A
judge
on
Wednesday
suspended
Britney
Spears'
father
from
the
conservatorship
that
has
controlled
the
singer's
life
and
money
for
13
years,
saying
the
arrangement
“reflects
a
toxic
environment.”
Superior
Court
Judge
Brenda
Penny
agreed
with
a
petition
from
Spears
and
her
attorney,
Mathew
Rosengart,
that
James
Spears
needs
to
give
up
his
role
as
conservator.
The
move
is
a
major
victory
for
the
singer,
who
pleaded
in
dramatic
hearings
in
June
and
July
that
her
father
needed
to
be
out.
“The
current
situation
is
untenable,”
Penny
said
after
hearing
arguments
from
both
sides.
“It
reflects
a
toxic
environment
which
requires
the
suspension
of
James
Spears.”
James
Spears
sought
the
conservatorship
in
2008
and
had
been
its
primary
controller
and
biggest
champion.
He
reversed
course
in
recent
weeks,
asking
the
judge
to
end
the
conservatorship.
Britney
Spears
and
Rosengart
agreed
that
the
conservatorship
should
end
and
said
in
court
documents
that
James
Spears'
removal
was
a
necessary
first
step.
Spears'
attorney
has
been
aggressively
pushing
for
the
ouster
of
her
father
since
moments
after
the
judge
allowed
her
to
hire
Rosengart
in
July.
Hours
before
the
hearing,
a
major
street
outside
the
courthouse
was
closed
to
vehicles,
allowing
about
100
Spears
supporters
to
march
and
host
a
rally
where
they
shouted
“Hey,
hey,
ho,
ho,
the
conservatorship
has
got
to
go!”
and
other
pro-Britney
chants.
As
the
crowd
grew,
fans
sang
Spears
hits
“Toxic”
and
“Baby
One
More
Time,”
and
speakers
described
abusive
conservatorships
that
had
affected
their
families.
“We're
making
making
history
right
now,”
said
Martino
Odeh,
27,
who
traveled
from
Phoenix
to
be
at
the
courthouse.
“And
the
fact
that
we
could
change
a
pop
star's
life,
who
has
been
robbed
of
her
rights
for
13
years,
is
crazy.
It's
monumental.”
“We're
hoping
for
a
big
change
today,”
Odeh
said.
Britney
Spears
and
Rosengart
emphasized
in
court
papers
the
importance
of
removing
her
father,
calling
it
a
necessary
first
step
toward
her
freedom
and
"ending
the
Kafkaesque
nightmare
imposed
upon
her.”
Rosengart
said
in
another
filing
this
week
that
James
Spears
“crossed
unfathomable
lines”
by
engaging
in
illegal
surveillance
of
her,
including
communications
with
her
lawyer,
as
reported
in
“Controlling
Britney
Spears," a
documentary
from
The
New
York
Times
and
the
FX
network,
one
of
two
dueling
documentaries
released
on
the
eve
of
the
hearing.
Britney
Spears
was
also
engaged
to
her
longtime
boyfriend,
Sam
Asghari,
earlier
this
month,
which
means
putting
together
a
prenuptial
agreement
that
her
father
should
not
be
involved
in,
her
court
filings
said.
James
Spears
in
2019
stepped
aside
as
the
so-called
conservator
of
his
daughter's
person,
with
control
over
her
life
decisions,
maintaining
only
his
role
as
conservator
of
her
estate,
with
control
over
her
finances.
He
and
his
attorneys
have
said
that
renders
many
of
his
daughter's
complaints
about
his
control
over
her
life
meaningless.
Jodi
Montgomery,
a
court-appointed
professional,
now
acts
as
conservator
of
Britney
Spears'
person,
and
Rosengart
said
in
court
documents
that
Montgomery
also
consents
to
ending
the
conservatorship
so
long
as
it
can
be
done
safely
and
smoothly.
James
Spears
has
denied
acting
in
anything
but
his
daughter's
best
interest.
He
has
said
in
court
papers
that
he
does
not
know
of
“a
single
medical
professional
nor
the
report
of
a
single
probate
investigator”
that
concluded
that
his
presence
as
conservator
was
harming
his
daughter
or
that
he
should
be
replaced.
The
conservatorship
was
established
in
2008
when
Britney
Spears'
began
to
have
public
mental
struggles
as
hordes
of
paparazzi
aggressively
followed
her
everywhere
and
she
lost
custody
of
her
children.
(AP)
AMS
AMS