Britney Spears was abused on many different levels, in many different ways throughout her conservatorship. She was financially abused, she was emotionally abused by her father. She was legally abused by the fact that she wasn’t allowed to have her own lawyer representing her interests until this year. She was physically abused and institutionalized against her will. She was forced to use birth control. And on and on. But I never considered the idea that Jamie Spears might have used his born-again Evangelical/fundamentalist Christianity to abuse her too. Well, he did. Suddenly, TMZ is no longer on the Jamie Spears train, and they have a story about how in the first years of Britney’s conservatorship, Jamie weaponized Christianity against Britney.
Britney Spears was diagnosed by medical professionals with a mental illness, but Jamie Spears and the business management team he hired felt they could free Britney from the grips of her mental problems with religion … sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ.
Jamie became a born again Christian after a stint in rehab early on in the conservatorship. Jamie knew Lou Taylor, who worked with Jamie Lynn as early as 2004 and also became a spokesperson for the family back then. Taylor created a company called Tri Star Entertainment and in 2008 she and Jamie discussed making Tri Star the business manager in the conservatorship. Taylor was also a fervent born again Christian … something she talked about on the “Today” show in 2008. Taylor brought in Robin Greenhill, who worked for Tri Star, to have day-to-day contact with Britney … helping manage her business affairs. But, we’re told it went way beyond money … Robin in particular was up in every aspect of Britney’s life.
Our sources say for the first year, Jamie, Robin and Lou literally walked around with the bible in hand, proselytizing the word of God. We’re told for a time they would only let Britney read religious material. And, we’re told, there was a large measure of intolerance for anyone who wasn’t a “good Christian.”
Interestingly, Lynne Spears wrote in one of her books … “Jamie was going to file for the conservatorship on January 22 [2008] … but he and his business manager, Lou, felt God leading them to wait, fast and pray, despite the frustration of a phalanx of lawyers.”
The religious push was on full display during the entire Circus Tour, we’re told, but as the money cascaded in, religion sort of fell by the wayside and money became central to business management and the conservatorship … so say our sources.
Tri Star was getting 5% of Britney’s gross profits, and when she was performing that was an enormous amount of money. Fast forward to 2019 when Britney stopped performing. At some point, Taylor emailed Jamie and said the commissions had dwindled and she wanted a guarantee of $500,000 a year. Some folks on the inside, including Britney’s lawyer, Samuel Ingham, felt that was wrong, because when someone takes a percentage they tend to make more than they should for a certain period and less for other periods, but it evens out. People said some insiders felt Lou wanted it both ways. Jamie, however, didn’t feel that way, and approved the $500k floor, which greatly upset some people involved.
Taylor is no longer involved in Britney’s life, and we’re told she, along with Robin, will be deposed by Britney’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, to determine if they committed malfeasance or misappropriation of assets. Rosengart also wants to depose them — in particular Robin and Jamie — to determine if they illegally recorded or eavesdropped on Britney’s bedroom conversations and texts.
Yeah, sounds like typical Evangelical Christian scammers. These people were leeches and Jamie was too stupid or too corrupt to see it. The fact that he was still in business with these people and guaranteeing them $500,000 a year IN 2019 is f–king bonkers. Tri Star got 5% of Britney’s gross profits from… 2008 to this year. They stole millions of dollars from her after they spied on her, medically abused her and emotionally abused her. It makes me sick.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Not even surprised, not even a little bit.
nope, once you hear that Lou’s husband runs his own Christian church you pretty much confirms that they’re scammers….the money is hidden in the fake church finances…
And the churches don’t pay ANY taxes.
A man using Christianism as a weapon against women? How shocking.
Any chance that he could land in prison? That’s where he belongs.
YES. I want to see this man in JAIL. Fuck him and his sexist, gross manipulation of his daughter. What kind of person does this??! Makes me sick.
Right!?!?! There have to be criminal, legal consequences for this kind of thing. – But are there?
he sure does. he stole so much money from her.
This poor woman. I just want happiness for her and for her to be able to live her life how she wants to. she’s been working for so many people for so long, she needs to be able to retire and work only if and when she wants to. I was never a Britney fan but GD it I would punch out her father if I could. what a snake he is.
oh, and her horrible, scamming sister, too. B*TCH.
Gross, but not surprising. I hope Britney’s lawyer goes after each and every person who abused and took advantage of her, and she finally gets some justice (and money back).
I watched the newest Netflix doc and I was shocked at how low her net worth was. Yes, she’s incredibly wealthy with something like 65 million dollars….but with her level of success she should be worth like 500 mil.
Britney has a legit wealth mismanagement suit unlike Johnny Depp
Yes! Go get ’em Rosengart! Effing faux christian tax-shelter grifters.
