After a documentary by The New York Times called Framing Britney Spears took the internet by storm earlier this month the public perception of the conservatorship Britney’s father established in 2008 has soured. But through his lawyer, Vivian Thoreen, Jamie Spears is still insisting that people have it all wrong. Thoreen appeared on Good Morning America earlier this week to defend her client against the documentary’s portrayal of an abusive, illegal conservatorship.
“I understand that every story wants to have a villain, but people have it so wrong here,” Thoreen said. “This is a story about a fiercely loyal, loving, and dedicated father who rescued his daughter from a life-threatening situation. People were harming her and they were exploiting her. He has collaborated with her to help her regain custody of her children. He has brought her finances back from disaster. And he’s created a safe environment for her to live her life the way she wants, away from the media that cause her so much pain.”
Thoreen went on to claim that it’s only due to Jamie’s stewardship that Britney’s finances have righted themselves.
“Before the conservatorship, it was reported that Britney was making $40 million a year,” she said. “When Jamie stepped in as conservator in 2008, court records show that Britney’s assets were worth $2.8 million and she was in debt and facing lawsuits to the tune of millions of dollars. So it’s under Jamie’s stewardship for the past 13 years that he’s been able to restore Britney’s finances to where they are today to nearly $60 million.”
According to Jamie’s lawyer, Britney “makes decisions all the time” and spent time with her father in Louisiana early on during the onset of the pandemic in 2020. “If she wants to perform, if she wants to record an album, if she wants her name and likeness used, or if she just wants to live her life like a normal person, Jamie collaborates with Britney to make that happen.”
Though it’s Jamie who would legally have control over those things mentioned above, and where Britney physically spends her time, Thoreen also cites Britney’s decision not to specifically tell her father she doesn’t want him as her conservator as more proof of Britney’s frame of mind on the situation. “Britney and Jamie went on long drives together,” she claimed. “They played and worked in the family garden. And every night, Jamie cooked Southern comfort food that the family ate and enjoyed together. In that time, Britney never expressed those words to her father. She’s never asked him to step aside.”
Check out the full interview here.