Britney Spears got one step closer to freedom after a judge suspended her estranged father, Jamie, from her conservatorship in court on September 29. The Spears patriarch, 69, will be replaced with John Zabel, a certified public accountant. A court hearing has been set for November 12 that will center on the termination of the conservatorship for good.
Following the news, the pop star, 39, took to Instagram with a video of her flying an airplane, writing that she was on “cloud 9.” Britney is not the only person on cloud nine. Ardent #FreeBritney supporters and celebrities alike have been celebrating the latest development, including singer Cher, La Toya Jackson, Dionne Warwick, and, of course, Britney’s fiancé Sam Asghari, among others. See some of the celebrity reactions below.
For starters, Britney’s mom Lynne shared a cryptic Instagram Story that featured rosary beads following the court hearing on Wednesday.
Britney’s mom, Lynne Spears, just posted a photo of rosary beads. pic.twitter.com/mqmvCGi24W
— Nicholas Hautman (@nickhautman) September 30, 2021
Cher thanked God and said she was “THRILLED” for Britney.
Thank God✨🌟✨
I’ve Talked & 🙏🏻🙏🏻‘d About This 4 YEARS👏🏼.
IM MORE THAN THRILLED 4 HER🎂‼️
BLESS OUR SUPER 🌟#FREEBRITNEY— Cher (@cher) September 29, 2021
Dionne celebrated the “wonderful news” and said Britney “can now breathe,” adding, “Enjoy your life!”
This is wonderful news. She can now breathe. Congratulations, Britney. Enjoy your life! 🥰 https://t.co/QjTECNuwrT
— Dionne Warwick (@dionnewarwick) September 29, 2021
La Toya tweeted out a “huge congratulations” to the star with the #FreeBritney hashtag.
A huge congratulations to Britney Spears!!!
#FreeBritney #freedom #BritneySpears pic.twitter.com/DPv5imaCNj— La Toya Jackson (@latoyajackson) September 29, 2021
“A Thousand Miles” singer Vanessa Carlton said she was “so thrilled to see that freedom and hopefully justice is finally coming to this brilliant lady.” She also praised the newly-released Netflix documentary Britney Vs. Spears.
Free Britney!!!! I’m so thrilled to see that freedom and hopefully justice is finally coming to this brilliant lady. Oh and the Jenny Eliscu Netflix documentary was so well done and hopefully helped support her at this very important time.
— 𝕍 𝕒 𝕟 𝕖 𝕤 𝕤 𝕒 ℂ 𝕒 𝕣 𝕝 𝕥 𝕠 𝕟 (@VanessaCarlton) September 29, 2021
Former Bachelorette star Tayshia Adams celebrated the “happy” news, writing, “She deserves happiness and freedom just like the rest of us.”
So happy to hear Britney Spears is getting what she wants – she deserves happiness and freedom just like the rest of us 💖
— Tayshia Adams (@tayshia) September 29, 2021
And, of course, the pop star’s fiancé was the first to celebrate the news. Sam took to his Instagram Story on Wednesday and wrote via Create Mode, “FREE BRITNEY!” and “CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUbClA6g7M8/?
The suspension serves as a major win for the pop star, who has been under a conservatorship since 2008. Her estranged father has held the role of conservator to her estate since then. In June, Britney addressed the court for the first time and pleaded for the conservatorship to end, declaring that her father and the rest of her family “should go to jail.” In the highly-publicized hearing, the star recounted harrowing details about how the conservatorship had stripped her of her basic autonomy over the last 13 years, putting forth allegations of abuse.
Among other accusations, Britney said she had to take medications, such as lithium, that she did not want to take, and that she was not allowed to get married or remove the IUD put in place to stop her from having more children. “I just want my life back,” she said. “And it’s been 13 years. And it’s enough.” In July, she addressed the court again, declaring that she wanted her father charged for conservator abuse. Following Jamie’s suspension on Wednesday, Britney’s lawyer Mathew Rosengart told crowds outside the courtroom, “It’s a great day for justice. [Britney’s] very happy. We’re all very happy.”