Britney Spears' father, Jamie Spears, is sharing his side of the conservatorship battle through his lawyer Vivian Thoreen.
The attorney sat down with ABC News' Amy Robach for an interview that aired on the Feb. 25 episode of Good Morning America.
"I understand that every story needs a villain, but people have it so wrong here," Vivian said, later adding, "This is a story about a fiercely loving, dedicated and loyal father who rescued his daughter from a life-threatening situation. People were harming her, and they were exploiting her. Jamie saved Britney's life."
In 2008, Jamie was appointed co-conservator of Britney's estate along with Andrew M. Wallet, with permanent letters of conservatorship being issued in 2009. Andrew resigned from the position in 2019, making Jamie the sole conservator of Britney's estate.
But in 2020, Britney's legal team filed a request for Bessemer Trust Co. to be appointed conservator of her estate. Later that year, a judge appointed the organization to serve as co-conservator along with Jamie despite Britney's lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, telling the court, per GMA, "it's no secret" the Grammy winner "doesn't want her father as conservator."
The release of The New York Times' documentary Framing Britney Spears—which examines the conservatorship battle and the media's treatment of the singer—has sparked further interest in the case. And despite the #FreeBritney movement, Vivian, who was featured in the film, told GMA "Jamie serves as Britney's conservator because he loves her" and "wants the best for Britney."
"I think we have to remember how this conservatorship was started," she said when asked about the movement, "and that Britney needed help and that's why the conservatorship was put into place and why Jamie was appointed."
In court documents filed in November 2020, Jamie's legal team argued "he has taken the Estate from being in debt and facing tens of millions of dollars of lawsuits to a current value of well over $60 million." Vivian also insisted that Jamie has "collaborated" with Britney.
"When she is up for performing, she has performed," she said. "When she wants to record an album, she can record an album. And when she wants to live her life the way she wants, like a normal person, he has collaborated with her to do that, as well."
But according to Us Weekly, Britney's lawyer said in November 2020 that she had informed him she's "afraid of her father" and that she "will not perform as long as her father is in charge of her career." Vivian claimed Britney "never said those things to Jamie."
"Throughout 2020, Britney and her father had many conversations," she said. "And in fact, early on in the pandemic, they spent two weeks with other family members hunkered down in Louisiana. Britney and Jamie went on long drives together, they played and worked in the family garden, and every night Jamie cooked southern comfort food that the family ate and enjoyed together. And in that time, Britney never expressed those words to her father. She's never asked him to step aside."
She also maintained Jamie loves his daughter. "Like any other family, issues come up from time to time," Vivian continued. "But this, in no way, takes away from the love and support that they have for each other. Britney knows that her daddy loves her, and she knows that she can call on him anytime—conservatorship or not."
Britney's attorney told GMA he could not comment on the pending case, and Britney has not publicly commented on the documentary. Although, she did post the following on social media after its release.
"I'll always love being on stage....but I am taking the time to learn and be a normal person.....I love simply enjoying the basics of every day life!!!!" she wrote on Instagram earlier this month. "Each person has their story and their take on other people's stories!!!! We all have so many different bright beautiful lives!!! Remember, no matter what we think we know about a person's life it is nothing compared to the actual person living behind the lens."