Moorestown Friends School reacts to Britney Spears, who is all over the news because of her conservatorship

A conservatorship is when the court gives someone permission and control over another adult who is deemed not fit to handle themselves and their finances. Britney Spears has been in a conservatorship ruled by her father, Jamie Spears, for thirteen years. He has had full control over her life and money. This conservatorship finally ended in October 2021, after months of fighting from both Britney and fans. 

Nia Hipps ’22 said she feels strongly against the conservatorship. Hipps said, “Britney deserves better and I also feel as if this has now taken a toll on her mental health. I am so glad she is finally free and hope she gets the support she needs.”

Turner Jobes ’22 said, “It’s hard to watch a person with such a big personality be shut down.”

Teachers also reported feeling strongly about the Britney Spears case.

Jennifer Mosher, MFS science teacher, said, “I think it’s ridiculous that a 40 year old woman was under the control of her father just because she shaved her head. I don’t think the family liked the man she married very much, and she was also being a little wild, but she was in her 20s.” Mosher continued, “It reminds me of the 1800s when parents of girls put them in insane asylums because they didn’t like what they were doing.” 

English teacher Debra Galler had similar thoughts as Mosher. Galler commented, “I think that it’s fascinating to look at the way Britney Spears has been treated by the media and as sort of a pop culture joke. I lived through the first Britney movement where she was made fun of for breaking down, and now we look at that and regret how she was treated.”

In terms of mental health, school counselor Julie Lyons stated, “I don’t think family members should be conservators because biased conservators can bring harm to the mental health of everyone involved.”

Jobes explained how he would like to participate in supporting Britney: “I want to help however I can, but it feels hard to do from Moorestown. I know some of my friends shared Instagram posts and advocated for her rights on Twitter. There has to be something else that we can do.”

Another way people have learned Britney’s story is by watching Framing Britney Spears, a recent documentary about Britney. It is on both FX and Hulu and several MFS students watched the documentary. 

Hipps reacted to the documentary: “The Britney situation is very interesting. I watched the Britney documentary because I did not know much about conservatorship before viewing it. It makes me sad that it took this long for the government to realize how wrong this was.”

Galler, who hasn’t watched the documentary, but understands the situation, explained, “She’s one of many young, female-identifying celebrities who’s been really mistreated by our pop-culture system, and I think we can all learn a lesson from Britney.”

Ava Parker ’22 commented, “She’s free … as she should be.”