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(Interview with Today’s Esquire's Celebrity Lawyer Aron Solomon)
With Britney Spears dominating the news again, just hours ago, the “Baby One More Time" hitmaker and her husband Sam Aghzari shut down rumors that she needed help and an intervention, a narrative outlets like TMZ and some “fans” on the Internet have been spreading.
Britney stated, "It makes me sick to my stomach that it’s even legal for people to make up stories that I almost died … I mean at some point enough is enough !! I’m probably going to have to stop posting on Instagram because even though I enjoy doing it, there’s obviously a lot of people who don’t wish me well !!! I’m honestly not surprised at all. Again doing the best I can !!! Again, the conservatorship has been over for almost a year … No folks, it’s not 2007 … it’s 2023 and I’m making my first homemade lasagna at home !!! I finally got my fireplace to work in my living room !!! As my hubby says it best: don’t believe everything you read !!! All that love right back at ya !!!"
But for those invested in keeping these rumors alive, it sure feels like 2007 again. For example, TMZ reported that her husband was involved. Husband Aghzari stated otherwise, “Intervention did not occur. My wife is in full control of her life and will continue to make all decisions involving her care regardless of circumstances. Speculation on her health is inappropriate and should end immediately.”
Celebrity lawyer Aaron and I last chatted right before the court decision to end Britney Spears’ conservatorship. Studying the process closely, he accurately predicted how the end of the Britney conservatorship process would play out, and I documented it over a year back (almost two). Today, we caught up regarding the latest events, which he finds very similar to that in 2007. Here are some highlights.
Aron said, “this summer will be two years since the end of Britney's 2008 conservatorship. TMZ put out this blockbuster piece last night about how Britney was supposed to have an intervention for Britney and it got canceled. TMZ is throwing around a whole bunch of accusations and allegations. People have to understand, especially her fans, that a celebrity conservatorship doesn't start in one fell swoop, it's not usually a catastrophic event. It's an ongoing narrative that begins with exactly the kind of piece that we saw at one o'clock this morning from TMZ.”
“According to TMZ, [which] should be in quotations, because their business is clicks, a planned intervention was canceled by somebody in Britney's camp and it was supposed to happen on Tuesday. The reason behind the intervention, similar to what some people were saying in 2007, was behavior that has been characterized as erratic and volatile, [supposedly according to her] mental illness and substance abuse.”
But Aron reminds us of the infamous incident of Britney Spears walking barefoot in a truckstop bathroom, which was used to justify her supposed mental illness. Yet, years later, Britney explained this as a thing country girls like herself do. 2023’s accusation don’t even include an iconic moment like this: just random “he said she said” allegations of substance abuse, specifically caffeine and Adderall. Aron believes “TMZ is intentionally crafting a narrative of a celebrity who is unable to take care of their own affairs. And that was the beginning of the conservatorship back in 2008.”
Despite Britney being married to a publicly supportive husband, Aron does not believe that this will give an added protection to Britney, and even if TMZ’s claim that Sam was involved in the intervention was patently false. “Just because somebody is married doesn't mean they can't be put under a conservatorship. If we get to the point where a court decides that the best thing for Britney's safety for her physical and emotional well being and for the value of her estate, is to place her under conservatorship, it won't really matter one way or the other, whether Sam Asghari was her husband.”
Aron says that while “she's done some Instagram posts that I wouldn't have done myself, she's a grown adult. That's her business, whatever she wants to say about her family on Instagram, is her business. I would say the same thing about Madonna. Whatever Madonna is, or is not doing to her face, is her choice, not just her choices as a celebrity but as an adult with free will. I would concur that it appears from the outside that maybe they should not do certain things that they do on social media, at least for their reputation, and their public persona. But I [also] think, more power to them. They're free to do whatever they want to do as long as it doesn't break any laws.”
Wise words. The emotional angle I wanted to explore as well, is that adults without fame have a gift of anonymity. The ability to move on in life and have a space to mistakes is priceless. Regular people get to fail and learn from the mistakes they made without the noise from the public. That was not afforded to Britney since her younger days as a child star. In her 40’s now, she may be making those mistakes in public as part of her growth process. Add the new social media world and nothing remains private. Let her make them, and grow from them. If an intervention is necessary, can we do it quietly without the faux concern from a media circus?
Thankfully, the road to a conservatorship is going to be a much steeper hill to climb, due to changes in conservatorship law, thanks to Britney’s case. Aron says, “It will be much higher when it comes to who can serve as conservator. If you look at Jamie Spears, his background in 2007 doesn't check any of the boxes to be a conservator today. These include having a degree in finance, financial background, experience, etc. So if we would ever get to that point, one would hope that a proper conservator will be put into place. Another critical part of these conservatorship reform is that the conservatorship is routinely reviewed and that wasn't the case with Britney Spears, She went over a decade without the conservatorship review.”
Despite this circus of attention from TMZ and gossip outlets, Britney has scored a huge hit with her latest collaboration with Elton John, “Hold Me Closer”, which zoomed into the Top 10 in the US charts and worldwide. Aron applauds her return to music and thinks they’re good if they’re self motivated, especially with touring. “She said very, very clearly that she was sent out on these grueling tours because she was basically ordered to do so which is part of her reticence to go out on tour and do some of the things that she did in the past. I think that anything that again, is healthy and not illegal that Britney wants to do, she should be encouraged to do.”
You can view the full interview here: Marc Ang & Aron Solomon Chat Britney Spears Post-Conservatorship & TMZ Attempting Intervention - YouTube and Aron Solomon’s articles on todaysesquire.com.
Marc Ang ([email protected]) is a community organizer in Southern California and the founder of Asian Industry B2B. He has been involved with charitable causes since before the inception of his organization and loves helping nonprofits that are mission-driven and well run, operationally., especially around mental health Marc’s book “Minority Retort” was released on November 9, 2022 under Trinity Broadcasting Network.
