How Britney Spears got caught in a web of injustice

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There are many villains in the history of pop star Britney Spears. There are experts, who used her for sexual titillation when she was a girl and as a fist when she was a young girl. There are the paparazzi, who harassed her when she was with her baby. There are ex-boyfriends, hangers and us, the most demanding fans.

The task of the judicial system is to recognize the bad guys and send them the suitcases. Instead, for 13 years, California courts have rewarded Spears ’father Jamie, a bankrupt businessman who fought against alcoholism, once filed for bankruptcy and who, according to the documentary Framing Britney Spears, was often absent from his daughter’s childhood. Without a doubt, they have enabled the most blatant evil of all.

In 2008, when his daughter suffered an apparent mental health crisis, Jamie asked a court to make him his conservative, that is, legal guardian. He has above all he maintained power from. He has decided what friends he sees, what medical treatment he receives and what happens to his fortune, estimated at $ 60 million.

However, from the beginning, Spears made it clear that he did not want him to have that power. She was willing to accept a conservative, but not him, his lawyer said Framing Britney Spears. The court dismissed his opinion, deeming it mentally inadequate to appoint a lawyer.

Spears is now 39 and for most of his adult life has been controlled by a man who does not want to in that role. She is considered good enough to perform in thousands, but not to visit her friends.

On Wednesday I overheard the singer breaking public silence about the situation in a Los Angeles court. His tests were horrible. He said those involved in running the conservatory, including his father, “should be in jail”; “Honestly, I’d like to sue my family.”

They had made him work seven days a week, had his credit cards taken away and had not given him privacy when he undressed. “In California, the only thing similar to this is called sex trafficking,” he said. They wouldn’t let her take out an intrauterine device because they didn’t want her to have any more children. But they did allow a doctor to prescribe lithium “out of nowhere.”

In his younger days, Spears was remarkably composed. Wednesday seemed anxious. “I cry every day,” he said. When he last spoke in court, he was made to feel “as if he were dead, as if he didn’t matter.” This time, he told the judge, “I wish I could be on the phone with you forever.”

The story of Spears is the opposite of some celebrity tragedies. Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson were surrounded by yes-men. Spears is surrounded by non-men. As a result, its history it is more universal. In the United States, guardianship is widely abused. Professional guardians can identify older people with minor health problems and inform a court that these people cannot defend themselves, or even have to inform subjects or their closest relatives.

Hearings can last only a few minutes. The guardian then takes control of a stranger’s life. They can move them to a nursing home and sell their possessions to pay for them. Rates apply. What about the American judicial system that produces such flagrant injustices?

This practice was satirized in the film I care a lot. One estimation is that 1.5 million American adults, with $ 273 billion in assets, are in the hands of guardians. There are few examples of preserves that escape the arrangements.

Spears has the unique advantage of devout fans, the Free Britney movement. The lesson of his case is that the courts should pay attention to people with disabilities and mental health issues, whether they are famous or not. Stronger restrictions should come with stronger supervision. Right now, if you are vulnerable and rich in assets, the American justice system can not only stop protecting you from the bad guys, but it can make it easier for you.

henry.mance@ft.com

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