Britney Spears has been trying to get out of conservatorship for well over a decade, leaked voicemails appear to reveal.
The messages also show that she's been fearful of her father, Jamie Spears, since at least 2009.
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On Instagram, the pop star's highly-controversial former manager Sam Lufti posted a series of voicemails from Britney — seemingly left for the court — that gave a glimpse into her thoughts on the conservatorship back in late aughts.
In the first post, which came attached to a previously-unseen image of the singer holding her son Sean Preston, Britney can be heard saying, "Hi, this is Britney Spears. It's Sunday the 18th Just so you know I want out of this conservatorship. I've been blackmailed by visitation with my babies by the conservatorship. I'm confined, restrained, and stripped of my civil rights. And I demand the state of California to review this case because I feel it's illegal.. Bye."
That message, Sam said, was left in 2009 and "every judge ignored all these calls."
In another message, this one attached to another previously-unseen image of Britney with sons Sean and Jayden James, the "Toxic" singer says, "Hi my name's Britney Spears. I called you earlier. I'm calling again because I just wanted to make sure that during the process of eliminating the conservatorship that my father has threatened me several times, that you know, he'll take my children away. I just want to be guaranteed that everything will be fine with the process and that you guys are taking care of everything, that things will stay the same as far as my custodial time. That's it, bye"
In a third 2009 message, Britney names two men — including attorney John Eardley — that she wants representing her in court in hopes of ending the conservatorship, which has now gone on for 13 years. The representation, she says, is in her "best interests and best wishes."
Back in 2008, a California court denied Eardley's bid to replace Jamie as conservator of Britney's estate.
Finally, Sam, who managed Britney in 2007 and 2008, released a fourth voicemail. In that, Britney says she is of "sound mind and body" and again begged the court to let Eardley represent her, as opposed to her court-appointed attorney Sam Ingham.
"I don't want a conservator," she said. "I'm being held against my will. I can't exercise my constitutional rights. I can't participate in my custody litigation. I believe my civil rights are being violated."
In the caption, Brit's former confidante wrote, "There was never anyone on the inside that would help. These calls are to my phone, these calls cost me a ton of money in court, tarnished my name further but also tore my soul apart, I had no idea where to turn, no one was listening no one seemed to care. I can't believe nothing has changed. She will never get those years back, her children were robbed of a huge chunk of history with their mother."
For the past several months, Britney has openly railed against her father, her family and the conservatorship, which she calls "abusive."
On July 14, a judge allowed Britney to hire her own lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, in her quest to remove Jamie as the conservator of her business affairs. Ultimately she wants the conservatorship removed.
In speaking to Page Six, Sam said her new legal team is aware that he's ready to testify on behalf of Britney. However, the report notes that that may be tricky, as Britney, via her estate, has had a long-running restraining order against Sam that keeps him away from Britney and her family. The most current restraining order runs until June 2024.
