Britney Spears says won’t perform while her father controls career

Jill Serjeant/Reuters

Updated: Jul 18, 2021 / 08:41 PM CDT

Jamie Spears, father of singer Britney Spears, leaves the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles on Oct. 24, 2012, left, and Britney Spears arrives at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 17, 2015. (AP Photo)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Britney Spears on Saturday said she would not perform again while her father retains control over her career, and said the conservatorship she has been under for 13 years had “killed my dreams.”

Her remarks, in a lengthy Instagram post, were the latest in a series of emotional public comments about the conservatorship that controls her personal and financial affairs and which she has begged to be brought to an end.

“I’m not gonna be performing on any stages anytime soon with my dad handling what I wear, say, do, or think,” the “Piece of Me” singer wrote.

“I’d much rather share videos YES from my living room instead of onstage in Vegas… I’m not gonna put on heavy makeup and try try try on stage again and not be able to do the real deal with remixes of my songs for years,” she added.

The pop star’s father, Jamie Spears, has sole control of his daughter’s $60 million estate under the court-appointed conservatorship that he set up in 2008.

Spears, 39, who has undisclosed mental health issues, has not performed in public since late 2018 at the end of a world tour and an extended concert residency in Las Vegas.

Spears this week appointed a new lawyer to represent her in her bid to bring the conservatorship to an end, calling it abusive.

“This conservatorship killed my dreams … so all I have is hope and hope is the only thing in this world that is very hard to kill,” she wrote on Saturday.

“I didn’t like the way the documentaries bring up humiliating moments from the past … I’m way past all that and have been for a long time,” she added.

One of the documentaries, “Framing Britney Spears,” brought wider attention to the conservatorship and swelled public support for Spears. It was nominated this week for two Emmy awards.

Spears and her lawyer have yet to file a formal request to end the conservatorship. The next court hearing is Sept. 29 in Los Angeles.