LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Pop star Britney Spears will personally address the Los Angeles court dealing with her long-running conservatorship in June, a judge agreed on Tuesday.
Spears, 39, has been under a conservatorship since 2008, but rarely takes part in court hearings and has not publicly commented on the legal arrangement.
“My client [Britney Spears] has requested a hearing at which she can address the court directly,” the singer’s lawyer Samuel Ingham told the court on Tuesday. “My client has asked that it be done on an expedited basis.”
The judge set a June 23 hearing for Spears to speak to the court. It was not known which matters the singer planned to address.
The singer’s father, Jamie Spears, was appointed his daughter’s conservator in 2008 after the pop star was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment following a widely publicized breakdown.
Britney Spears made clear last year through her lawyer that she no longer wants her father involved in her affairs.
A previous bid to remove him failed in August 2020 and a hearing on Tuesday on a new request to remove him was postponed until July without discussion.
A television documentary in February brought new scrutiny to the case and to the #FreeBritney movement started by fans.
#FreeBritney supporters, who rallied outside the courthouse on Tuesday, believe Spears is being kept prisoner and that she is sending cryptic signals begging to be freed through her social media accounts