Britney Spears has been the object of intense public interest for over two decades. For the past thirteen years, she has been in a conservatorship—a kind of legal guardianship—which severely limits her ability to make decisions about the direction of her life, finances, and career. In recent court testimony, Spears publicly detailed her experience under the conservatorship for the first time. She demanded her liberty and expressed her anger, profound sadness, and frustration. She even alleged that her conservatorship, which is led by her father, prevented her from getting an IUD removed from her body, which her family denies. The staff writers Jia Tolentino and Ronan Farrow speak with David Remnick about how Spears was put into the conservatorship and how she is mounting a challenge to end the arrangement.
Plus, Gillian Flynn, Akhil Sharma, and Alison Bechdel describe their most memorable summer jobs.
Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino on Britney Spears’s Conservatorship
The pop star is looking to regain power over her own life, after more than a decade of having her major personal, financial, and legal decisions controlled by others. Two staff writers tell the story of how that happened.
Gillian Flynn, Akhil Sharma, and Alison Bechdel on Their Most Memorable Jobs
Three writers share on-the-job tales that they won’t be putting on their résumés.
