Britney Spears’ two years of turmoil after being ‘freed’

In 2021, it looked as if Britney Spears was finally entering a new chapter after she was released from a 14-year conservatorship that many interpreted as imprisoning her against her will.

But just three years later, and after exhibiting public displays of erratic behaviour and meltdowns, some will no doubt be questioning if she is any better off at all.

And in alarming scenes which will draw comparisons with 2007, Britney sparked ‘mental health crisis’ concerns on Thursday after being pictured barefoot and topless outside the Chateau Marmont in the early hours. 

With abrasions on her knees and a pillow clutched to her chest, the singer appeared agitated as she was escorted to emergency service vehicles while flanked by her security and felon ‘ex’ Paul Richard Soliz. 

It’s a scene that nobody wanted to see. Particularly not the #FreeBritney campaigners who fought for years to see her regain her autonomy of her health and personal liberties while under a conservatorship controlled by her father, Jamie. 

The 42-year-old Grammy winner had compared being under conservatorship to being a ‘sex trafficking victim’, detailing that she was made to work against her will, forced into taking birth control and had no control over seeing her sons or friends. 

Having heard Britney’s emotive testimony it was hard not to sympathise, and on November 12, 2021, the singer celebrated ‘the best day ever’ as a judge called an end to her controversial arrangement, with fans weeping openly outside the Los Angeles courtroom as the ruling was announced. 

Britney had claimed her conservatorship was ‘abusive’, yet her father insisted was to protect her wellbeing, insisting his daughter ‘would be dead’ without his intervention. 

While it would be misguided to speculate on whether his claims had any basis, in the two years that Britney has been ‘freed’ from his control, she has exhibited a pattern of troubling and erratic behaviour. 

Concerns for the mother-of-two mounted to as such that a Hollywood psychiatrist claimed that the best course of action would be placing Britney under another conservatorship, insisting she needs ‘structure and supervision,’ for her own protection.

While Dr. Charles Sophy’s advice would have seen him cancelled by the #FreeBritney brigade in 2021, after Thursday’s troubling scenes now even her staunch fans are fearing if terminating the conservatorship was in fact the best course of action for Britney. 

It’s claimed that Britney and felon ex Paul got into a fight and that a woman matching Britney’s description was ‘harassing and threatening hotel employees and guests.’

As she left the hotel barefoot and dishevelled, a man was seen wheeling a stretcher with the star’s belongings on it – with a fire truck also seen at the Hollywood hotel.

LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey told DailyMail.com: ‘Emergency services received a call at 12.42am with reports of an adult female injured.

‘At 1am an ambulance arrived on the premises. I can confirm no-one was transported. Services left the scene at 1.17am. The police department were not called.’

TMZ reports Britney arrived at the hotel late Wednesday night – with police called after a ‘disturbance’ with a woman matching the singer’s description reportedly ‘harassing and threatening hotel employees and guests.’

Attending officers found no signs of trouble and left.

The pair then returned to their room around 11pm where they ‘partied and drank.’ They are said to have got into a ‘huge physical altercation in which Spears ‘may have hurt her leg.’

It was claimed Britney was ‘screaming and out of control in the hallway of her suite’ with and ‘several guests’ thinking she was having a mental breakdown, so paramedics were called.

Britney did not get into an ambulance and is said to have left with her security and without Paul.

In February, the Toxic hitmaker shut down rumors she was dating Paul, insisting that she was a ‘hopeless romantic understanding that being single is awesome.’

Paul notably has multiple felonies, according to court documents, such as possession of a firearm in December 2022 when he was employed by Britney. Also in September 2023, Paul was seen at the San Fernando Superior Court after allegedly violating his probation.

Britney then posted a concerning Instagram message, which claimed the photos were of ‘body doubles’ and said she was ‘getting stronger every day.’

She wrote: ‘Most of the pics are body doubles and I think most know that !!! I would like respect at this time for people to understand I am getting stronger everyday !!! Truth sucks so can someone teach me how to lie???

‘Goddesses out there, I’m reaching my higher power and furthermore, I hope you guys are too !!! I need a new toothbrush right now!!! PS … I need an espresso. !!! PSS … Not sure why I feel the need to share this … I guess I’m just a girl and I’m on my period so I’m bitchy … s**t !!!

