Britney Spears' Lawyer Accuses Her Father of Extortion, Claims Jamie Seeks $2 Million From Daughter

The singer's battle with her father has been in the media spotlight for more than a year. She filed several motions asking courts to have her father removed from the conservatorship she has been under since 2008. The courts repeatedly sided with Jamie Spears, but the musician's recent speech apparently changed the course of legal wrangling.

Britney Spears' lawyer has accused her father of attempting to extort the singer, US media outlets have reported. On 30 August, Mathew Rosengart filed a supplement to his July petition, in which he wrote that Jamie Spears is trying to get payments from the pop star in a so-called quid pro quo deal.

"Britney Spears will not be extorted. Mr Spears' blatant attempt to barter suspension and removal in exchange for approximately $2 million in payments, on top of the millions already reaped from Ms Spears' estate by Mr Spears and his associates, is a non-starter", Rosengart wrote.

According to Variety, the filing states that Jamie Spears is reportedly seeking $1.3 million from his daughter to pay attorney fees, $500,000 to the singer's former management company, and payments for himself.

The pop star's lawyer signalled that he has no plans to negotiate with Jamie Spears on his departure as well as payments he reportedly requested.

Jamie Spears' representatives have not yet commented on the issue.

Free Britney

In 2008, following a series of mental breakdowns during which Britney attacked a paparazzi car with an umbrella, shaved her head, and became involved in a standoff with police, a court placed the singer in a conservatorship and named her father as a guardian. From then on Jamie Spears has been in charge of the pop diva's life - from finances and career decisions to personal choices.

A group of Spears' fans later formed a movement called Free Britney that claimed the singer has been kept prisoner by her family, a claim her father and other relatives have repeatedly denied.

In 2020, Britney asked the court to have her father removed from her conservatorship, but lost. The court, however, gave the green light to her lawyer's request for Spears to address "the court directly" about the issue. During a hearing in July, the singer accused her father of conservatorship abuse and claimed she was drugged, forced to perform against her will, and was banned from getting married, having a child, and even riding in her boyfriend's car unsupervised.

"I don't feel like I can live a full life", the "Toxic" singer said.

Jamies Spears' lawyers denied that he was responsible for the restrictions placed on his daughter. Last month, he agreed to step down from her conservatorship, but stressed that the public doesn't know about his daughter's problems.

"If the public knew all the facts of Ms Spears' personal life, not only her highs but also her lows, all of the addiction and mental health issues that she has struggled with, and all of the challenges of the Conservatorship, they would praise Mr Spears for the job he has done, not vilify him. But the public does not know all the facts, and they have no right to know, so there will be no public redemption for Mr Spears", reads the court filing as cited by the Daily Mail.