Britney Spears's manager Larry Rudolph stepped down after 25 years of working with the singer.
Rudolph formally announced his intention to resign in a letter, sent to Britney's father, Jamie Spears, and co-conservator Jodi Montgomery.
Rudolph, 57, said the singer's "intention to officially retire" had prompted him to resign. He is credited with helping her secure her first recording contract in the 1990s.
The move comes two weeks after Britney told a Los Angeles judge that she was forced to perform against her will.
"It has been over two and-a-half years since Britney and I last communicated, at which time she informed me she wanted to take an indefinite work hiatus," Rudolph wrote in his letter.
"Earlier today, I became aware that Britney had been voicing her intention to officially retire. As her manager, I believe it is in Britney's best interest for me to resign from her team as my professional services are no longer needed."
Celebrity support for Britney Spears
The campaign of support for Britney continues, with more famous names publicly backing the singer in her ongoing legal battle to end the 13-year court conservatorship.
A host of stars have spoken out in support of the Lucky singer, including ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, fellow singer Mariah Carey and actor and activist Rose McGowan.
Miley Cyrus used a recent stint on stage to publicly back Britney.
The singer performed at the opening of Resorts World Las Vegas on Sunday, July 4. According to audience members, halfway through performing her hit track, Party in the USA, Cyrus, 28, stopped to chant, "Free Britney, free Britney!"
Cyrus's song Party in the USA references Britney, with the repeated lyrics, "That's when the DJ dropped my favourite tune / And a Britney song was on". Rapper Jay-Z is given the same treatment in the first bridge of the song.
Adapting the lyrics, she then sang: "The taxi man turned on the radio / He turned to me and said, 'Free Britney, free Britney!"
This is not the first time Cyrus has publicly supported Britney. In February, she performed at the NFL's TikTok Tailgate Super Bowl Pregame show, where she shouted on stage: "We love Britney."
In 2019, she repeated the lyrics, "Free Britney," during a Memphis concert.
Tesla founder Elon Musk spoke out on Monday. Taking to his Twitter account, he simply wrote, “Free Britney".
On Wednesday, June 23, Britney spoke out about the restrictive conditions she has been living under, in the 13-year conservatorship controlled primarily by her father.
She asked a Los Angeles judge to end the conservatorship, which she called "abusive", and condemned her father and the others who controlled it.
“I want to end this conservatorship without being evaluated,” she said in a long, emotional and sometimes profane speech. “This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I deserve to have a life ... I just want my life back."
On Wednesday, June 30 a judge denied Britney's November 2020 request to remove Jamie from her conservatorship.
“The conservator’s request to suspend James P Spears immediately upon the appointment of Bessemer Trust company of California as sole conservator of estate is denied without prejudice,” the court documents filed stated.
When the request was first filed in 2020, Judge Brenda Penny declined to suspend Britney's father from the conservatorship and appointed financial company Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator. On Thursday, July 1, the The New York Times obtained court-filed documents, in which the Bessemer Trust put in a request to resign from the conservatorship.
In the documents, Bessemer Trust said that “due to changed circumstances”, citing the pop star’s recent court testimony, it no longer wished to be responsible for managing her finances.
In the filing, the company explained it had been told Spears’s conservatorship was voluntary, with her consenting to hire the company.
Bessemer Trust has “heard the conservatee and respects her wishes”, the filing stated.
Britney's family speak out
The singer's mother and sister have both voiced their support for Britney in the days since she appeared in court last month.
"Since the day I was born, I've only loved adored and supported my sister," Jamie Lynn Spears said in a video posted on her Instagram Stories on Monday, 28.
"I'm so proud of her for using her voice," Jamie Lynn said. "I am only concerned about her happiness" and "have nothing to gain or lose either way".
Britney's mother, Lynne Spears, spoke to The New Yorker, about her daughter, saying: "I got mixed feelings about everything, I don’t know what to think. It’s a lot of pain, a lot of worry."