The star deleted this post and replaced it with an almost identical statement

She wrote: ‘Just to let people know … the news is fake !!!

The star concluded the statement by trying to explain why she felt compelled to explain herself while declaring the new major US city she will be moving to.

Britney continued: ‘I guess I’m just a girl and I’m on my period so l’m b****y … s***!!! I also twisted my ankle last night and paramedics showed up at my door illegally.

‘They never came in my room but I felt completely harassed. I’m moving to Boston !!! Peace [peace hand sign emoji]’

In a third post, Britney claimed she was ‘set up’ by her mother Lynne Spears as she narrated two Instagram videos that showed off her ‘twisted’ right ankle that looked painful and swollen.

It was originally claimed that Britney had suffered the injury after an alleged altercation with her felon ‘ex’ at the famed hotel in Los Angeles, but the singer insists that she fell while trying to ‘do a leap’ in her room.

Like her initial statement on the matter, she claimed that paramedics came to her hotel room ‘illegally’ and ’caused a huge scene, which was so unnecessary and all I needed was ice [for my ankle].’

In her caption, Britney then shifted the blame to her mother as she accused the 68-year-old of somehow being ‘involved’ in the ordeal.

‘I know my mom was involved !!! I haven’t talked to her in 6 months and she called right after it happened before the news being out !!!’ the Toxic hitmaker wrote.

This comes as a shock to fans as it was reported late last year that Lynne and Britney were working to ‘repair’ their relationship as they reunited in December for Britney’s 42nd birthday.

She continued: ‘I was set up just like she did way back when !!! I wish I had grandparents !!! I can’t stand her !!! I honestly don’t care I will say it’.

Britney closed out her post by gushing over her longtime attorney, Mathew Rosengart, who she said is ‘like a father’ to her.

‘Psss this man is wonderful !!! He’s like a father to me and he got me through last night !!! I adore you and admire you mister Mathew !!!’

The videos shared by Britney were meant to be seen as proof that she had in fact twisted her ankle.

Referring to herself as a ‘f***ing idiot,’ she explained that she ‘tried to do a leap in the living room at the Chateau and I fell, embarrassed myself and that’s it.’

She continued: ‘Paramedics came to my door illegally and, of course, cause this huge scene which was so unnecessary and all I needed was ice [for my ankle].

‘But, yeah, [my twisted ankle] is actually pretty bad but s**t happens,’ the star concluded.

Shortly after, Britney shockingly shared a video of herself dancing in a sparkly costume and heeled boots at her Thousand Oaks home. It’s unclear if the video is new or from Britney’s archives.

‘Ok I’ve been messing around and I thought this costume was beautiful !!! I used to do shows in Vegas with two layers of tights on my legs !!!’ wrote the star, who famous held a Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood from 2013 to 2017.

She continued: ‘They never let me show my real legs !!! It felt kinda weird and idiotic with a costume on my living room !!!’

Britney then made reference to the late Prince, who famously wore flamboyant outfits on and off the stage.

‘Well Prince used to dress up in costumes everyday of his life in his house !!! He used to pick specific dancers to entertain him when he was bored !!! Useless information,’ she concluded.

The deterioration in Britney’s relationship with her mother comes just days after she branded her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, a ‘b***h’ in a since-deleted video that had been uploaded to her Instagram stories on Tuesday. 

The Baby One More Time hitmaker filmed herself while sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle joined by others, including an individual whom she called her assistant, as they headed to go horseback riding. 

At one point during the clip, the songstress brought up camping and after asking the others if they have done so, Britney added, ‘My sister did on a TV show!’ 

The pop star seemingly was referencing to the Zoey 101 actress’s time on U.K.’s reality series titled, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here – which she appeared in last year in 2023.

‘And they bathed her in the jungle, little s**t,’ Britney continued. ‘She said, ‘Bathe me, ‘cuz I’m like, stuck in the jungle and I miss my kids. Oh, cater to me.’ Little b***h.’ 

After a brief pause, the performer then questioned, ‘Now, what would we do in the jungle?’ 

In text added towards the bottom of the reel, she also wrote, ‘I like talking like my assistant…she’s British!!!’ 

‘I wanna be a little b***h and get a bath in the jungle like my sis,’ the Toxic singer concluded. 

Last year, Britney opened up about her mental health struggles, revealing that she has continued to take antidepressants despite no longer being required to by her conservatorship. 

