Jamie Lynn Spears is speaking out in support of big sister Britney Spears after the pop superstar publicly testified for the first time in her conservatorship case on June 23. The former child star also addressed why she hasn’t spoken out after her big sister’s powerful testimony — something fans have criticized the younger Spears for — in an emotional video shared on her Instagram Stories Monday (June 28).
“I felt like until my sister could speak for herself and say what she felt she needed to say publicly, it wasn’t my place and it wasn’t the right thing to do. But now that she’s very clearly spoken and said what she needed to say, I feel like I can follow her lead and say what I feel I need to say,” the 30-year-old began in her video.
“I think it’s extremely clear that since the day I was born that I’ve only loved adored and supported my sister. This is my freakin’ big sister before any of this bulls—. I don’t care if she wants to run away to the rainforest and have a zillion babies in the middle of nowhere, or if she wants to come back and dominate the world the way she has so many times before,” she said. “I have nothing to gain or lose either way. This situation does not affect me either way because I am only her sister who is only concerned about her happiness.”
“I’ve made a very conscious choice in my life to only participate in her life as her sister,” the Zoey 101 star said, tears welling up in her eyes as she began to explain why she’s been quiet on the topic of Britney as of late. “Maybe I didn’t support her the way the public would like me to with a hashtag on a public platform. But I can assure I have supported my sister long before there was a hashtag, and I’ll support her long after. Note that. I’ve worked since I was 9 years old, I’ve paid my own bills since I was 10 years old. Not that I owe the public anything because my sister knows I love and support her. That’s the only person I owe anything to. I’m not my family — I’m my own person. I’m speaking for myself. I’m so proud of her for using her voice. I am so proud of her for requesting new counsel.”
“If any of the conservatorship is flying to Mars or whatever the hell else she wants to do to be happy, I support that, 100%,” said Jamie Lynn as her statement came to a close. “Because I support my sister. I love my sister, always have, always will, as long as she’s happy. So let’s keep praying. That’s all.”
During Britney’s harrowing testimony, she likened her conservatorship — which she has been under for 13 years — to sex trafficking. During her 20-minute-plus testimony, she declared, “I am not here to be anyone’s slave.” She went on to share with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny that her management overworked and exploited her for years for their own financial gain, saying “they should be in jail” for the way the team treated her.
The pop superstar was also upset with her family, and especially her father Jamie Spears, whom she called “ignorant” and also thinks should be in jail for his role in the conservatorship. While her dad faced the brunt of her hurt and frustration during the testimony, the singer shared that she’d like to take legal action against her whole family.
“I would honestly like to sue my family, to be totally honest with you. I also would like to be able to share my story with the world, and what they did to me, instead of it being a hush-hush secret to benefit all of them. I want to be able to be heard on what they did to me by making me keep this in for so long, is not good for my heart,” the pop princess told the judge. “I’ve been so angry and I cry every day, it concerns me, I’m told I’m not allowed to expose the people who did this to me.”
The “Mood Ring” singer also shared details of what she has dealt with during the ongoing conservatorship. Among them, she says that she would like to marry and have more children with her boyfriend, but claimed that her team won’t let her go to a doctor to get her IUD removed; her team made her work endlessly without breaks, and punished her by not letting her see her sons or boyfriend if she didn’t do as they said; she had no privacy — including no door for her room — and was made to undress and change in front of various people, and more.
Spears told the judge during her testimony that she wants to terminate her conservatorship, which has been in place since 2008.
