fact, Wednesday's court filings were mainly intended for the judge to approve Bessemer Trust as the sole conservator of her estate, thus removing Jamie.
The 39-year-old's father and Bessemer Trust have control over her estate, while professional conservator Jodi Montgomery has control over her person, per USA Today, who obtained the documents.
What allegations did Britney make in court against her father?
In her 24-minute testimony, the Circus singer said that Jamie was "all for" how she's been treated.
She claimed that she was put on lithium, and made to live with six nurses in her home, who wouldn't let her leave for a month — something that her father reportedly supported.
Britney alleged: "Lithium is a very, very strong and completely different medication compared to what I was used to. You can go mentally impaired if you take too much, if you stay on it longer than five months. But he put me on that and I felt drunk. I really couldn't even take up for myself. I couldn't even have a conversation with my mom or dad really about anything.
"Not only did my family not do a goddamn thing, my dad was all for it. Anything that happened to me had to be approved by my dad...He was the one who approved all of it. My whole family did nothing."
The mother-of-two also expressed her desire to get married and have a child with her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, which she reportedly cannot do under the conservatorship that is in part managed by Jamie.
"I want to be able to get married and have a baby," she said. "I was told right now in the conservatorship, I'm not able to get married or have a baby, I have an [IUD] inside of myself right now so I don't get pregnant. I wanted to take the [IUD] out so I could start trying to have another baby. But this so-called team won't let me go to the doctor to take it out because they don't want me to have children — any more children."
What has Britney said about her relationship with her father?
The relationship between Britney and Jamie appears to be in tatters.
During her testimony, the star claimed that her father "loved" the control that he had over her. "How come I was always threatened by my dad and anybody that participated in this conservatorship?" she asked. "I cried on the phone for an hour and he loved every minute of it. The control he had over someone as powerful as me—he loved the control to hurt his own daughter 100,000%. He loved it.
"But my precious body, who has worked for my dad for the past f*cking 13 years, trying to be so good and pretty. So perfect. When he works me so hard. When I do everything I'm told… and the state of California allowed my father — ignorant father — to take his own daughter, who only has a role with me if I work with him, they've set back the whole course and allowed him to do that to me."
In November of 2020, Britney's lawyer said that the singer was "afraid" of her dad: "My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father. She also stated that she will not perform as long as her father is in charge of her career. We are really at a crossroads."
At the time, Ingham III also claimed that Britney has not spoken with the 68-year-old for a while.
What does this ruling mean for Britney?
This ruling is separate from the petition that needs to be filed by Britney in order to terminate the conservatorship — something that she has not yet done.
So, things are still hopeful for the star.
Additionally, as mentioned above, this ruling did not take her recent testimony into consideration, while it is expected that future hearings will do so, per Newsweek.
Will Britney be allowed to contest this again?
As was the case back in November of 2020, Judge Penny did not explicitly rule out future petitions for Jamie's removal or suspension from Britney's conservatorship.
This means that the 39-year-old can again ask to have her father removed — though, it is expected that she will instead file a petition to terminate the conservatorship entirely, which she did not know she could do until last week.
Why is Britney's conservatorship an 'unusual case'?
The star's conservatorship has been described as "unusual" by lawyers.
Speaking to CBSN, sports, media and entertainment lawyer, Seth Berenzweig said: "Over the personal life, it is extremely rare for something like that to apply to a grown adult. Britney Spears is about to turn 40. This has been a conservatorship that has been in effect for about 13 years. So, it is very unusual in this kind of circumstance for this kind of a court-appointed process to apply."
He continued that a conservatorship over a person's financial life is usually reserved for an individual who has a permanent mental disability or is elderly.
The lawyer added: "I found the most stunning part of her testimony to relate to not only how much of her personal life has been micromanaged, but even the extent to which there have been medical intrusions into her life."