Justin Timberlake, Celebs Support Britney After Conservator Hearing

If you weren’t already all-in on #FreeBritney, listening to the statement she recently made concerning how 13 years of enduring a conservatorship impacted her might just be the encouragement you need to join the movement. 

Spears appeared via phone before a Los Angeles court presided over by Judge Brenda Penny on June 23 and gave a more than 20-minute prepared speech explaining why she wants her father, Jamie Spears, and a court-appointed professional, Jodi Montgomery, to no longer serve as her conservators. 

The pop star began her statement by making it clear that she wanted to be heard this time. “I haven’t been back to court in a long time because I don’t think I was heard on any level when I came to court the last time,” she said.

Spears went on to describe how she was forced to work against her will, and that when she pushed back she was retaliated against and punished. “I was on tour in 2018. I was forced to do [it]. My management said if I don’t do this tour, I will have to find an attorney. My own management could sue me if I didn’t follow through with the tour. He handed me a sheet of paper as I got off the stage in Vegas and said I had to sign it,” she recounted. “It was very threatening and scary. And with the conservatorship, I couldn’t even get my own attorney. So out of fear, I went ahead and I did the tour.”

She also detailed how she was forced to take psychiatric drugs over her own objections. “Lithium is a very, very strong [medication] and completely different medication than what I’ve been on. You can go mentally impaired if you take too much, stay on it longer than five months,” Spears said. “I felt drunk. I couldn’t even stick up for myself. I couldn’t even have a conversation with my mom or dad about anything. I told them I was scared and they had six different nurses come to my home to monitor me while I was on this medication that I didn’t want to be on, to begin with.” 

Even Spears’s reproductive choices are not her own, according to the singer. “I was told right now in the conservatorship, I’m not able to get married or have a baby,” Spears said. “I have an I[U]D 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.”

All things considered, it’s no surprise that Spears is struggling emotionally, something the artist admits she’s sought to hide on social media. “I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m OK and I’m happy. It’s a lie. I’ve been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. Fake it ‘til you make it, but now I’m telling you the truth, OK? I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m depressed. I cry every day,” she said. 

Spears told the court she ultimately just wants to have her freedom. “I deserve privacy. I don’t feel like I can live a full life. They’re making me feel like I live in a rehab program. I do need a little therapy. I want to progressively move forward,” she said. “This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I deserve to have a life! I’ve worked my whole life. I feel ganged up on and I feel bullied and I feel left out and alone. I’m tired of feeling alone.”

With so many shocking and heartbreaking revelations, it’s no surprise that #FreeBritney was trending number one on Twitter in the wake of Spears’s statement. Among the most outspoken were several celebs who voiced their support of the singer. 

See their reactions below.