Britney Spears finally scored a victory in court on Wednesday afternoon.
According to NBC News and other outlets, a judge granted the 39-year-old Grammy winner permission to choose her own lawyer during the latest court hearing to address her ongoing conservatorship.
As previously detailed, Britney’s court-appointed attorney, Sam Ingham, resigned from the controversial case earlier this month, leaving Spears without representation.
Due to this new ruling, Britney will be able to bring on board Mathew Rosengart, whose firm has stood up for clients such as Steven Spielberg, Sean Penn, Ben Affleck and Eddie Vedder.
This new hearing comes three weeks after the pop star’s explosive testimony on June 23.
Among other allegations, accusations and requests, she asked the court at the time to end her conservatorship — which has been in place since 2008 — without forcing her to undergo another mental evaluation.
The superstar also confessed back then that she didn’t know she could have requested to end the conservatorship earlier.
“I’m sorry for my ignorance, but I didn’t know that,” she said.
“It’s embarrassing and demoralizing what I’ve been through, and that’s the main reason I didn’t say it openly. I didn’t think anybody would believe me.”
As part of her 30-minute, virtual testimony, Spears also opened up about the pain this conservatorship has caused her over the years.
“I’m traumatized. I’m not happy,” the mother of two said at the time. “I can’t sleep, I’m depressed, I cry every day.”
She added that her father, who controls her finances and, according to Britney, even her most personal decisions, belongs in jail for the way he has treated her.
And Britney basically repeated this claim on Wednesday.
“I’m here to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse,” the 39-year-old artist said today, adding that she is “extremely scared” of Jamie Spears.
“This conservatorship has allowed my dad to ruin my life.”
Jamie, of course, has denied he’s to blame for any of his daughter’s suffering.
He has maintained his innocence and has said he only has his child’s best interests in mind.
Since Britney gave her explosive testimony last month, there have been many developments in the tragic legal battle.
On July 5, for example, her longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, resigned after two decades of working with the Louisiana native.
In his letter to Jamie and a woman named Jodi Montgomery, who took over conservatorship control for a time when Jamie battled health problems in 2019, Rudolph claimed that the singer told him she wanted “to take an indefinite work hiatus.”
Via court documents, Jamie alleged that Montgomery was the one responsible for any mistreatment described by Britney.
Montgomery responded with her own statement a day later, saying that she has been a “tireless advocate” for Britney’s well-being.
It read:
“While she does not control Britney’s financial assets, she is responsible for her personal care, and if Britney wants any issue brought up to the court, Ms. Montgomery is and has always been ready, willing, and able to do so.”
The same day, a judge denied Britney’s November 2020 request to have her father removed as co-conservator.
Britney’s case has garnered an enormous amount of global attention, with pressure mounting to support the pop star and remove her father from the conservatorship.
And, let’s face it, her life in general.
“I cried on the phone for an hour and he loved every minute of it,” Spears told the judge on June 23, referring to her dad.
“The control he had over someone as powerful as me — he loved the control to hurt his own daughter 100,000%. He loved it.”
Spears pleaded at the time:
“I just want my life back. And it’s been 13 years. And it’s enough.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve owned my money.
“And it’s my wish and my dream for all of this to end without being tested.”
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