Britney Spears’ court-appointed lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, has officially resigned from his duties in the pop legend’s conservatorship. The departure follows the brewing criticism of his legal competence after Spears’ heart-rending testimony and is yet another shocking turn in the harrowing case.
According to TMZ reports, Ingham filed for resignation on Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, along with co-counsel Loeb & Loeb LLP, after 13 years of representing Spears. Although the newly-appointed legal representation has yet to be announced, the resignation will officially take effect after “appointment of new court-appointed counsel.”
In her first-ever court appearance, the 39-year-old delivered a impassioned statement of the abuse she has endured under the authority of her father Jamie Spears. The bombshell speech detailed her nonconsensual labor, drug abuse and reproductive control as she’s been inhibited from removing her IUD. “It’s embarrassing and demoralizing what I’ve been through, and that’s the main reason I didn’t say it openly,” Spears said to the court. “I didn’t think anybody would believe me.”
Moreover, Spears remained critical of Ingham’s behavior amidst the controversy. She exclaimed that Ingham “has been scared for me to come forward,” and even noted that he instructed her “to keep it to myself.” Aside from the suspicion that Ingham was silencing the popstar’s truth, Spears’ revelation that she was unaware that she could petition to end the conservatorship further stoked the claims that her court-appointed attorney failed to thoroughly discuss her legal options with her.
The news of Ingham’s resignation comes shortly after her longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, also parted ways with the Grammy-nominated singer after 25 years on her team. According to Deadline, Rudolph wrote a resignation letter to her father Jamie Spears and Jodi Montgomery, who is the co-executor of the estate of Spears. Citing his recent discovery that the songstress earnestly intends to officially retire, he wrote, “I was originally hired at Britney’s request to help manage and assist her with her career. And 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.”
