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Artist News Legal
Britney Spears’ co-conservator tells court she is receiving death threats, but singer wants her to stay in her role
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 8 July 2021
Britney Spears’ co-conservator Jodi Montgomery has said in a new legal filing that she is receiving death threats, and as a result she needs court approval for the singer’s estate to cover new security costs. The filing also includes text message conversations with Spears, showing that she wants Montgomery to stay in charge of her personal affairs.
Montgomery became conservator of Spears’ personal affairs on an interim basis in 2019, when the star’s father Jamie Spears temporarily stepped away from his role overseeing his daughter’s conservatorship due to health problems.
When Spears made a bold statement during a court hearing last month opposing the entire conservatorship, Montgomery came in for less criticism than her father, but she received some criticism nonetheless – particularly in relation to arrangements regarding the musician’s therapy sessions.
Jamie Spears has also said that his daughter’s claims that she is being barred from getting married and having another child are down to Montgomery. But Montgomery has denied this.
All of this, says Montgomery in her new court filing – obtained by The Blast – has led to threats of violence and even death from members of the public. She says that Spears’ security team has recommended 24/7 security “to protect her from harm”.
Montgomery says that she has acted upon this advice and taken various steps to improve her security, including making changes to her home and office and requesting that local police patrol the area where she lives. However, she adds, this has come at a “significant extra personal expense” – as much as $50,000 a month.
She has requested that Spears’ estate cover these costs, but says that Jamie Spears – who co-manages that estate – has said that she will have to obtain approval for this from the court first.
“There are grave concerns regarding the safety of [Jodi] and counsel involved in this highly-publicised matter arising from a drastic increase of threats of violence and death since the 23 Jun 2021 unsealed status hearing”, says the legal filing.
While there have been several resignations by those involved with Spears’ career and conservatorship since her statement in court last month, Montgomery’s filing stresses that the musician still wants her involvement while the conservatorship is ongoing. Screengrabbed text messages shown as being from Jane Doe, but presented as sent by Spears, read: “I need you to stay as my co-conservator of person. I’m asking for your assistance in getting a new attorney”.
Spears needs a new lawyer, of course, because one of the people to resign from the conservatorship in recent days is her court-appointed attorney Sam Ingham.
On that subject, another new court filing in relation to the conservatorship has come from Spears’ mother, Lynne Spears. She is asking the judge to allow her daughter to now choose her own legal representation as “a first step” towards bringing the conservatorship to an end.
“It is self-evident that before the court addresses, for example, the termination of the conservatorship, conservatee must be allowed to consult with counsel of her choosing”, says Lynne Spears’ filing. “Clearly, conservatee needs private counsel to advise her as to her basic rights in this conservatorship”.
In that recent court statement, Spears claimed that she had never made moves to end her conservatorship before because she had never been made aware that she could do so.
