Jamie Spears' Lawyer Speaks Out on Britney Spears' Conservatorship: "She's Never Asked Him to Step Aside"

"I understand that every story wants to have a villain, but people have it so wrong here"

BY Allie GregoryPublished Feb 25, 2021

Britney Spears has yet to speak publicly on the details of her conservatorship controlled by her father, the workings of which were detailed Hulu's revealing New York Times Presents documentary Framing Britney Spears. But now, her father Jamie Spears' lawyer has come forward to defend her client, explaining that Jamie is a "loving father and grandfather."

Vivian Thoreen — Jamie Spears' lawyer who appears in the NYT doc — claims that Britney has never asked her father to step down from the conservatorship. Thoreen asserts that Britney is happy with the level of control her father has over health, life and finances.

"I understand that every story wants to have a villain, but people have it so wrong here," Thoreen told Good Morning America. "This is a story about a fiercely loyal, loving and dedicated father who rescued his daughter from a life-threatening situation. People were harming her and they were exploiting her."

Thoreen also suggested that Britney "has the right" to remove her father from the conservatorship, but that she has "never exercised it."

Thoreen's statements contradict accounts of Britney's recent bid to remove her father from the conservatorship. Back in November, the pop star headed to the Los Angeles Superior Court to make a case for her freedom. At the time, Britney's attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, told the judge, "My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father. She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career."

Ingham has yet to offer a statement following Thoreen's account of the ordeal.

Earlier this month, the Spears family headed back to court, and a judge appointed Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator along with Jamie Spears.

Though Britney has kept quiet on the matter so far, her partner Sam Asghari has been a vocal critic of her father amid the family's ongoing legal battle, maintaining that he is "a total dick." After the Framing Britney Spears documentary aired in early February, Asghari told TMZ that he would consider making amends with Jamie Spears when he "starts treating his daughter right."

Britney Spears has been under the control of the conservatorship since 2008.

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