In an Instagram post last February, she shared: ‘I don’t have ‘medical doctors’ !!! I take Prozac for depression and that’s about it.’ 

Britney was initially entered into her conservatorship on February 1, 2008, with Judge Reva Goetz placing her father Jamie and attorney Andrew M. Wallet, as conservators.

It was decided that she needed an intervention after she refused to relinquish custody of her sons to ex Kevin Federline and she was committed to the psych ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold.

She had been exhibiting worrying behaviour in the months leading up to her psychiatric hold, shaving her head in October 17, moments before attacking a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella. 

While under her conservatorship, Britney was ordered to take the powerful psychiatric medicine lithium and undergo compulsory psychiatric treatments.

In her court battle to end the arrangement, Britney claimed she ‘felt drunk’ on the medication and while she acknowledged that she needed therapy, she said once a week would be sufficient. 

She added that she would also like the sessions to take place at home, rather than suffer the ’embarrassing and it’s demoralising’ experience of being photographed coming out of therapy crying.

After her conservatorship came to an end, Britney claimed that there was ‘no way to fix’ her and she still struggles with the trauma of the legal arrangement. 

She wrote on social media in 2022: ‘It’s crazy, social media. Everybody’s life seems so perfect and when I post things I think most of the time I’ve been utterly and completely embarrassed of my past … and who can forget those documentaries???

‘So yes, I do try and post me looking my best or what it may seem to be the good life. Well the truth is, my spirits are better but I will forever be traumatized by my past experience for life. There is no way to fix me, my emotions and my sensitivity … therapy, all of it !!! I think I will need some sort of miracle for my emotions.

‘My life is by no means picture perfect. I cry myself to sleep most nights. I’m insecure as hell. I don’t know how to have good posture unless I’m on camera, and I need to go to a school just to be taught how to freaking walk. I know you say “but you are a performer”. Well that’s it !!! It’s an act on stage. In real life, I have no clue and I’m working on that.’ 

While Britney has been open about her mental health struggles and the ‘trauma’ of her conservatorship, concerns were immediately raised about her behaviour when she was released from the legal arrangement in 2021.

Once she regained control of her social media, eyebrows were raised when Britney began stripping off for nude selfies and filming herself dancing. 

Her sons Sean Preston, 18, and Jayden James, 17, were said to be ’embarrassed’ by her behaviour and in a tell-all interview alongside their father they soon declared that despite a conservatorship no longer dictating when they could see her, they were were in no rush to meet up. 

Jayden admitted ‘it will take a lot of time and effort’ to repair their relationship, explaining: ‘I just want her to get better mentally. When she gets better I really want to see her again.’

Britney responded in fiery fashion that day with a freewheeling Instagram tirade in which she goaded Jayden to ‘learn to pick up a book and read one before you resort to even thinking about my intellect sweetheart !!!’ 

It was clear tensions were frayed between the trio when her sons did not attend her wedding to Sam Asghari, 29, earlier in the year. 

That union had also raised eyebrows among her inner circle. 

Sam began dating Britney in October 2016 after he was cast as her love interest in the music video for Slumber Party. In October 2021, amid her legal battle to end her conservatorship, they announced their engagement. 

Hollywood star Octavia Spencer was quick to warn Britney in the comments that she should ‘sign a prenup’, yet later apologised for her remarks and insisted she had intended to ‘make the couple laugh not cause pain.’

Five months after Britney’s conservatorship came to an end – in which she had been made to wear an IUD contraceptive device – Britney announced she was pregnant with the couple’s first child. 

She shared the joyous news in April 2022 but a month later she wrote on Instagram that she had sadly lost the ‘miracle baby’ which they both longed for. She said that they would keep on trying for a child.

Two months later, the couple were married at her home in Thousand Oaks.

It was certainly a fairytale spectacle, with the bride arriving in a carriage drawn by white horses and their hooves painted gold.

She told Vogue magazine at the time: ‘We really wanted to make this a small and beautiful moment with family and friends.’

Her immediate family (including her parents, sister, and brother) were not invited, however, and her two sons did not attend. 

Their father Kevin’s attorney told People that both sons were ‘happy for their mum’ and ‘hopeful that Sam and Britney are starting a great future together.’

At the wedding itself there were signs that this wasn’t a conventional union. 