How the crap was Jamie allowed to remain as conservator after he went to rehab?! God bless recovery, and no judgment on addiction. But if you are heading into treatment, you are admitting your life has become unmanageable. How are you in a position to manage someone else’s life?!
This also reminds me of how Kevin Federline wanted an audit of the conservatorship when he asked for additional child support, and Jamie capitulated quickly. Not to threadjack, but this is why I am no K-Fed apologist – he knew the situation with Jamie, and only used it as leverage to get even more of Britney’s money himself. He’s on the teet just like all of them.
k, I am in complete agreement with you on Federline. I recall how when this most recent attempt to free Britney from the conservatorship started and Britney was allowed to get her own lawyer, Federline’s lawyer made an odd comment along the lines of wanting to be sure that Britney was in the proper state before any moves were made to free her from the financial concervatorship. I wish I could find the comment because it just felt odd and gave me the impression that he and Federline were worried that this would result in less money going to Federline. There are too many snakes in this whole thing.
He also watched and allowed the mother of his children to be abused for years and raised other kids on Britney’s dime. Yes, he’s as bad as all the rest if not worse.
Four other children on Britney’s money. She was and is paying for three times the amount of children she had. Federline is beyond despicable. Cue all the ‘but his other children deserve to live the same way as his first two.’ I agree, they should all have the same standard of living, but not on only Brit’s dime. She’s paying for six children to live in a mansion, (have you seen his home) receive the security her two boys actually need, limo’s, luxurious vacations, and nannies. He even took Brit to court to try to force her to pay for private schooling for his four kids too. He’s got three years left to collect child support from Brit. What do you think hes going to do to scam more money from her? We all know he’s going to try.
I’m not sure what KFed was supposed to do about any of this. They weren’t married anymore and, since it took him a while to become a responsible person, he’s not the person to be taking on Britney’s conservators anyway. He’s been a devoted father for years and has helped Britney to maintain a relationship with her sons, something I don’t think her father would care about. He’s not a hero for this but he also doesn’t deserve to be lumped in with her abusers simply because he asked for more money. I get why people want to hate everyone in her life, given all that’s come out, but there is room for shades of gray.
How was he allowed to remain a conservator after being served with a restraining order for domestic violence against Britney‘s son???!!
How was a man who bankrupted his own business and had no financial know-how, allowed to be the conservator of her estate?
After all the tome he took from his daughters life, he should go to jail and pay, she can never get that time with her sons back. I cannot believe she wasn’t receiving the psychiatric help she needed. Lithium doesn’t cause brain damage, it just helps bipolar disorder. Thats what she has. Jesus isn’t going to help her. That is bonkers weird and wrong.
I think Britney needs to have her entire case and diagnosis reviewed by doctors of her choosing. I don’t trust Jamie’s doctors.
You don’t have the knowledge to say Britney is bipolar. No one here has any inside information about her state of mind. She has never been properly diagnosed and it will never be public knowledge unless she wants it to be. Britney has already had too many people deciding what mental health issues she has.
All this will or would eventually drive any sane person ‘crazy’ . So sad for Brit,hope she is soon happy.
I get the sense that Britney has both the strength and the willpower to go after each and every one of these a-holes. I hope her lawyers are good and will push forward, all while she finally gets to enjoy her life with her kids and her hot fiancé. She can always make a comeback if she needs money. She is a freaking icon.
Yes, Mina and Noki.
She must have serious PTSD from this. May she heal and be happy. If anyone can pull out of this, it will be her with the support of real psychological professionals and her new family.
I’ve known many Iranian families from Los Angeles, and those I’ve had the pleasure to know are extremely tight-knit and loving. When I saw the pic of Britney with her fiancé and his sister, I got the warm fuzzies.
I used to work with Iranian asylum seekers – a couple of them were the nicest guys I’ve ever met. Really loving, kind, gentle people who were wonderful fathers. When I saw the photos of Britney’s fiance, I got the same vibes from him. I could be wrong, he could be a user, but that’s not the vibe I got.
Some Iranian guys I knew were REALLY hard work – raised as little princes by their mothers and really intense, self-absorbed and dramatic. But, that’s not the vibe I get from Britney’s guy. But – who knows? I really, really wish the best for her. Recovery from the kind of thing she has been through will be such a long road.
Always be very wary of anyone who leads with their religion when trying to sell you something… ( not that Brittany had any say here). Bernie Madoff used that trick too. TheDuggars as well.
They are hoping you won’t look too closely elsewhere.
