Britney Spears On Conservatorship: I Was A Child Robot, Stripped Of My Womanhood

In extracts taken from her upcoming memoir 'The Woman In Me', Britney Spears opens up about her conservatorship, where she claims this legal arrangement "stripped me of my womanhood".

Arriving on October 24 via Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, 'The Woman In Me', has been hailed as a "brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith and hope".

Excerpts which were taken from this book, and published in People Magazine, show the US popstar talking about "shaving my head and acting out were my ways of pushing back" because she had been "eyeballed so much growing up".

Jamie Spears, Britney's father was placed in charge of this conservatorship in 2008, which put him in control of her finances and freedom, something which made Spears feel "physically sick". 

"I would do little bits of creative stuff here and there, but my heart wasn't in it anymore. As far as my passion for singing and dancing, it was almost a joke at that point", Spears writes in her memoir. 

She continued, "I became a robot. But not just a robot - a sort of child-robot. I had been so infantilised that I was losing pieces of what made me feel like myself". 

"The conservatorship stripped me of my womanhood, made me into a child. I became more of an entity than a person onstage. I had always felt music in my bones and my blood; they stole that from me". 

"If they’d let me live my life, I know I would’ve followed my heart and come out of this the right way and worked it out". 

The conservatorship was eventually terminated by a Judge in Los Angeles in November 2021. 

"I didn't deserve what my family did to me"

In that period, Britney Spears released albums 'Blackout', 'Circus', 'Femme Fatale', 'Britney Jean', and 'Glory'. 'Blackout' saw Spears pick up the Album of the Year at the MTV Awards in 2008. She also embarked on several European and North American Tours, as well as a residency in Las Vegas, which was put on hiatus in 2019.

"Think of how many male artists gambled all their money away; how many had substance abuse or mental health issues", Spears added. "No one tried to take away their control over their bodies and money. I didn’t deserve what my family did to me". 

Spears also speaks about her court battle to end her conservatorship, and the "impact sharing her voice - her truth" had on her and "countless others", along with the "power of music and love".

"It took a long time and a lot of work for me to feel ready to tell my story. I hope it inspires people on some level and can touch hearts," she also wrote in the extracts.

"Since I’ve been free, I’ve had to construct a whole different identity. I’ve had to say, 'Wait a second, this is who I was - someone passive and pleasing. A girl. And this is who I am now - someone strong and confident. A woman’". 

While Spears voices the introduction, the audio edition of her memoir will be voiced by five time Oscar nominated actress Michelle Williams, who also shared her support for Spears, saying, "I stand with Britney". 

"This book has been a labour of love and all the emotions that come with… Reliving everything has been exciting, heart-wrenching and emotional to say the least", Spears said in her statement. "For those reasons, I will only be reading a small part of my audiobook. I am so grateful to the amazing Michelle Williams for reading the rest of it".