A documentary released on Friday reveals that the security firm hired by Britney Spears’ father Jamie Spears spied on the singer’s phone calls and text messages during the court case to end the conservatorship she lived in for almost twelve years.
Alex Vlasov a former Black Box Security employee in the documentary explained that he worked with the singer’s team for nearly nine years adding that the security company “mirrored” the pop singer’s phone on an iPad by logging in to her iCloud account and listening device also was placed in her bedroom.
He told the filmmakers that he was asked to encrypt some of Spears’ text conversations so they could be sent to her father, Jamie Spears, and an employee of a business management firm he had hired.
Vlasov said that when he questioned about the monitoring, the person answered that it was done for her own ‘security and protection’ and that the court overseeing the conservatorship and her attorney was ‘aware of it’ at the time. Vlasov added that the monitoring included discussions between Britney Spears and her attorney, Sam Ingham.
Spears’ new attorney, Mathew Rosengart, said in a statement that he would investigate the new allegations.
Rosengart said, “Intercepting or monitoring Britney’s communications, especially sacrosanct attorney-client communications, represents a shameful and shocking violation of her privacy and civil liberties,” the statement said. “Placing a listening device in Britney’s bedroom would be particularly disgraceful.”
“Controlling Britney Spears” was released Friday night on the FX cable network and on Hulu. It follows a documentary by the same filmmakers, called “Framing Britney Spears,” which debuted in February and helped spark new interest in the case.
Vivian Thoreen, an attorney for Jamie Spears while ignoring to discuss these specific allegations said that his actions “were well within the parameters of the authority conferred upon him by the court….. [and] were done with 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,” Thoreen added, Jamie Spears had helped his daughter rehabilitate her career and improved her financial situation.
A lawyer for Black Box Security President Edan Yemini, in a statement shown in the documentary, said, “Mr. Yemini and Black Box have always conducted themselves within professional, ethical and legal bounds, and they are particularly proud of their work keeping Ms. Spears safe for many years.”
Britney Spears is fighting to end the conservatorship, which Jamie Spears set up in 2008 to oversee his daughter’s personal affairs and roughly $60 million estates after she had a mental health breakdown. The singer said in June that the arrangement was abusive and humiliating.
Earlier in a surprise move in September, Jamie Spears said that he was ending the conservatorship here because circumstances had changed. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
