Britney Spears took to Instagram on Tuesday to further address the end of her conservatorship and answer questions about what she’s going to do with her newfound freedom.
“Well let’s see, I’ve been in the conservatorship for thirteen years,” said Spears, speaking directly to the camera just a day after she declared to be on “cloud 9” in the first weekend free of the constraints of her conservatorship.
“It’s really a long time to be in a situation you don’t want to be in. So I’m just grateful honestly for each day and being able to have the keys to my car, being able to be independent and feel like a woman, and owning an ATM card, seeing cash for the first time, being able to buy candles. It’s the little things for us women but it makes a huge difference.”
The singer went on to emphasize that, although being free from the conservatorship is “really nice,” she does not consider herself a victim: “I lived with victims my whole life as a child, that’s why I got out of my house and I worked for twenty years, worked my ass off. I’m here to be an advocate for people with real disabilities and real illnesses. I’m a very strong woman, so I can only imagine what the system has done to those people.”
Spears says she hopes that her story will “make an impact and make some changes” in the “corrupt system.” She also addressed the #freebritney movement, telling her fans: “You guys rock. Honestly, my voice was muted and threatened for so long and I wasn’t able to speak up or say anything and because of you guys and the awareness of kind of knowing what was going on, and delivering that news to the public for so long, you gave an awareness to all of them and because of you, I honestly think you guys saved my life in a way, 100 percent.”
In the caption which accompanied the video, Spears made a reference to sharing her story with Oprah Winfrey, but it is not clear whether an interview is confirmed. The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Winfrey’s reps for comment.
Spears also reiterated how “embarrassing” she felt not being able to drive her own car or use cash to make her own purchases. She called the conservatorship “demoralizing and degrading” and wrote that those who did this to her “should all be in jail.” Spears added: “yes including my church going mother.”
Spears’ was first placed under the conservatorship in 2008, which saw her father Jamie Spears exercise much control over the pop star’s finances and personal decisions. The conservatorship was terminated by Los Angles County Superior Court judge Brenda Penny on Nov. 12, less than six months after Spears gave an emotional testimony in court, detailing how she felt the arrangement was abusive — and being vocal that she would like to “sue” her family — and hired attorney Mathew Rosengart.
This article originally appeared in THR.com.
