Britney Spears is a well-known music artist, known mainly for her hit songs such as “Toxic” and “…Baby One More Time.” To fans, Spears has always been happy and upbeat — what many have not seen are the struggles she has gone through for over a decade.

After being placed in a psychiatric hold in 2008, Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, was permitted a conservatorship over several aspects of Britney’s life, including her estate and business affairs. This allowed him to have complete control over her finances, meaning she did not have power over her own money. In 2019, Jamie Spears temporarily stepped down as her conservator and was replaced by Jodi Montgomery due to health reasons — after some time, however, Britney requested for this change to be permanent.

In November 2020, Britney officially went to court to try and get her father permanently removed as one of her co-conservators. A judge denied her request, but in June 2021, she was able to give a statement about her situation in a Los Angeles courtroom.

Britney made several claims regarding how she had been treated for the past 13 years, saying her therapist had given her lithium as a replacement for her normal medication. She also said her management forced her to do tours, even going as far as threatening her to go through with them.

“My management said if I don’t do this tour, I will have to find an attorney, and by contract my own management could sue me if I didn’t follow through with the tour,” said Britney, according to Variety magazine.

Britney also said she was forced to get a IUD, a form of birth control, despite wanting to have another child. “I was told right now in the conservatorship, I’m not able to get married or have a baby, I have a IUD inside of myself right now so I don’t get pregnant. I wanted to take the IUD out so I could start trying to have another baby,” she said. “But this so-called team won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out because they don’t want me to have children — any more children.”

After news of the singer’s statements spread, fans were quick to head to social media, using #FreeBritney to spread awareness of the idol’s situation. Many shared their opinion of the news via Twitter, and numerous petitions were created to try and end the singer’s conservatorship.

Other well-known celebrities, including Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus, have shown their support for Britney as well.

Recently, however, on August 12, 2021, Jamie Spears agreed to step down as Britney’s conservator. Although he still defended his previous actions, he voiced his desire for a smooth transition to a new conservator. Montgomery, Britney’s temporary conservator who had replaced her father, has supported her actions in court and will continue to be her conservator.