Britney Spears' manager resigns after 25 years
By Mark
Savage
BBC music
reporter
Published4
hours ago
The man who
has guided Britney Spears' career for the last 25 years is stepping down as her
manager.
Larry
Rudolph, who helped Spears secure her first recording contract, said the star's
"intention to officially retire" had prompted him to resign
The move
comes two weeks after Spears' told an LA judge that she had been forced to
perform against her will.
She is
currently seeking to end a conservatorship that has governed her life and
finances since 2008.
Rudolph
announced his intention to resign in a letter to the star's father, Jamie
Spears, and co-conservator Jodi Montgomery.
"It
has been over two and-a-half years since Britney and I last communicated, at
which time she informed me she wanted to take an indefinite work hiatus,"
he wrote.
"Earlier
today, I became aware that Britney had been voicing her intention to officially
retire. As her manager, I believe it is in Britney's best interest for me to
resign from her team as my professional services are no longer needed."
Rudolph
noted that he had "never been a part of the conservatorship nor its
operations, so I am not privy to many of these details," but said he was
"incredibly proud of what we accomplished over our 25 years together".
"I
wish Britney all the health and happiness in the world, and I'll be there for
her if she ever needs me again, just as I always have been," he concluded.
'Like a
daughter'
Rudolph has
been Spears manager for almost the entirety of her career, ever since her
mother, Lynne Spears, asked his opinion about Spears' singing voice.
At that
time, he was a music industry lawyer, representing clients including the
Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Simpson. But he was so impressed
by what he heard that he took Spears under his wing, and presented the
then-15-year-old to record labels in New York, eventually securing her a deal
with Jive.
He then
guided the teenager to global stardom, with hits like ...Baby One More Time,
Ooops! I Did It Again and Toxic.
Although he
stepped aside briefly in 2007 and 2008, he returned to Spears' side after a
series of public incidents led to her being placed under a conservatorship, and
helped her revitalise her career with a string of successful albums and a
lucrative Las Vegas residency.
In May
2019, as the singer announced she would not continue performing in Las Vegas
residency, Rudolph told Variety: "She's putting herself ahead of everyone
else, and I'm proud of her for that. If she never works again, she never works
again."
"I've
been with her for two-thirds of her life. I look at her almost like I look at
my own daughter," he continued. "It's very emotional for me… and
really rough. Personally, I want for her to just find a peaceful, happy place -
whatever that means for her. It's not about a career anymore - it's about
life."
Rudolph,
who has also represented clients like Miley Cyrus, Aerosmith and Pitbull,
announced his resignation amid increased scrutiny of Spears' conservatorship.
At a
specially-convened court hearing two weeks ago, the star called the arrangement
"abusive" and said she had been drugged, forced to perform against
her will and prevented from having children.
The
testimony was the singer's first full public statement about her situation and
has sparked an outpouring of public support for her bid for freedom.
It came
after years of speculation and concern from fans campaigning under the banner
of #FreeBritney.
A day
before her testimony, Spears called US emergency services to report herself a
victim of conservatorship abuse, according to an investigation published by the
New Yorker over the weekend.
In the wake
of her statement, a financial firm that was appointed to help oversee her
conservatorship asked to withdraw.
However, a
day earlier, Judge Brenda Penny denied a request Spears made in November to
have Jamie Spears removed from his position as her co-conservator.
The next
hearing in the case is scheduled for 14 July.
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