🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
When the news that much-beleaguered pop star Britney Spears had hired a new lawyer broke, the internet, which has been one of Spears's staunchest allies in the fight to retain full control over her own life, reacted, predictably, with joy.
Following Spears's well-publicized 2008 mental health struggles, Spears's father Jamie successfully argued the Los Angeles County Superior Court should permanently cede control of his daughter's estate and physical well-being to him. However, the resulting conservatorship—a legal arrangement that strips the subject of a significant amount of agency—has recently come under heavy scrutiny. Speaking to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny on June 23, Spears said her existence was regulated to the point where her "so-called team" refused to let her remove her IUD to have another child. On Saturday, TMZ revealed Spears had retained prominent entertainment attorney Mathew Rosengart, who has previously represented A-listers such as Sean Penn and Steven Spielberg, to represent her in court.
This small victory was celebrated by proponents of the #FreeBritney movement as a step toward emancipation. Owing to the conservatorship, Spears has not been allowed to hire her own lawyer in 13 years, so her renewed ability to do so marks a milestone moment in the case. As producer Gibson Johns, who hosts the weekly podcast We Should Talk, wrote, "The bar is so low for those around Britney that her new lawyer Mathew Rosengart actually advocating for her best interest in court is legitimately groundbreaking for this decade-plus situation."
The bar is so low for those around Britney that her new lawyer Mathew Rosengart actually advocating for her best interest in court is legitimately groundbreaking for this decade-plus situation. #FreeBritney https://t.co/Zyo6Qk81Zz
— Gibson Johns (@gibsonoma) July 14, 2021
One fan hailed Rosengart as "the king that's coming to save our queen;" another pronounced him "one of the most electrifying lawyers of all time, an international superstar and one of the most successful lawyers in pop history, who's ultra-successful conservatorship hearings will single-handedly change the face of Los Angeles entertainment."
"She's only gone and chose her own lawyer and not just a lawyer, a powerful one!!! Carry on," one fan wrote.
"Britney finally...ACTUALLY being able to have a platform to speak instead of everyone doing it for her and keeping her statements secret strengthens my heart entirely. I cannot believe they've silenced her for so long with false reasonings. #FreeBritney," another fan wrote.
However, others, noting that Spears and Rosengart have a hard road to travel in front of them, cautioned against celebrating prematurely. Hiring a new, high-profile attorney doesn't necessarily translate into winning in court, they observed.
"Matthew Rosengart ain't no hero in my book until he actually frees Britney. Where's the petition to terminate? #FreeBritney," one fan wrote.
"I'm super thankful B has her own attorney finally, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Talking the talk ain't walking the walk. #FreeBritney," another fan wrote.
Yesterday, Rosengart called for Spears's father to resign as co-conservator and stated he intended to investigate the circumstances under which the conservatorship was approved in the first place.
