BRITNEY SPEARS ‘ON CLOUD 9'

The tight hold the superstar’s dad has had on her life for 13 years has been broken – and she may soon be free at last

- LINDSAY DE FREITAS

FOR years things seemed to be going well enough on the surface but no one knew what was really going on in her life. She toured the world, released five hit albums and made millions with her record-breaking Las Vegas residency.

By all accounts the conservatorship she’d lived under since 2008 was a welloiled machine that had rescued Britney Spears – and one she could move to end when she was ready.

Nothing was further from the truth. What was going down was, in the words of her lawyer, a “Kafka-esque nightmare”, a life where everything from Britney’s messages to her bedroom activities were constantly monitored.

At the heart of her misery was her father, Jamie Spears, the man she’d been trying to break free from for 13 years. And it’s finally happened.

Earlier this month a judge suspended Jamie as conservator of the pop star’s $60 million (R900 billion) estate, setting the stage for ending the controversial arrangement altogether.

Judge Brenda J Penny delivered her ruling in a Los Angeles courthouse, where hordes of impassioned #FreeBritney protesters gathered to support the star, chanting “Jamie for Jail”.

Britney (39) wasn’t at the hearing. Jamie (69) and Britney’s mom, Lynn (66), attended remotely but did not speak.

“I do believe that the suspension of James Spears as conservator is in the best interest of the conservatee,” Judge Penny said. “The current situation is not tenable. It reflects a toxic environment, which requires the immediate suspension of Jamie Spears today.”