“Early on in the pandemic, they spent two weeks with other family members, hunkered down in Louisiana, and they spent a lot of time together,” Thoreen said on Good Morning America on Thursday, February 25, confirming Us Weekly‘s report that the pop star was bonding with her family in April 2020. “Britney and Jamie went on long drives together. They played and worked in the family garden. And every night, Jamie cooked Southern comfort food that the family ate and enjoyed together. In that time, Britney never expressed those words to her father. She’s never asked him to step aside.”

In August 2020, the singer, 39, stated in court documents obtained by Us that she was “strongly opposed” to her father, 68, remaining as her conservator. Her attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, later stated that the “Toxic” singer is “afraid of her father” and “will not perform as long as her father is in charge of her career.”

The conservatorship, which began in 2008, has resurfaced due to Hulu’s Framing Britney Spears documentary that details the relationship between Britney and Jamie and the media’s effect on the singer over the years.

“I understand that every story wants to have a villain, but people have it so wrong here,” Thoreen added on Thursday. “This is a story about a fiercely loyal, loving, and dedicated father who rescued his daughter from a life-threatening situation. People were harming her and they were exploiting her.”

She added that Jamie had “saved” the Grammy winner’s life and has “worked tirelessly to protect her” through the years, helping her to regain custody of her sons, Preston, 15, and Jayden, 14, whom she shares with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

“Thanks to Jamie’s efforts, Britney’s estate is now capable of taking care of Britney and her children for the rest of their lives, as long as no one is permitted to exploit or take advantage of her again,” Thoreen added. “[The court] would not have appointed Jamie or kept him on if Jamie weren’t a loving father and grandfather, and if he weren’t a responsible conservator, and he’s all of those things.”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Emily Longeretta