Why Did Jamie Spears Push Britney Into a Conservatorship?

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( VULTURE FESTIVAL IS ON! That’s right, Vulture Festival is back in Los Angeles this November 12–13 for a weekend of live events with your favorite stars and creators. Come hang with Jamie Lee Curtis, Knives Out director Rian Johnson, Lee Pace (!), Adam Pally, Kali Uchis, Henry Winkler, StraightioLab, Matt Rogers, Kumail Nanjiani, and more. [Buy your tickets now!]( power [The Curse of Kentwood]( One year ago, Britney Spears was freed from a notorious conservatorship. What possessed her father to seize control of her life? Photo: The Kentwood Ledger (Jamie); Photograph by Martin Schoeller (Britney) On May 29, 1966, Jamie Spears was 13 years old, an eighth-grade honor-roll student small for his age, the son of a father a friend describes as “a fireball on steroids.” Jamie had three siblings, ages 3 and 5 and 8, and there ought to have been another one, the second born, but Austin Wayne Spears died at 3 days old, leaving Jamie alone again with his parents. The family lived near the Mississippi line in Kentwood, Louisiana, 70 miles from the hospital where Austin Wayne was born, far from anything then and far from anything now. Generations back and generations forward they lived and would live here, in Tangipahoa Parish, in the bare little towns that ran along the train tracks. The baby had been buried below an oak tree in a small cemetery loud with the buzzing of cicadas. Jamie’s mother was named Emma Jean Forbes, and everyone called her Jean. She was small, like her husband and son, and she was blonde, and she had married when she was 16 years old, which was older than her mother had been when she married in Mississippi. Later, her husband would tell the coroner that Jean had tried to kill herself three times, but whether to believe her husband, and what part he might have played in what unfolded in May 1966, remains in question. [Read More]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now](for unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • The Real Housewives of Potomac: [Fanning the Flames]( • Dangerous Liaisons: [Sexy Intrigue]( • The White Lotus: [Power Trip]( • The Walking Dead: [Trials and Tribulations]( • Interview With the Vampire: [Checkmate]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Simona Tabasco Is ‘Threatening the Equilibrium’ of The White Lotus The actor teases Lucia’s intentions and the tattoo that commemorates her spicy last name.]( [Tucked In by Cable TV Forget the choices on streaming. Before bed, all I want is a broadcast I can drift off to.]( By Roxana Hadadi [Bed Habits One insomniac’s descent into the world of sleep research to understand what screens before bed are doing to our brains.]( By Rachel Handler [‘Everything Was Incredibly Challenging and Beautiful at the Same Time’ Ramy captures life in Palestine while exposing its protagonist’s greed.]( [Rihanna Says Her Super Bowl Performance Doesn’t Mean an Album Is Coming “Super Bowl is one thing. New music is another thing. Do you hear that, fans?”]( By Justin Curto [Jimmy Kimmel to Host the 2023 Oscars (Lying Down, Presumably) Fresh off of stage-bombing Quinta Brunson’s Emmy moment.]( By Zoe Guy [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Today’s Crossword]( 19-Across, Four Letters: Insects in an infamous Nicolas Cage scene. Photo-Illustration: Vulture. Photos: Lucasfilm; Getty Images; DreamWorks [Pretty Major at Union Hall]( Photo: Vulture Tomorrow at Union Hall at 7 p.m., Vulture’s comedy show, Pretty Major, will be hosted by Zach Zimmerman and feature comedy from Niles Abston, Dana Donnelly, Dan Perlman, Haley Stiel, Sydnee Washington, and Maggie Winters. [Buy tickets here.]( [Read more from Vulture]( Vulture Movies Fantasy League Illustration: Vulture This year’s game invites readers to compete against one another — and the Vulture staff — in a test of box-office foreknowledge and awards-season prognostication. [Read up on the how the game works](, and when you’re ready, [select your team]( before the draft window closes on November 21! [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe](param=vulture-daily) | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2022, All rights reserved