A new Britney Spears single has been announced one day after her lawyers said that the singer would not perform again while her father remains her conservator.
Spears’s legal case was dealt a blow on Tuesday (10 November) after a Los Angeles judge declined to remove Spears’s father Jamie from his central role in the conservatorship, despite her lawyers saying that she was “afraid of her father”.
A conservatorship is when a guardian or protector is appointed by a court to manage the life of someone due to physical or mental limitations, with Spears’s put in place following her public breakdown in 2007.
Less than 24 hours after the judge’s verdict was made, Urban Outfitters announced that they would be exclusively selling a previously unreleased Spears song on vinyl.
The track, “Swimming in the Stars”, was originally recorded for her last-released album, 2016’s Glory, and is being sold as part of UO’s Singles Day promotion.
However, the news sat a little uneasily for many fans, who felt that the clothing retailer was exploiting the singer while she was not releasing music.
“On November 10, Britney's attorney told the judge that she will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career (which he still is),” one Twitter account wrote.
“One day later, Urban Outfitters announced that they will be releasing her "new single". Stop funding this conservatorship.”
“I'm not buying it. She has stated many times she’s not working and won’t be working till her dad is out the cship. Her team is desperate for money! We should just wait till Jamie is out,” another wrote.
The Independent has contacted Spears’s representatives and Urban Outfitters for comment.
Spears’s lawyers have previously stated that the conservatorship is “voluntary”, but that the singer is “strongly opposed” to it being managed by her father.
