A shocking new documentary on Britney Spears’ conservatorship airs in Ireland and the UK tonight.
Controlling Britney Spears, produced by The New York Times, features interviews with key insiders and those with first-hand information about the conservatorship that has controlled the pop star’s life for 13 years.
The film, which aired in the US on Friday, claims the 39-year-old singer was under constant surveillance during her conservatorship, and even had a listening device installed in her bedroom.
Alex Vlasov, a former security employee who worked with the singer’s team for nearly nine years, has alleged the company he worked for had access to Britney’s phone and installed a listening device in her bedroom.
Speaking in the documentary, Alex claimed the company mirrored her phone on an iPad by logging into her iCloud account, giving them access to all of her activity.
Alex said he asked “about the legality” of monitoring Britney’s phone at the time, but was allegedly told it was “for her protection”.
Members of Britney’s team, including her father Jamie, were allegedly given access to monitor everything Britney did on her phone.
Alex claimed: “Their reason for monitoring was looking for bad influence, looking for potential illegal activity that might happen, but they would also monitor conversations with her friends, with her mom, with her lawyer Sam Ingham.”
“Her own phone and her own private conversations were used so often to control her. I know for a fact that Jamie would confront Britney and say, ‘Hey why didn’t you text this person?’” he alleged.
“Just because you’re in control doesn’t give you the right to treat people like property. It didn’t feel like she was being treated like a human being.”
Alex also alleged that the company he worked for installed an audio recorder in Britney’s bedroom, which “captured over 180 hours of audio, including Britney’s interactions and conversations with her boyfriend and her children.”
He claimed he was later asked to delete the audio by his boss, but kept a copy because their request “raised so many red flags” and he “did not want to be complicit in whatever they were involved in”.
In a statement shown in the documentary, a lawyer for the security company’s president said they “have always conducted themselves within professional, ethical and legal bounds, and they are particularly proud of their work keeping Ms. Spears safe for many years.”
Jamie Spears’ attorney Vivian Thoreen didn’t address specific allegations made in the documentary, but said his actions “were well within the parameters of the authority conferred upon him by the court,” and “were done with knowledge and consent of Britney, her court-appointed attorney and/or the court.”
“Jamie’s record as conservator — and the court’s approval of his actions — speak for themselves,” she added.
Britney is currently fighting to end her 13-year long conservatorship, which was established in 2008 after she suffered an alleged breakdown.
In response to The New York Times documentary, the singer’s lawyer Mathew Rosengart said he would investigate the new allegations.
“Any unauthorized intercepting or monitoring of Britney’s communications — especially attorney-client communications, which are a sacrosanct part of the legal system — would represent a shameful violation of her privacy rights and a striking example of the deprivation of her civil liberties,” he said.
“Placing a listening device in Britney’s bedroom would be particularly inexcusable and disgraceful, and corroborates so much of her compelling, poignant testimony. These actions must be fully and aggressively investigated.”
Controlling Britney Spears is available on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW today at 9pm. The film is also available on demand now.
