LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears will avoid what could have been a long, ugly and eye-opening trial with a resolution to the lingering issues in the court conservatorship that has controlled her life and financial decisions for nearly 14 years.
A hearing on those issues — including a request from Jamie Spears for a broad ruling dismissing them — was scheduled for Monday but was removed from the court’s calendar after the settlement was approved by a judge on Friday.
Britney Spears was removed from conservatorship in November 2021 after two speeches she gave to a judge turned what was growing public sentiment against her into a cause best known by the hashtag #FreeBritney.
But several elements remained and were dragged out in court, including final payments to lawyers who helped operate the conservatorship. Spears’ attorney, Mathew Rosengart, also sought a public reckoning over what he said was financial misconduct by Jamie Spears and allegations of excessive surveillance of Spears.
All of that will now be waived in the agreement whose terms were not disclosed in a series of documents filed last week, one of which said that Jamie Spears had been “fully and finally relieved of his position as former conservator of the estate.”
“Although the conservatorship ended in November 2021, his desire for freedom is now truly complete,” Rosengart said in a statement. “As she wished, her freedom now includes the fact that she no longer needs to appear or engage in court or be involved in legal proceedings in this matter. It has been our honor and privilege to represent, protect and defend Britney Spears.”
The trial was expected to begin next month.
Jamie Spears’ attorney, Alex Weingarten, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
But he told The New York Times and other media outlets that “Jamie loves his daughter very much” and would “love nothing more than to reconcile and be a family again.” He has always acted in Britney’s best interests.”
“Jamie is thrilled this is all over,” Weingarten said. “He regrets the irresponsible and specious accusations made against him in public.”
In her memoir, “The Woman in Me,” published last year, Spears said she felt her father “was always worried about money.”
She married her longtime boyfriend, Sam Asghari, months after the conservatorship ended, but Asghari filed for divorce just over a year later. The divorce has not yet been finalized and the two are still legally married.
And although she has dabbled in music, including a 2022 collaboration with Elton John, in January she dismissed rumors of a new album and vowed to “never return to the music industry again.”
