In 'Controlling Britney Spears,' a former employee claims they monitored and surveilled the singer's home and phone.
The latest documentary on Britney Spears made some shocking allegations.
On Friday, the second part of FX and Hulu’s The New York Times Presents Framing Britney Spears documentary was released. Titled Controlling Britney Spears, the new film features new allegations from insiders with intimate knowledge of the singer's ongoing, daily life inside the conservatorship.
Alex Vlasov, a former employee of security firm Black Box, who worked with the singer for nine years, claimed in the unauthorized documentary that Britney's conservators bugged her phone and home, monitoring and surveying her usage on the device and life indoors. Alex supported his claims with alleged emails, text messages and audio recordings he had over the course of his employment. He also alleged that Britney's conservators, including her father Jamie Spears, asked him how to put parental controls on her iPhone and sync the device's iCloud with an iPad.
"It really reminded me of somebody that was in prison,” Alex said during his sit down. "And security was put in a position to be the prison guards essentially."
A lawyer for Jamie issued said in a statement to the New York Times: "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."
Mirroring text messages and recording conversations in a private place without the consent of both parties involved can be a violation of the law. It is unknown if the court that is overseeing the singer's conservatorship was aware or approved the surveillance.
Britney's lawyer Mathew S. Rosengart also responded to the allegations, telling the publication, "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,” he continued. "These actions must be fully and aggressively investigated."
Additionally, chief executive and founder of Black Box Security Edan Yemini did not respond to questions about their work with the singer and her team. His lawyer, however, gave the following statement: "Mr. Yemini and Black Box have always conducted themselves within professional, ethical and legal bounds, and they are particularly proud of their work in keeping Ms. Spears safe for many years.”
The hour-long doc shows past footage of Britney joking with her dad about not giving up her phone, her admitting that she's not happy, and audio from her bombshell testimony in June.
“It was completely shocking [to learn of the allegations],” Controlling Britney producer Liz Day told Variety. “One of the reasons why it was so shocking is because we had heard rumors about this — people have speculated that her phone is bugged or her house is bugged, but no one really ever had proof. Security, in particular, was just a literal black box because no one knew what they did or how they operated. So, to have someone come forward with proof was so revealing and helps us understand how so much of what Britney said in court in June could be true. It’s hard to understand how that could happen to one of the most famous people on the planet.”
Britney's boyfriend, Sam Asghari, addressed the documentary in an Instagram Story on Friday night, writing that he hoped Controlling Britney would be respectful."
"Past docs left bad after taste. I'm hopeful this one will be respectful," he wrote in part, adding that he doesn't blame the companies for airing them because he understands the need to tell stories. "I question producers who made them 'just to shed light' without input or approval from subject."
Much has happened since the airing of the first FX and Hulu documentary, including the singer being able to get a new lawyer. Additionally, her father announced that he would be willing to step down "when the time is right," and later filed to end the conservatorship. Shortly after, Sam and Britney announced their engagement.
Controlling Britney comes ahead of the latest court date, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 29, when the judge is expected to hear her request to remove her father from the conservatorship as well as her father’s petition to terminate the conservatorship.
Just this week, Netflix announced their own documentary related to the singer's controversial conservatorship. Britney vs. Spears sets out to uncover the whole truth behind her private and public battle to end her 13-year conservatorship. See more in the video below.
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