Spears will not perform while her father is still in control of her career.

Back in 2008, when singer Britney Spears had a public breakdown, it was decided that her career and estate would be placed into a conservatorship in the interest of her personal and mental safety. Two men were chosen to control this conservatorship: attorney Andrew Wallet, and Spears’ own father, James Spears. After Wallet resigned last year, James Spears become the sole conservator, something which Britney no longer approves of. Several months ago, Britney filed to have her father removed from his position on the grounds that she is afraid of him and uncomfortable working with him. Unfortunately, these filings have not yielded fruit.

Today, the Los Angeles court handling the Spears’ case, headed by Judge Brenda Penny, ruled against Britney’s application, turning down her request that her father be suspended from the conservatorship, though it has not barred her from filing again at a later date. According to Britney’s attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, her discomfort with working with her father has reached the point where she refuses to perform any more while he is still in charge of her career. This stance is backed by an ongoing social media campaign, “#FreeBritney,” that claims Britney is being forced to perform against her will and that she should be in control of her own estate.

James Spears’ attorney, Vivian Thoreen, has argued that it was because of James that Britney’s career managed to rebound after her breakdown in 2008, and that it is thanks to him that she currently maintains a net worth of $60 million.

A judge overseeing the long-running conservatorship of Britney Spears’s career and personal life declined Tuesday to immediately remove the singer’s father as the head of her estate, despite her lawyer’s claim that she could not work with him in charge. https://t.co/onyrDROTP6

— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 11, 2020

For the time being, James Spears’ authority over the conservatorship has been extended to at least February of 2021. In the stead of Andrew Wallet, financial company Bessemer Trust has been appointed a co-conservator.