Jamie acted neither as a loving father should, nor as a protective conservator. No wonder he recently announced that he shouldn’t be her conservator as his malfeasance began to be revealed. (acting like she had matured and could suddenly be trusted to handle her own affairs) His assets should be drained to pay Britney back; sell that huge house and all the expensive man-toys he has bought while robbing his own daughter blind. Claw back every penny possible from Jamie and his a-hole pals. Everything they did is disgusting, but cloaking themselves with Christianity while robbing Britney is another level of evil. They all should be publicly revealed as criminals. Then I truly believe that the court should rule that for the rest of his life, Jamie can only see Britney with a third party present, a person specifically chosen to protect Britney from her sleaze-bag of a father.
Jamie also gave himself a percentage of her tours and Vegas residency. A conservatory should not be personally profiting from the work of the conservatee.
Mac, that is why it makes no sense to me when people say that the conservatorship must have been okay because the finances were being tracked and the courts kept approving it. No one wants to consider that maybe there is some corruption in the LA legal system. Why in the world should Jamie be making that much money off Britney’s deals? It’s not like he left a high paying job to be her conservator. He was already living in LA so he didn’t have to uproot his life to go and handle her affairs. The whole thing is just so sketchy.
His strategy for wanting to end the conservatorship was definitely to stop any investigation of financial malfeasance on his part. Rosengart was very smart to have him suspended first because that allowed him to receive all communication between Jamie and his lawyers since the conservatorship began. Now he has evidence to go after Jamie, Lou, Larry Rudolf, Sam Ingham and all others involved who embezzled money from Britney‘s estate. Had the judge ended the conservatorship the investigation would’ve been much more difficult.
Misspelled Rudolph.
I am very concerned about her, check her Instagram video with the doll.
She’s goofing around. So what?
Ya it’s not just goofing off, not that video. Watch it again – look at her sweatshirt that is on inside out and with the ribbon around her neck. Her eyes – its concerning.
I saw it.It’s not just goofing off.She is just not well at all.
Stop trolling
So what? Let her get her legal personhood back and retire in peace. Mental illness is extremely common and should not lead to ridicule or loss of rights.
Hi Lou. 😃
haha I was going to say hi Jamie! But you’re right, must be Lou
A literal concern troll, you can stomp back under your bridge now we’ve got your message
I am convinced that what Britney’s father and his minions did to her over the years after the conservatorship was in place ended up exacerbating any mental issue she had/ has. Look back at how Britney was at the start of the Circus era, when she was told that if she recorded the album and toured successfully, she would be given more freedom. Her peformance on Good Morning America was reminiscent of how she was before the breakdown. She looked to be on track to getting better. There was that documentary where she talked about the breakdown and she even questioned why she didn’t just pack up and go to Louisiana with her kids when things started spiraling. She was lucid and self-reflective.
The Circus tour was a success. But then Jamie and Co. reneged on the deal to give her more freedom. I suspect that when she rightfully balked at that, Jamie and Co. tightened the screws because they didn’t want to lose their cash cow, and then did whatever was necessary to keep her under their control. And then everything spiraled after that. I know that people with a mental illness will sometimes need their medication readjusted if their condition worsens or the meds become less effective, but after reading how they locked Britney away and pumped her with lithium, you have to question everything. These people belong in prison.
Good points, Sid. I think it’s likely that Britney’s mental health has never been properly addressed because of these scammers. Whatever her issues, they are likely treatable. Like most people who have mental health issues (and there are many), she could and should have been able to live a normal life. I have no doubt these people prevented her from getting the exact help she specifically needed. It is horrible. I hope that she gets what she needs now so that she can live a healthy life on her terms.
ITA Green. It really feels like they wanted her to be just well enough to record and perform, but not well enough to be considered capable of having more of a say in her own affairs. The whole thing is just sad and infuriating.
They also used her kids to keep her compliant by threatening to withhold visitation. What she wanted most was to see her kids. Such cruelty.
I couldn’t agree more. But what you said here blew my mind: “It really feels like they wanted her to be just well enough to record and perform, but not well enough to be considered capable of having more of a say in her own affairs.” This is it. They wanted to continue using her, not help her. As she said “my so-called support system hurt me deeply” and “they should all be in jail”. So sad.
Gawd I can’t believe what Britney has had to deal with in her life. I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like to be surrounded by these toxic leeches who are feasting on your success and money and you can’t even get rid on them. They all deserve jail. Poor Britney.
I hope she hires a good forensic accountant and then legally goes after all those scammers.
This is a perfect example of just because you’re related to someone doesn’t mean they have your best interest at heart. I hope her new lawyers are geared up to sue the pants off of everyone who got a piece over her entire conservatorship. Audit every single thing her dad did, every stupid decision he made “in her best interest”. Karma drives a big bus & she knows where everyone lives. This makes me sad & disgusted at the same time. Why can’t people just be decent? For ONCE? Ugh…
They did more than that. Before the conservatorship, Britney had a revocable trust set up for her children. It is highly likely that the vast majority of her money was in it. Revocable trusts set up who should control money if the person becomes incapacitated or worse. So there was already an airtight plan in place that was in line with Britney’s wishes but Jamie changed it (which I’m not sure is legal) and made Jamie Lynn the sole trustee. They also moved all the money out for Lou Taylor to “manage”. She made a boatload off of that to.
