Ups and downs. Britney Spears and her mother, Lynne Spears, have had a rocky relationship through the years.
Nearly 10 years after hitting it big with her debut single, “Baby One More Time,” Britney was placed under a conservatorship — run by her father, Jamie Spears — in February 2008 after a series of public personal struggles. For several years, Jamie had control over his eldest daughter’s estate and person until Jodi Montgomery took over in 2019. Lynne — who finalized her divorce from Jamie in 2002 — got involved in the legal battle in 2020 when she requested to be included in financial decisions on the “Circus” singer’s behalf. Britney, for her part, has been vocal about how her parents managed her affairs.
“I just want my life back. It’s been 13 years, and it’s enough. It’s been a long time since I’ve owned my money,” the “Stronger” performer said during an emotional court testimony in June 2021. “And it’s my wish and my dream for all of this to end without being tested. … I would honestly like to sue my family, to be totally honest with you. I also would like to be able to share my story with the world, and what they did to me, instead of it being a hush-hush secret to benefit all of them.”
She added: “I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry. It’s insane. And I’m depressed.”
The conservatorship was ultimately terminated in November 2021, but the bad blood between Britney and her family have remained.
“A woman introduced the idea [of the conservatorship] to my dad, and my mom actually helped him follow through and made it all happen,” the former Mouseketeer alleged in a since-deleted August 2022 video shared via YouTube. “It was all basically set up. There were no drugs in my system. No alcohol. No nothing. It was pure abuse.”
Britney continued at the time: “How the f—k did they get away with it? How is there a god? Is there a god? I was so, so weak … I was scared, broken. I’m sharing this because I want people to know I’m only human … how can I mend this, if I don’t talk about this?”
The Grammy winner further alleged that she was angrier at her mother than her father because she could have helped — but didn’t.
“The whole thing that made it really confusing for me is these people [the #FreeBritney movement] are on the street fighting for me, but my sister [Jamie Lynn Spears] and my mother aren’t doing anything,” Britney claimed in her bombshell recording. “To me, it was like they secretly honestly liked me being the bad one — like I was messed up, and they kind of just liked it that way. Otherwise, why weren’t they outside my doorstep, saying, ‘Baby girl, get in the car. Let’s go.’ I think that’s the main thing that hurt me. I couldn’t process how my family went along with it for so long. Their only response was, ‘We didn’t know.’”
Lynne, for her part, responded to her daughter’s claims via Instagram that August. She wrote: “Britney, your whole life I have tried my best to support your dreams and wishes! And also, I have tried my best to help you out of hardships!”
The “If U Seek Amy” performer has since kept her distance from her family — including Lynne, Jamie and the Zoey 101 alum — none of whom were invited to her June 2022 wedding to Sam Asghari.
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Scroll below for a timeline of Britney’s relationship with her mother:
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