Britney Spears’ aunt has lashed out at her father, Jamie, calling him ‘barbaric’ while speaking about his daughter’s 13-year conservatorship.
Leigh Ann Spears Wrather, 54, broke her silence about her half-brother’s treatment of her niece Britney, 39, claiming that he ‘caged’ and ‘manipulated’ her and must be ‘held accountable’ for all she had suffered.
Speaking to GMB, Leigh Ann revealed her true feelings about Britney being placed in Jamie’s conservatorship in 2008, after the pop star had a mental breakdown.
She said: ‘He’s [Jamie’s] barbaric. Who gets to do that to someone? She was just manipulated and used. And he wants to say he protected her? He caged her.
‘He swooped in at the perfect moment, when she was at her most vulnerable, to take control.’
She went on to say that his treatment of his daughter could lead to legal repercussions, saying: ‘I don’t know if he could be prosecuted for anything, but he needs to be held accountable.’
Leigh Ann claimed that rather than protecting his daughter, Jamie ‘benefitted’ from controlling the pop star and her estate, saying: ‘I don’t think he was the hero. I think that he manipulated the situation and that he has benefitted from the situation for over a decade.
‘I don’t know what anyone could have done. I know this – if Lynn [Spears, Britney’s mum] could have done anything, she would have.’
Asked how her niece Britney felt about the situation, Leigh Ann replied: ‘She wants out. She wants away from Jamie. She wants to be free. She wants to get married – she wants to have kids.’
Jamie Spears, 62, filed a petition to end his controversial 13-year control over his daughter’s estate at Los Angeles Superior Court on September 7, after admitting there may no longer be any reason for him to control the singer’s life.
Spears’ father was placed in charge of her estate under the terms of a controversial conservatorship, which saw every aspect of her life controlled by others – from forcing her to have an IUD implanted, to preventing her spending her own money, and stopping her driving.
