FILE – In this combination of photo, Jamie Spears, father of singer Britney Spears, leaves the Stanley Mosk Courthouse on Oct. 24, 2012, in Los Angeles, left, and Britney Spears arrives at the premiere of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” on July 22, 2019, in Los Angeles. A judge this week could end the conservatorship that has controlled Britney Spears’ life and money for nearly 14 years. (AP Photo/File
Britney Spears’ father Jamie had his leg amputated a month ago due to a “massive infection” and is “not doing well,” TMZ reported Tuesday.
But this new TMZ report also said that the 71-year-old patriarch may at least be able to hope that his famous daughter is open to repairing their relationship, which was badly damaged by the years of “horrific abuse” she says she suffered as he managed her conservatorship.
TMZ said Jamie Spears developed “a massive infection in one of his legs” that landed him in the hospital for weeks. He underwent five unsuccessful surgeries to contain the infection, “and doctors decided the only way to proceed was amputation.”
It was reported in October that Jamie Spears had been living with his youngest daughter, Jamie Lynn, in her newly built home in Louisiana after another failed stint in rehab for his chronic alcohol addiction. The Daily Mail said he moved into a guest home on Jamie Lynn Spears’ property after completing a 30-day program, but he has since struggled to stay sober.
Jamie Spears’ latest health struggles come after TMZ reported earlier this week that Britney Spears has begun to mend fences with members of her famously dysfunctional family. Britney invited her mother, Lynne, to her home in Los Angeles to celebrate her 42nd birthday, and sources told TMZ they got along well, have been talking regularly on the phone and “are forging a new relationship.”
When it comes to her father, the “Toxic” singer still misses him, TMZ said, in spite of all her recriminations over the conservatorship, which ended in November 2021. Jamie Spears took control of his daughter’s life in 2008 — including her finances, health care and career decisions — after she engaged in erratic behavior and suffered a mental breakdown. At the time, many people thought Jamie Spears had saved his daughter’s life, TMZ said.
The conservatorship initially was supposed to be temporary but it lasted another 13 years, the Daily Mail said. When Spears eventually sought to have her father removed as her conservator, she alleged that the legal arrangement allowed her father to “ruin” her life. She claimed that he forced her to work almost nightly for four years at her highly lucrative Las Vegas residency and admitted her to a mental health facility against her will, as retaliation because she voiced opinions during dress rehearsals and because she abruptly canceled her second scheduled residency.
For Jamie Spears’ part, he’s been “downcast” over the torrent of criticism he has faced over his handling of the conservatorship — something he thinks is “terribly unfair,” TMZ reported. Still, he’d like nothing more than to reconcile with his daughter.
Jamie Spears’ battles with alcohol and prior health scares also have been well-documented. In 2018, his colon ruptured, and he “almost died,” Britney Spears revealed after she canceled her Dominion residency.
TMZ said that Britney Spears has become interested in reconnecting with members of her family after she finally told her “truth” in her memoir, “The Woman in Me,” which sold 1.1 million copies in its first week, the New York Times said. The singer also been talking to Jamie Lynn and invited her to her birthday party, but she couldn’t attend. However, their brother, Bryan, was able to make it to the party. For Spears, making amends with her father “would be the last piece of that (family) puzzle,” TMZ said.
Originally published at Martha Ross