While the 'Toxic' hitmaker appears to have to put her troubled years behind her, Andrew Wallet points out that the conservatorship is very important to protect the singer's assets.
- Oct 6, 2020
AceShowbiz - Britney Spears' former estate manager Andrew Wallet has warned that the singer's conservatorship could be in place for the rest of her life.
The legal arrangement was put in place in 2008 after Britney's much-publicised breakdown, with Wallet and Britney's dad Jamie placed in control of her financial affairs.
While the "Toxic" star appears to have to put her troubled years behind her, Wallet said in his first interview that the conservatorship is there for the mother-of-two's protection.
"The most important question is whether the conservatorship is in her best interests. That's what you always have to ask yourself and I absolutely still believe that the conservatorship is in her best interests," he told the Daily Mail.
"It is not in Britney's best interests to be outside the conservatorship but there's a lot of politics involved. Protecting her assets is very important and for that the conservatorship has to stay in place because she is susceptible to undue influences.
"The conservatorship isn't in place to make her do things she doesn't want to do. It's in place to protect her. If she doesn't want to work she doesn't have to work. No one can force her. I have had people in conservatorship who have got themselves right and it has been terminated but you don't see that because they're not people in the public eye. Other people can be in a conservatorship their whole lives. I'm not saying that's going to be Britney but it could happen to her."
Wallet stepped down from his role as conservator in March, 2019, while Jodi Montgomery was made temporary conservator a few months later when Jamie struggled with his health. Britney later requested that Jamie should be permanently removed as her co-conservator, but in June he filed for Wallet to resume the role alongside him. According to Us Weekly, Wallet filed documents to withdraw the petition to resume his co-conservator role on Monday, October 5 - the same day that the Daily Mail interview was published.
Later in his chat with the newspaper, Wallet touched upon the #FreeBritney movement, which was started on social media by fans concerned about Britney's wellbeing amid the conservatorship battle.
"This movement on social media has definitely complicated matters. There are people lurking in the shadows pushing an agenda," he sighed. "I can't say who but it is hurting Britney, she's the only one who gets hurt by all this."
