Marie Claire Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Fashion Month
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career & Money
    • Health & Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food & Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex & Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes & Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes & Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Runway Color Combinations
    • Fig Perfumes
    • A.P.C. x Gap
    • Sasha Compère
    • TWP
    1. Celebrity

    Britney Spears Opened Up About Her "Demoralizing and Degrading" Life Under Conservatorship

    She can finally move forward.

    Iris Goldsztajn's avatar
    By Iris Goldsztajn
    Published 17 November 2021 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Britney Spears
    (Image credit: Getty/Kevin Winter)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    The conditions of Britney Spears' conservatorship are incredibly difficult to hear about, so I can't begin to imagine what it must have been like for her living under them.

    After shedding light on all the freedoms she was denied during hearings in recent months, Spears is now opening up about how life is changing for her now that she's free at last.

    "I've been in the conservatorship for thirteen years," she said in a new Instagram video, before taking a pause. With her voice breaking, she continued, "It's a really 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, and being able to be independent, 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, and I'm grateful for that."

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    Spears also shared her gratitude for being able to give a voice to those who have been in similar situations, and for all the fans who helped accelerate her release from the conservatorship. "Hopefully my story will make an impact, and make some changes in the corrupt system," she said. "And the #FreeBritney movement, 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 ... and because of you, I honestly think you guys saved my life."

    In her caption, Spears explained, "I do know how embarrassing is to share the fact I’ve never seen cash or wasn’t able to drive my car …. but honestly it still blows my mind every day I wake up how my family and the conservatorship were able to do what they did to me … it was demoralizing and degrading !!!! I’m not even mentioning all the bad things they did to me which they should all be in jail for … yes including my church going mother !!!!"

    You may like
    • Princess Kate Middleton wears a black blazer and black top and has long wavy brunette hair featuring blonde highlights Princess Kate Says Cancer "Changes How You Think and Feel"
    • king princess poses with heavy eye makeup and wearing a yellow and red top with a chain necklace King Princess Claims Her Theater Kid Crown
    • A photo of Nikki Ogunnaike with an inset photo of Lindsay Hubbard and text reading Money. Power. Style. Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike Where Lindsay Hubbard's Famous Confidence Really Comes From

    The star has been bravely speaking out about what her family put her through in the last few months, and she continues to be an inspiration for all of us with her strength and poise. Here's to hoping the next chapter of her life is full of joy and peace.

    A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears)

    A photo posted by on

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
    Explore More
    Britney Spears Instagram
    Iris Goldsztajn
    Iris Goldsztajn
    Social Links Navigation
    Morning Editor

    Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

    Read more
    Carly Rae Jepsen poses in a long leather trench coat leaning over a table with a collage behind her on the cover of her album day and night
    Music For Carly Rae Jepsen, Indulgence Is Always In On her seventh studio album, 'Day and Night,' the pop star is feeling it all—and flourishing.
    By Sadie Bell
    a collage of images of actress sasha compere wearing a white gown sitting on a pink chair over a selection of stills from the movie dreams in nightmares
    Movies I'll Never "Heal" From Clinical Depression. And I'll Never Give Up the Career That Triggers It Sasha Compère, star of the indie hit 'Dreams in Nightmares,' shares an essay about how acting has affected her mental health.
    By Sasha Compère
     
     
    Black-and-white three-panel collage of mothers holding and cuddling their babies.
    Politics We Asked Women to Share Private Texts, Searches, and Notes From Their Darkest Postpartum Days
    By Noor Ibrahim
    Meghan Markle holding Prince Harry's arm wearing LA Dodgers hats
    Royals Meghan Markle “Is Taking One for the Team” For Prince Harry By Moving to Britain
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Latest in Celebrity
    Kim Kardashian wears a naked dress during London Fashion Week September 2026 at SKIMS Regent Street on September 18, 2026
    Celebrity Style Kim Kardashian Styles a Custom Mermaid Cleavage Dress
    Zendaya styled a tank top with a black skirt from Prada and matching leather boots for fall
    Celebrity Style Zendaya Styles Vintage Prada Boots With a Summer-to-Fall Tank Top
     
     
    Lili Reinhart wore a vintage Nanette Lepore coat from 13 Going on 30 on the 'Love Hypothesis' press tour
    Celebrity Style Exclusive: How Lili Reinhart Snagged the "Only Copy" of the Iconic '13 Going On 30' Coat'
    Host Alan Cumming wears armor and a cape while standing amid cloaked figures with gold masks in a cloud of blue smoke, in NBC's 'The Traitors: New Blood.'
    TV shows Your Guide to the Normies in 'The Traitors: New Blood' Cast—Including How to Follow Them
     
     
    Latest in News
    Kim Kardashian wears a naked dress during London Fashion Week September 2026 at SKIMS Regent Street on September 18, 2026
    Celebrity Style Kim Kardashian Styles a Custom Mermaid Cleavage Dress
    Zendaya styled a tank top with a black skirt from Prada and matching leather boots for fall
    Celebrity Style Zendaya Styles Vintage Prada Boots With a Summer-to-Fall Tank Top
     
     
    Lili Reinhart wore a vintage Nanette Lepore coat from 13 Going on 30 on the 'Love Hypothesis' press tour
    Celebrity Style Exclusive: How Lili Reinhart Snagged the "Only Copy" of the Iconic '13 Going On 30' Coat'
    Host Alan Cumming wears armor and a cape while standing amid cloaked figures with gold masks in a cloud of blue smoke, in NBC's 'The Traitors: New Blood.'
    TV shows Your Guide to the Normies in 'The Traitors: New Blood' Cast—Including How to Follow Them
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.