The first dance, traditionally a bride and groom only affair, was instead Britney plus Madonna and Selena Gomez dancing to the bride’s hit Toxic. 

It seemed to set the scene for marital life, with the couple splitting just a year later and citing ‘irreconcilable differences’.

Britney, thankfully, had taken on Octavia’s advice and signed a pre-nup, yet is said to be paying around $10,000 per month for him to live in a high-rise apartment in Los Angeles. Their divorce is yet to be finalised. 

While she found herself facing heartbreak and loss, Britney’s newfound conservatorship freedom did allow her to revive her much-loved music career. 

She teamed up with Elton John to release Hold Me Closer – her first song in six years – and a remix of Elton’s classic Tiny Dancer. 

Fans went wild for the track, sending it straight to No. 1 in 35 countries, while Elton expressed its hopes that the success would ‘restore Britney’s confidence’, noting she’d been left ‘broken’ by her conservatorship. 

However the eccentric dancing videos, pointed digs at family members and nude selfies continued, ultimately prompting the police to perform a welfare check on the singer. 

In January 2023, fans urged law enforcement to check on the star as a result of her erratic social media behaviour, which saw her days earlier claim she had changed her name to River Red

Fans were concerned the singer – who had recently addressed a seeming ‘manic’ episode in a restaurant with husband Sam – was in danger after deleting her Instagram for for the seventh time in less than a year.

Deputies from Ventura Co. Sheriff’s Office were then sent out to her home home and determined ‘there was no reason to believe she was in danger’.

In response, Britney took to Twitter to lament her lack of privacy and complained that she felt like she was being ‘gaslit’ and ‘bullied.’

Although she stressed that police never ‘entered’ her house and stayed at her gate, she said the situation went ‘a little too far.’

In contrast with her usual bubbly Instagram posts, Britney’s Twitter statement was unusually sober and reserved. 

‘As everyone knows the police were called to my home based on some prank phone calls,’ she began. ‘I love and adore my fans this time things went a little too far and my privacy was invaded.

She clarified that, ‘The police never entered my home,’ and they apparently left shortly after arriving at her gate after finding ‘no issue.’

But the run-in with law enforcement over the ‘prank phone calls’ still left her feeling accosted.

She continued: ‘This felt like I was being gaslit and bullied once the incident made it to the news and being portrayed once again in a poor and unfair light by the media. 

‘During this time in my life, I truly hope the public and my fans who I care so much about can respect my privacy moving forward. All the love, B.’ 

However, in October that same year, fans called the police out again after Britney shared an Instagram video of herself dancing with knives that she later claimed were ‘fake.’ 

She later hit out at law enforcement, sharing on Instagram: ‘Is it a joke in the news again with welfare checks??? Come on America … we cooler than that, right???

‘The officers came to my home and said they would not leave until they spoke to me as people do 4 minute performances with them,’ she penned, and adamantly added, ‘I am getting an apology.

‘I’ve been bullied in my home for so long now…ITS ENOUGH! Don’t talk about it, come on, let’s DO!!!’

Britney then wrote, ‘As my mom does the silent treatment when paps ask questions about her own daughter as if I’m in the wrong…nope it’s an old game.’

In conclusion, she further slammed authorities showing up at her home and typed, ‘People need to be responsible for their actions! It’s about power for cops.’

The following month, Britney was able to have her say as she released The Woman in Me, an explosive memoir about her life in the spotlight and her troubles hidden in the shadows. 

It included accounts of the conservatorship that for years granted her father control of much of her life and her revelation that she had an abortion while dating Justin Timberlake more than 20 years ago.

She shared a statement on Instagram in which she explained that she had no intentions to ‘offend anyone’ in regards to her memoir, adding she has ‘moved on and it’s a beautiful clean slate from here !!!’

A bidding war was then said to have erupted between major studio over the rights to adapt the memoir into a film, TV series or documentary. 

Having aired her thoughts in the memoir, Britney stayed mainly out of the spotlight in the beginning of 2024. 

She hit headlines again this month when it emerged she had settled the lingering issues in the court conservatorship controlled by her father.

Several elements had remained and dragged on in court, including final payments to the attorneys who helped operate the conservatorship. 

Britney’s attorney Mathew Rosengart had also sought a public reckoning over what he said was financial malfeasance by Jamie and allegations of excessive surveillance of Britney.

