Britney Spears' father says her personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery, feared the pop star was spiraling out of control as recently as July, according to court documents filed on Friday.
James Spears, who is fighting to stay on as the music icon's financial custodian, detailed an alarming phone conversation in a statement in which he alleges Montgomery raised the possibility of involuntarily detaining the singer for a psychiatric hospitalization — a practice known among mental health professionals as a 5150.
He states Montgomery, who has been responsible for Britney Spears' medical care and personal life since late 2018, called him on July 9 sounding "very distraught and expressed how concerned she was about my [daughter's] recent behavior and overall mental health."
Britney Spears was not taking her medications properly and was refusing to see her doctors, he recalls Montgomery telling him before she allegedly pleaded with him to intervene.
"After Ms. Montgomery shared her detailed concerns about my daughter's recent behavior, safety, and overall health, she raised potential options including a 5150 psychiatric hold, which raised my concerns," he stated.
But Montgomery later retracted the statement, according to James Spears, who said she sent a follow-up email three days later in which she "back-tracked on most of the details she shared with me and discounted the need for a 5150."
Montgomery disputed this version of events on Friday, according to multiple news outlets.
"At no time did Ms. Montgomery express to Mr. Spears that Ms. Spears would currently qualify for such a [5150] hold," Montgomery's lawyers said on Friday, accordingto Reuters.
"The concern that Ms. Montgomery did raise to Mr. Spears during their telephone call is that forcing Ms. Spears to take the stand to testify or to have her evaluated would move the needle in the wrong direction for her mental health," the statement said, as quoted by TMZ.
In a filing in which the singer asks the court to move up the conservatorship hearing by a month, Montgomery's lawyers reiterated an earlier recommendation to promptly strip Jamie Spears of control over the singer's money and finances, calling it "critical."
"Ms. Montgomery cannot emphasize this enough – the sooner Mr. Spears' suspension can be addressed by the Court, the better for Ms. Spears and her emotional health and well-being," the documents states.
But Britney Spears' father's attorneys say he has carried out his duties faithfully and that he saved the estate from disaster, when the entertainer faced "tens of millions of dollars of lawsuits" to its current value of over $60 million.
The filing also states that his "sole motivation has been his unconditional love for his daughter and a fierce desire to protect her from those trying to take advantage of her." They also argue there are "no grounds whatsoever to suspend" him as conservator of the estate.
James Spears was given control of his daughter's estate in 2008.
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