One of the reasons Britney’s reported net worth might be so low is that Jamie has refused to report her Intellectual Property assets to the court saying it is “too complicated”. Much of that stuff has been parked in LLCs over which the court has no jurisdiction. It isn’t out of the question that Jamie, Lou, et al have been skimming “fees” from those assets as well.
The “Toxic: The Britney Spears Story” podcast has a great episode called Work B*tch which breaks down what Britney’s finances should be. I highly recommend it.
My hope is that Britney finds some peace and that this opens a reevaluation of the entirely corrupt conservatorship system in the US.
5% of gross profits is absolutely outrageous. Not net, but GROSS, meaning before any kind of taxes, withholding, etc. is taken out. I’m sure the taxes on Britney’s gross were astronomical so no telling how much money these grifters made off of Britney. Disgusting. I hope Lou Taylor gets raked across the coals. “Born again,” my foot.
“And, we’re told, there was a large measure of intolerance for anyone who wasn’t a “good Christian.” Uh… would this really be good for Britney? Or anyone else who, before their brains were even fullly developed, experienced either misogyny or homophobia from the aughts, or any other era? Religious and conservative programming fueled a significant amount of the public’s abuse of her before this happened- it apparently had men and women not only blaming her for all kinds of gross things, but actually wanting her dead because she was ‘a temptation’. And it fueled some of the public’s abuse of her during her struggles and the conservatorship too. Misogynists used her struggles to make her a reap-what-you-sew poster child for other girls to see. Conservatism loves to claim to be the cure for harm it contributed to.
That’s not to say that some liberal women and liberal queer people aren’t able to experience religion in positive ways. But this was her father and his friend pushing it on her. And there are examples of people who embrace religious extremism as a way of “purifying” themselves after years of homophobia or misogyny. Britney could have become dangerous both to herself and others.
Lou and. Jamie also bankrupted the Britney Spears Foundation which funded a performing arts camp for disadvantaged children, by funneling the money into Lou’s conversion therapy charity.
If Britney had been an elder person she would not have been able to get her freedom. The sad thing is conservatorships for older people are much harder to get rid of and often times there is a lot of abuse that happens behind the scenes.
My heart goes out to her for how brutally she was used and exploited while mentally ill, but what really stands out to me in this is the thought that this would never happen to a man. You’ve got Kanye West out here destroying himself financially and socially, and nobody would dare step in and suggest he needs a minder, despite the fact that he may very well need one. Here’s poor Britney having even her physical autonomy stripped away. If you ever need a reminder of how casually dehumanization of women is built into US law, here’s your reminder a judge signed off on this for more than ten years.
What Veronica S. says bears repeating:
“If you ever need a reminder of how casually dehumanization of women is built into US law, here’s your reminder; a judge signed off on this for more than ten years.”
The War on Women is Real ~
It sure as F is…
LOCK. THEM. UP.
All this has already led to proposed changes in California law: A high price to pay for such hindsight, but at least something good may come from all this.
Absolutely absurd that this bs was done for over a decade and how quickly the new team found it. I hope he pursues every available Avenue to recoup her stolen/ misappropriated money
I was wondering how her 200-300 million wealthy moved down to just 60 mill. Now we know
Yes. So what is Jamie worth these days?
This makes me think of that George Carlin quote.
“He’s all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money!”
A$$holes
In a recent article I read that her net worth was about $60M–a lot of money to a lot of us obviously but for someone who is one of the best-selling singers of all time? Between her albums, tours, and perfume/licensing deals her net worth should easily be in the hundreds of millions. It’s quite clear that JS has always been in this to siphon off her money for his own use.
“ TMZ is no longer on the Jamie Spears train, and they have a story about how in the first years of Britney’s conservatorship, Jamie weaponized Christianity against Britney.”
Their new source is Larry Rudolph who wants to keep the attention off of himself and is therefore throwing Lou Taylor and Robin Greenhill under the bus.
There is a great #freeBritney Twitter account called notedyourhonor which has uncovered a lot of information about Britney’s conservatorship. They said TMZ came sniffing around wanting them to be a source, but they told The Misogynist Zone to F-off. 😎
There are reports they stole more than that by moving money from one of her trusts to a company owned by tristar.
How do these people coincide pimping Britney on the stage and at the same time doing all that crap with bible study? Sick minds.
Not likey