It’s been a little over a year since the conservatorship that ruled Britney Spears’ life for more than 13 years was terminated in November 2021. But on Feb. 9, 2023, reports emerged revealing that friends, business associates and others in Britney’s inner circle have grown increasingly worried about her behavior and mental health… so much so that an intervention was planned — then suddenly scrapped, TMZ reported, after Britney caught wind of it. “I’m afraid she’s gonna die,” one source in regular contact with Britney told TMZ. Since then, more information and new details have emerged…
According to TMZ’s Feb. 9 report, those close to Britney Spears felt an intervention was direly needed because people around her had become deeply alarmed by what TMZ described as “her erratic, volatile behavior.” A source told the webloid that the singer was taking medications that “hype her up” — but not taking the medications that stabilize her — and that she’d been “flying off the handle” with increasing regularity.
People magazine also reported on the alleged crisis with Britney Spears’ mental health. “Britney has been acting increasingly erratically and those around her have grown more concerned,” a source told the magazine on Feb. 9, explaining that the singer “is often up all night, sleeps during [the] day and has a lot of anger.” A different insider told People that behind the scenes, things had been “very difficult” and “absolutely chaotic,” adding that “everyone had hoped Britney could be convinced to seek treatment before things got any worse but they knew it wouldn’t be easy. She’s been going through a lot and has been increasingly combative.”
On Feb. 9, TMZ reported that an intervention was in the works for Britney Spears to address what the webloid later described as “mental illness and substance abuse.” It was supposed to take place on Feb. 7. According to TMZ, the people participating would have included her husband, Sam Asghari (pictured), as well as her manager, an interventionist and doctors. TMZ noted that Britney’s parents — Jamie Spears and Lynne Spears — brother and sons were not part of the intervention. It was slated to happen at a house in the Los Angeles area that had been rented by her manager and the hope, according to TMZ’s sources, was for Britney to live there for up to two months while receiving psychological counseling and medical treatment in the same home.
Both People magazine and TMZ confirmed that the intervention was canceled at the last minute. A source further told TMZ that the same day things were set to go down, Britney Spears became “somewhat aware” of the plan and the intervention idea was scrapped. People magazine added that the pop star did, however, meet with a doctor late on Feb. 8 and that, the magazine writes, “the meeting went well.” However, next steps remained unclear.
On Feb. 10, TMZ reported new information. Someone with direct knowledge of the failed Britney Spears intervention plans told the webloid, “The intervention was long overdue. She is very much a danger to herself and those around her. It’s a ticking time bomb. Thank god somebody finally took some steps to do something about it.”
In that same report, a different, second source told TMZ the fears for Britney’s life remained very real. “I worry about waking up in the morning and feeling like I’m going to get a horrible phone call,” that source told the webloid.
According to yet another, third source who spoke to TMZ on Feb. 10, the worry and tension is reminiscent of how things were when Britney Spears was involuntarily committed 15 years ago — when her conservatorship was first put in place. “This is 2008 all over again. There is serious fear she is either going to die or kill someone,” the third source told the webloid. “She is abusing caffeine, Adderall, and anything she can get her hands on. She is not taking her medication, which is essential to stabilize her mood and is unknowingly trying to self-medicate with other substances, which is exacerbating her mental illness.”
That source added, “She has unbelievable untreated trauma that with the help of therapists and specialists could put her in a much better place. An intervention is essential to make that happen.”
Britney Spears responded to the reports about her mental health and aborted intervention on Feb. 9. “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 !!!” she wrote in a lengthy Instagram caption.
“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 !!!” she continued. “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 !!!”
On Feb. 10, Britney Spears again took to Instagram to lash out at reports about her health. In the video, the pop star wore fur and said she was “feeling [herself.]” She also claims news outlets reported that she “died.” “I’m very much alive and well,” she said. “I’m here and I’m happy and I’m well. That’s it. That’s it. Lickety skip, skip, skip, skip, skip.”
In her Instagram caption, Britney said she doesn’t have a “management team” nor “medical doctors.” She continued, “I take Prozac for depression and that’s about it !!! I’m an extremely boring person !!! It frustrates me to know that any news outlet would say any of this !!! It’s worse than a cruel joke because people actually believe this stuff and all of my efforts in getting better with my little routine of prayer and therapy seems to not count for anything when people can say things that are incredibly wrong !!!”
On Feb. 10, Britney Spears’ husband, Sam Asghari, spoke out about the reports, confirming to “Access Hollywood” in an exclusive statement that “An intervention did not occur.” He added, “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.”
On Feb. 10, Page Six reported that sources who’ve worked closely with Britney Spears think even though they believe she needs some form of help or care, she shouldn’t be put back into a conservatorship. “Nobody outside the very small conservatorship circle knows what Britney’s medical status really is,” a highly placed source told the New York Post’s gossip column. “If people knew Britney’s actual medical status, I think it would reveal that her mental problems are far more severe than people realize. [Yet] regardless of her mental condition, it isn’t necessarily appropriate for her to be under a conservatorship. There are less harsh ways to handle it.”
According to a source who knows Britney’s father, Jamie Spears — who oversaw the conservatorship that ruled her life for more than 13 years — “Whatever you think of Jamie, deep down he does care about his daughter and I don’t think he wants the information [about her medical status] to come out. No matter what Britney has said about Jamie, he still loves her.” Another insider who knows Jamie added that they “have never believed that Jamie is the villain in this situation. I think he has been unfairly vilified by people who know nothing about the situation and have nothing to do with it. I hate to say it, but he could be vindicated.”
According to that insider who knows Jamie, it’s “weird” that Judge Brenda Penny — the Los Angeles County Superior Court judge who oversaw Britney’s conservatorship case and dissolved the arrangement in November 2021 — “didn’t put her through an evaluation when she ended the conservatorship,” with the judge at the time saying there was “no need for a capacity declaration” for Britney since it had technically been a voluntary conservatorship.
