A new bombshell report by The New York Times has revealed that Britney Spears’ father hired a security team that monitored not only her every move but also secretly captured audio recordings of conversations Spears would have in her bedroom.
These conversations consisted of personal ones she had with her boyfriend and children. This new realization is coming to light after one of the former employees of the security team has come forward.
Alex Vlasov came forward to share the story as The New York Times worked on its new documentary Controlling Britney Spears. Vlasov used emails, texts, and audio recordings to corroborate his claims.
For 9 years, Vlasov was the executive assistant and operations and cybersecurity manager for the security firm hired by Jamie Spears known as Black Box. The New York Times reports that recording someone without consent can be a violation of the law.
The Times further reports that it’s unclear if the court knew of Jamie’s potentially unlawful shenanigans or if the secret surveillance had been approved. However, as The Times reports, Vlasov’s vast array of materials paints a rather detailed picture of what Britney’s life has been like under this conservatorship for the last 13 years.
Vlasov was clear when he told The New York Times that it was this surveillance operation that allowed Jamie to nearly completely control Britney’s life. “It really reminded me of somebody that was in prison,” Vlasov admitted. “And security was put in a position to be the prison guards essentially.”
Now both Britney’s lawyers and Jamie’s representation have issued statements in response to Vlasov’s information. As Mathew S. Rosengart said on Britney Spears’ behalf:
“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. 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.”
However, Jamie Spears’ counsel added that Britney’s father acted within the parameters of his given authority.
“All of his actions were well within the parameters of the authority conferred upon him by the court. His actions were done with the 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.”
Vlasov further told The Times that he was told these steps were necessary to protect Spears and that she wanted to be under the conservatorship. As we have come to learn over the last several months, that is not truly the case.
As Mamas Uncut previously reported, in testimonies, Britney has repeatedly asked the court to effectively end her conservatorship due to its strict restrictions which included being unable to have her IUD removed so that she could have kids or the ability to get married to her longtime boyfriend, now fiancé Sam Asghari. It is believed paperwork has been filed by Jamie to end the conservatorship. However, no further action has been reported.
And it was exactly those statements that encouraged Vlasov to come forward with the information only he was privy to.
Asghari also issued a statement following the release of this new documentary, as this is far from the first to be made about Spears. “Apparently my opinion has increased in value over the last few days,” Asghari wrote.
“Past docs left a bad after taste. I’m hopeful this one will be respectful. I don’t blame CNN, BBC, or Netflix (which got me through lockdown) for airing them because as an actor I tell other people’s stories too. I question producers who made them ‘just to shed might’ without input or approval from the subject. Any credit for light being shed should go to #FreeBritney.”
You can watch the full New York Times documentary titled Controlling Britney Spears on Hulu & FX.