Axed Britney Spears conservatorship interview finally unearthed 8 years later
A clip of Britney Spears talking about her conservatorship for the first time in a TV interview has been unearthed eight years later.
When the Princess of Pop appeared on Britainâs âThe Jonathan Ross Showâ in 2016 to promote her album âGlory,â she mentioned the restrictive legal arrangement while explaining how it often got in the way of her creative process.
However, Spearsâ team infamously did not allow her to publicly discuss her conservatorship at the time, so her comments during the taping were cut from the final episode.
A never-before-seen clip of Britney Spears talking about her conservatorship has been unearthed eight years later. The Jonathan Ross Show
The singer mentioned her legal situation while taping âThe Jonathan Ross Showâ in 2016. The Jonathan Ross Show
But the never-before-seen footage finally aired Saturday during an ITV special looking back at memorable moments from the long-running talk show.
In âSpecial Guests,â host Jonathan Ross asked Spears, âThe new album, you are more involved in this musically, I understand, than previous ones? So youâve taken control. Youâre more in control of your music than before? Why did it take you so long? Why did you wait âtil now to do it?â
The âToxicâ singer, then 34, hesitantly replied, âWell, um, thereâs a lot of reasons, but I wonât get into the whole story.â
Spears (seen here in 2018) was not allowed to publicly discuss her conservatorship at the time of the interview. REUTERS
The Princess of Pop (shown above in 2019) did not have control of her personal or financial affairs for 13 years. REUTERS
Ross interrupted Spears to remind her that viewers knew âa lotâ of her history, which included a public breakdown in 2007, so she did not âhave to go overâ anything she did not feel comfortable with.
Looking more relaxed, the Grammy winner explained, âSince the conservatorship ⊠I felt like a lot of the things were planned for me to do and, you know, being told what to do. And I was just like, for this [album], I want to make it my baby, and I want to do it myself, and I was very strategic about the way I did it, and, um, yeah, thatâs why it means so much to me.â
The TV presenter then asked Spears whether she was âhappyâ and in a âgood place,â to which she smiled and responded, âYes, sir.â
Spearsâ father, Jamie Spears (seen here in 2012), placed the Grammy winner under a conservatorship in 2008. AP
The fan-led #FreeBritney movement pushed for the termination of the arrangement in 2021. REUTERS
Fans have yearned to see the âJonathan Ross Showâ clip ever since a studio audience member revealed on social media at the time that the âGimme Moreâ singer, now 42, had made a rare comment about her conservatorship while filming the sit-down.
Spears herself reflected on the segment being axed from TV in her 2023 memoir, âThe Woman in Me.â
âI even mentioned the conservatorship on a talk show in 2016, but somehow, that part of the interview didnât make it to the air,â she wrote. âHuh. How interesting.â
Britney wrote in her 2023 memoir, âThe Woman in Me,â that she found it âinterestingâ her âJonathan Ross Showâ sit-down did not air in full. Gallery Books
The âCrossroadsâ star (seen here in 2022) called her conservatorship âabusive.â Britney Spears/Instagram
The âCrossroadsâ star did not publicly mention her conservatorship again until 2021 when she described her situation as âabusiveâ during an open court hearing, saying her estranged father, Jamie Spears, who was in charge of her personal and financial affairs for 13 years, had too much control.
A Los Angeles judge suspended Jamie as his daughterâs conservator three months later before terminating the guardianship altogether.
ITV did not immediately respond to Page Sixâs request for comment on its decision to air the unseen footage.