All of that will now be dispensed with in the settlement whose terms were not disclosed in a series of filings last week, one of which said Jamie had been ‘fully and finally discharged as Former Conservator of the Estate.’

Britney’s lawyer said in a statement: ‘Although the conservatorship was terminated in November, 2021, her wish for freedom is now truly complete.

‘As she desired, her freedom now includes that she will no longer need to attend or be involved with court or entangled with legal proceedings in this matter. 

‘It has been our honor and privilege to represent, protect, and defend Britney Spears.’

Jamie’s attorney, Alex Weingarten, said the settlement was confidential at the insistence of her lawyer.

He shared: ‘Jamie has nothing to hide and would be happy to disclose everything about every aspect of the conservatorship so that the public knows the actual truth.

‘Jamie loves his daughter very much and has always done everything he can to protect her.’

Following the settlement, TMZ reported that friends of the singer branded her ‘completely disfunctional’ and claim she is in a worse mental and financial situation than she was when she was under conservatorship.

The insiders claimed that Britney is suffering from ‘shocking and radical mood swings’ and has become increasingly isolated.

One source told the site that those who have remained close to the star believe she was doing better while under conservatorship, which ended in 2021.

‘She had lots of freedom in the conservatorship and the restrictions were there to protect her. She’s not protected anymore,’ claimed the insider.

The star was also alleged to be in danger of blowing her $60million fortune after splashing out over a million dollars for each of her monthly trips to French Polynesia and Hawaii.

She has reportedly spent thousands on private jets and five star resorts for regular holidays, with an insider claiming: ‘She cannot afford this… she is in danger of going broke’.

A noted Hollywood psychiatrist then claimed the best plan of action for Britney’s wellbeing would be to place her under a new conservatorship. 

Dr. Charles Sophy appeared on TMZ Live on Monday after the reports and revealed that he wasn’t shocked to see the news at all.

‘No, it doesn’t surprise me at all because the conservatorship was there for a reason, and even though, like you said, it might not have been with the right person, the actual process needs to be in place,’ he said.

‘When you have a mental illness of this degree, you need that kind of structure, supervision, and most importantly, to take your medication.’

In 2019, there were reports that  Britney was being held against her will in the conservatorship – that was allegedly supposed to end in 2009 after just one year – because the singer was refusing to take her medication. 

Dr Charles claimed that the spiral in Britney’s health now could be a repeat incident, claiming: ‘I think that’s probably what’s happened here. This is a no-medication situation.

‘Because of the erratic behavior, the manic-y spending of money, recklessness, destroying people around her, no one can feel safe around her, no one can control her, she’s out of control, on many levels.’

When asked how she could be treated now, Dr Charles admitted: ‘Well, these kinds of situations run into a wall, eventually.’

‘Either she’ll hurt herself, she might hurt someone else, or she could be 5150’d because she’s not able to take care of herself.

‘Any of those situations will push her to a place where then medication can be given to her against her will.’

TMZ’s Harvey Levin then confessed that he couldn’t see a judge ordering Britney to be put into another conservatorship given the public outcry that happened.

Yet Dr Charles responded: ‘Well, I understand that, but at the end of the day, hopefully a judge would make the decision in the best interest of that patient, and if that’s what she requires, even for a temporary amount of time, that’s what she would require.’

When asked if there is an argument that can be made that getting out of the conservatorship was a ‘horrible thing’ for Britney, Dr Charles responded: ‘Absolutely.

‘You know, hindsight is 20/20, but look at it. She’s slowly unraveling and it was in place and she wasn’t unraveling. She might not have been happy, but she was stable… She needs medication. She’s out of control.’

Britney was initially entered into the conservatorship on February 1, 2008, with Judge Reva Goetz placing her father Jamie and attorney Andrew M. Wallet, as conservators.

This happened when she refused to relinquish custody of her sons to ex Kevin Federline and she was committed to the psych ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold.

She continued to work and release albums throughout her time in the conservatorship, though she entered a psychiatric ward again in 2019 due to stress from her father Jamie’s near-fatal colon rupture.

The #FreeBritney campaign began to gain momentum in 2020 and the following year The New York Times’ Emmy-nominated television documentary Framing Britney Spears only snowballed the public outcry at her conservatorship.