Britney Spears’ ex-manager Sam Lutfi has spoken out against the pop star’s parents, Jamie Spears and Lynne Spears, for keeping Britney under a restrictive conservatorship since 2008.
In a direct message exchange on Twitter with Insider, Lutfi said that he blames Jamie and Lynne for putting Britney in situations that were both personally and legally difficult. Lutfi told Insider that Spears’ parents “have ruined both our lives these past 13 years.”
Lutfi also told Insider, “the difference is that I have my freedom. I can drive my car, spend my money. The real difference is that I have a loving stable and supportive family.”
Britney and Lutfi haven’t been on the best of terms throughout the course of their relationship.
While the two were initially close and Lutfi was part of the superstar singer’s inner circle, Britney and her dad filed a restraining order against Lutfi — as well as her ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and attorney Jon Eardley — in 2009, one year after the conservatorship was established.
The restraining order alleged that all three men were conspiring to gain unauthorized control of Britney’s finances. In 2019, a judge authorized a permanent restraining order against Lutfi. Some fans have speculated that Lutfi was trying to advocate for Britney against Jamie’s wishes, which is why he filed the order, but there’s nothing to substantiate those claims.
Lutfi sued Britney’s parents after they alleged he was part of the reason Britney’s mental health declined. They later settled for an undisclosed sum.
But Lutfi says he regrets some of his conduct while he was Spears’ manager. The two became close in the early 2000s and his involvement in Britney’s life has been highly criticized by fans who say he didn’t do enough to protect her from her family (The New York Times’ “Framing Britney Spears” documentary basically accused Lutfi of trying to leech off Britney’s lucrative career while she was in the midst of a mental health crisis).
Lutfi might not be able to go within 200 feet of Britney Spears but that hasn’t stopped him from posting his thoughts about Britney’s ongoing legal battle to end her conservatorship online.
Lutfi tweeted Tuesday: “Just sitting here listening to that court recording, if she hates me after she’s free I won’t blame her… I failed her, I was supposed to protect her from all this, I let her down and we both paid dearly for it – – head in hands..I’m so sorry.”
The latest development in Britney’s case came Wednesday. The court overrode some terms of the conservatorship and allowed her to retain her own counsel (attorney Mathew S. Rosengart) after her previous court-appointed lawyer Samuel D. Ingham III resigned last week.
The next step is for Britney Spears’ attorney to file a petition to end the conservatorship.
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