Britney Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, said in a court filing on Thursday that he will step down as her conservator after an “an orderly transition.”
“There are, in fact, no actual grounds for suspending or removing Mr. Spears as the Conservator of the Estate … and it is highly debatable whether a change in conservator at this time would be in Ms. Spears’ best interests,” a court document filed by Jamie Spears’ lawyer said.
It continued: “Nevertheless, even as Mr. Spears is the unremitting target of unjustified attacks, he does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests. So, even though he must contest this unjustified Petition for his removal, Mr. Spears intends to work with the Court and his daughter’s new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator.”
The filing added that Jamie Spears had already begun working toward a transition with his daughter’s previous attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, before his resignation from the conservatorship.
The pop star’s new attorney, Mathew Rosengart, called the move “vindication for Britney” in a statement to TheWrap and other media.
“We are pleased that Mr. Spears and his lawyer have today conceded in a filing that he must be removed,” Rosengart said in the statement. “It is vindication for Britney. We are disappointed, however, by their ongoing shameful and reprehensible attacks on Ms. Spears and others. We look forward to continuing our vigorous investigation into the conduct of Mr. Spears, and others, over the past 13 years, while he reaped millions of dollars from his daughter’s estate, and I look forward to taking Mr. Spears’s sworn deposition in the near future.”
Rosengart added: “In the interim, rather than making false accusations and taking cheap shots at his own daughter, Mr. Spears should remain silent and step aside immediately.”
The development comes three days after a Los Angeles judge denied a request filed by Rosengart to expedite a hearing about Jamie Spears’ involvement in the conservatorship. In it, Rosengart reiterated the singer’s interest in having her father removed as conservator of her estate as quickly as possible.
“Mr. Spears is willing to step down when the time is right,” Thursday’s filing added. “But the transition needs to be orderly and include a resolution of matters pending before the Court. In order to reach that result, the Court should encourage all interested parties to meet and confer in order to resolve those pending matters in the best interests of Ms. Spears.”
Emails to Jamie Spears’ lawyers from TheWrap for further comment went unreturned Thursday.
In recent months, Britney Spears has spoken out repeatedly against the conservatorship she’s been under for 13 years. In June, she gave emotional and tearful testimony calling the conservatorship “abusive” and reiterating her request for her father to step down as co-conservator.
Last month, she petitioned for Rosengart to be appointed as her attorney after her court-appointed attorney, Ingham, resigned. Rosengart is a prominent Hollywood attorney and a former federal prosecutor who has previously represented Ben Affleck, Steven Spielberg and Sean Penn. Rosengart later said he was moving “aggressively and expeditiously” to remove Jamie Spears from the conservatorship.
Pamela Chelin and Lindsey Ellefson contributed to this report.