Britney Spears asked a Los Angeles judge on Wednesday to end the court conservatorship that has controlled her life and money since 2008.
The request at the hearing formed part of her first words in open court addressing the 13-year conservatorship.
Spears called the conservatorship abusive and condemned her father and the others who controlled it.
“I want to end this conservatorship without being evaluated,” she said in a long, emotional and sometimes profane speech.
“This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I deserve to have a life.”
Spears said she wanted to marry her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, and have a baby but the conservatorship will not allow her to.
She told the court she was being forced to take birth control against her will.
"I was told I can't get married. I have an IUD inside me but this so-called team won't let me go to the doctor to remove it because they don't want me to have any more children."
In a written speech that lasted more than 20 minutes, Spears revealed many details that have been carefully guarded for years by the court.
When a lawyer representing her co-conservator said the hearing and transcript should be kept sealed if private medical information was to be revealed, Spears shouted her down to say her words should be public.
“They’ve interfered with my life so I feel like it should be an open court hearing and they should listen and hear what I have to say,” she said.
Spears said she was forced to take lithium against her will after rehearsals broke down for a planned Las Vegas residency in 2019, which was later cancelled.
She said all she had done was disagree with one part of the show’s choreography.
“I’m not here to be anyone’s slave,” she said. “I can say no to a dance move.”
About 100 fans from the #FreeBritney movement gathered outside the courthouse before the hearing holding signs that read "Free Britney now", and "Get out of Britney's life".
Jennifer Preston, 33, crossed the country from Richmond, Virginia, to be outside the hearing because, she said: “I’m a mum and I’m a fan.”
“We’re here to hear what she has to say,” Ms Preston said. “She’s been treated like a child for the last 13 years.
"She hasn’t had control of her life or her finances, even though she’s clearly capable enough to do those things.”
Fellow musicians Mariah Carey and Brandy tweeted support for Spears shortly after her statement.
Her court-appointed lawyer, Samuel Ingham, made a request for the pop star to address the court at an April hearing.
Mr Ingham said Spears has not officially asked him to file a petition to end the conservatorship.
The singer has spoken in court on the conservatorship before, but the courtroom was always cleared and transcripts sealed.
The last time she was known to have addressed the judge was in May 2019.
Spears has since requested greater transparency from the court.
The judge thanked her for her remarks, which she called courageous, but made no further comment.
Vivian Thoreen, a lawyer for Spears’ father, James Spears, gave a brief statement on his behalf after conferring with him during a recess.
“He is sorry to see his daughter suffering and in so much pain,” Ms Thoreen said. “Mr Spears loves his daughter and misses her very much.”
The conservatorship was put in place after Spears suffered a mental health crisis in 2008.
She has credited it with saving her from financial ruin and keeping her a top-flight pop star.
Her father and his lawyers have stressed that she and her fortune, which court records put at more than $50 million, are vulnerable to fraud and manipulation.
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The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
World Sevens Series standing after Dubai
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Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
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Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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How to tell if your child is being bullied at school
Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety
Shows signs of depression or isolation
Ability to sleep well diminishes
Academic performance begins to deteriorate
Changes in eating habits
Struggles to concentrate
Refuses to go to school
Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings
Begins to use language they do not normally use
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
