Rally to 'Free' Britney Spears From Conservatorship Takes Place in Los Angeles

A rally to “free” 37-year-old pop icon Britney Spears from an unusual 11-year legal arrangement took place on September 18 outside a Los Angeles courthouse.

Spears, who checked into a mental health facility for a monthlong stay in April, is subject to a conservatorship in which Jamie Spears, her father, is her legal guardian and has control over her financial decisions. The arrangement was put in place in 2008, following a number of widely reported incidents, including Britney shaving her head and driving with a baby in her lap.

The rally was organized by fans and supporters of the singer, who yelled “Free Britney” outside the courthouse. Many also held signs saying “Britney deserves autonomy,” “Justice for Britney,” and “End the conservatorship.”

The hashtag #freebritney has been growing in popularity in recent months ahead of the court hearing on September 18, despite Spears offering no public indication that she wanted to be released from the arrangement.

In January 2019, Spears announced that she was canceling her Las Vegas residency after more than six years. She had been due to launch a new show called Domination, but said she needed to take time out for family reasons.

The singer rose to prominence in the late 1990s with her album Hit Me Baby One More Time. Before that, she was a cast member on Disney’s The All-New Mickey Mouse Club alongside other future stars such as Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling. Credit: @NameisRomane via Storyful