Britney Spears has shared a candid video addressing the end of her conservatorship after 13 years, in which she discussed her hopes for the future and called out certain family members for their involvement in the arrangement.
Last week, a judge ruled to terminate the conservatorship that Britney had been under since 2008 – which saw her father and other parties control her finances and other parts of her personal life – in a victory for the chart-topping singer and the #FreeBritney movement.
After celebrating her “amazing” first weekend of freedom, Britney posted a video about her situation, saying she “might as well do a hint of my thoughts [on social media] before I go and set things square on Oprah”.
“The main question that you guys have been asking is, ‘what am I going to do now that the conservatorship is over with?’,” Britney began. “I’ve been in the conservatorship for 13 years… that’s a really long time to be in a situation that you don’t want to be in.
“So I’m just grateful, honestly, for each day and being able to have the keys to my car, and be able to be independent and feel like a woman. And owning an ATM card, seeing cash for the first time. Being able to buy candles… it’s the little things, for us women, but it makes a huge difference. And I’m grateful for that. It’s nice, it’s really nice.”
She continued: “I’m not here to be a victim… I’m here to be an advocate for people with real disabilities and real illnesses. I’m a very strong woman, so I can only imagine what the system has done to those people.
“Hopefully… my story will make an impact and make some changes in the corrupt system.”
Turning her attention to those involved in the #FreeBritney movement, Britney said: “You guys rock. My voice was muted and threatened for so long, and I wasn’t able to speak up or say anything. And because of you guys and the awareness and kind of knowing what was going on, and delivering that news to the public for so long… I think you guys saved my life, in a way.”
Sharing the same video on her Instagram page, Britney elaborated: “I do know how embarrassing is to share the fact I’ve never seen cash or wasn’t able to drive my car… but honestly it still blows my mind every day I wake up how my family and the conservatorship were able to do what they did to me… it was demoralising and degrading!!!!
“I’m not even mentioning all the bad things they did to me which they should all be in jail for… yes including my church-going mother!!!!
“I’m used to keeping peace for the family and keeping my mouth shut… but not this time… I have NOT FORGOTTEN and I hope they can look up tonight and know EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN!!!!”
After remaining mostly silent on the conservatorship for 13 years, Britney denounced her legal situation for the first time at a public hearing earlier this year.
The Grammy-winning star branded the arrangement “abusive” and made a string of allegations, including that she was forced to be on birth control despite wanting to have a baby with her fiancé Sam Asghari and had been prescribed lithium against her will.