Britney Spears' father has controlled her life for 10 years. Now her mum wants to step in.

Britney Spears has made headlines for the past decade or so for her mental health, substance abuse and crippling anxiety, but fresh reports from her mother suggest the singer is now in “dire straights”.

It’s fairly common knowledge the pop star’s father, James (Jamie) Spears, has complete control over her life.

He looks after her assets, estate, and business affairs, and has done so since 2008, following Britney’s very public breakdown.

The Quicky looks at Britney’s life in lockdown. Post continues after audio.

Her mother Lynne will be appearing in court on Friday to ask the judge to be included in how Britney is managed, reports TMZ.

She and Jamie haven’t been together since 1980, and are currently butting heads over Britney’s healthcare.

Lynne doesn’t want to become a co-conservator with Jaime over their daughter’s affairs, but it’s reported she wants to be able to have eyes on her “medical information and treatment plan,” and is apparently very worried about her current state.

The publication reports Britney is "not doing well" after her most recent 30-day stay at a mental health facility. Apparently doctors are struggling to find the right combination of drugs for her.

“Britney is making bad decisions and it’s a problem," a source told TMZ.

Her latest stint in a facility in March, came after she apparently became distraught over her dad's two major surgeries for his intestines and colon. He was in hospital for close to a month late last year thanks to complications.

Jamie's role in Britney's life

There’s more to their father-daughter relationship than most.

The former building contractor has been a constant, stabilising force in Britney’s adult life. This was never more clear in January 2008 when Britney suffered a severe mental health crisis, as the world’s media watched on. The very public breakdown had followed stints in rehab for substance abuse and a now-infamous incident in which she shaved her head in full view of paparazzi.

It all unravelled on January 4, 2008, when Britney refused to relinquish her two sons, Sean and Jayden James, to her ex-husband Kevin Federline. Police intervened, and the singer was stretchered out of her home into the back of an ambulance, which was chased by a swarm of cameras. An emergency court hearing the following day suspended her custody rights, and she was placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold – a court-ordered hospital admission.

As his daughter crumbled, Jamie, who had himself previously battled alcohol addiction, set about picking up the pieces. According to Page Six, he and Lynne, worked to create a stable environment for Britney, including filing for a restraining order against her sometimes manager, Sam Lutfi – a man they claimed was a negative influence.

 

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Happy Father’s Day, daddy! Love you!!

A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears) on Jun 21, 2015 at 11:19am PDT

Jamie was initially appointed Britney's temporary conservator, but that arrangement was later made permanent.

In the wake of her breakdown, Britney told MTV documentary, Britney: For The Record, that the situation left her feeling trapped: “If I wasn’t under the restraints that I’m under right now, you know, with all the lawyers and doctors and people analysing me every day, all that kind of stuff — like if that wasn’t there, I’d feel so liberated, and feel like myself."

“I don’t feel like [life] is out of control — it’s too in control.”

But it was with these controls she was able to pull off a career comeback, taking out two US number one albums, a Grammy nomination, and judging US X Factor.

ET reported at the time that Britney paid her father US$128,000 annually for his role as co-conservator.

In 2017 court documents, her fortune sat at roughly AUD $79.5 million.

Jamie's attorney told a court of the situation: “This is a story of a close family, but not a perfect one.

"It’s a story of a man who actually wanted nothing more for his daughter than to live and be well. It’s a story of a father who has had to step up and take action that he never thought he would have to take… actions that didn’t perhaps endear his daughter to him.

“To Jamie, this was a life and death battle.”