PepSinger

For fucks sake, will y’all get your camera outta Simone’s face?! She’s crying!

Not being a stay at home parent doesn’t mean that you aren’t a full time parent. Working doesn’t make you any less of a full time parent. Parent is a 365 days a year job until the day you die. In addition, I don’t applaud people for doing what they should be doing. Those are his kids. He *should* be taking care of them.

Curious, is the higher-earning spouse required to pay for the other spouse's legal bills when it comes to custody of their children? Because why on Earth is she paying for her ex-husband's attorney? Siblings...sharing a room?!?! The audacity. Clearly they were being raised in a third-world type of environment because no one can be raised appropriately when sharing a room with their same-sex sibling. Totally ridiculous. If I were the judge, I would've mandated he find a new line of work. Let's be blunt; Federline wanted Britney's money to support his four other children and uses the two kids he has with Britney as a backdoor way to support them. Let's see how all this is going in four years because at that point, Britney shouldn't be required to continue paying on Federline's house.

As she stated in her testimony, conservatorships have ended without needing to take a competency exam. Also, as she stated, she has been left traumatized due to the “treatment” she’s already received, so she doesn’t trust her own doctors and therapists to perform a fair examination. I don’t blame her.

Exactly. He's just another person on the payroll. What's his incentive to end this conservatorship? Edited to add: I honestly think Britney's refusal to work is the only control she can exert. If the money finally runs out, maybe everyone will leave her the hell alone. It's sad.

(emphasis mine) Thank you!! If those were the qualifications, then Jennifer Lopez & Halle Berry should be in a conservatorship for having poor taste in romantic partnerships. Kyra Sedgwick & Kevin Bacon should be in a conservatorship since they were swindled in the Bernie Madoff scheme. I don't see anyone arguing for them to be in a conservatorship. And word to your second point. If she understood she was plundering her fortune, then that's all that matters. If I drain my bank account, dump my money into the river, and start refusing to pay bills, that doesn't mean I'm mentally ill because I'd be well aware of what I was doing. If Britney is able to understand her situation and the implications of her actions, then she should be fully released from a conservatorship. Everyone, including those with mental health issues, have the right to make bad choices. I find the weaponization of her mental health disgusting. She is conveniently mentally ill when it suits her "father" and those profiting from her, but she's a-okay to be trusted to fulfill multimillion dollar contract deals. This doesn't track. Furthermore, I have no fucking clue how she is only worth $60 million. That seems abysmally low. In 2002 she was worth $40 million. How in the hell has she only amassed an additional $20 million in net worth in 19 years???? That doesn't even make any sense!! This conservatorship is costing her money. I don't trust Britney's attorney as far as I can throw him. She didn't even know she could petition the court to end the conservatorship! That is an epic fail and dereliction of duty as an attorney not to inform a client of all their legal options, and I think the CA State Bar should investigate. And the worst part? She can't even get a new attorney because the court has to approve another one for her because she's not allowed to find her own legal counsel, despite footing the bill for subpar services. Argh.

I agree, but I’ll also say that if she’s been mentally unwell for some time, I think it has less to do with what started this conservatorship and more to do with how this conservatorship has been affecting her mental health. She probably has compounded mental issues thanks to those involved in this hellish situation. I also agree with whoever said upthread that there is something inherently wrong with Britney’s money having to fund this entire conservatorship. *She* is the one paying ALL of these people. They are on *her* payroll. If her dad is making $16,000 a month out of this conservatorship, then he should take his attorney fees out of that money. She shouldn’t have to pay him a salary in addition to paying for his attorney. He has a job! In addition, a conservator should not be allowed to grant managers/agents/bookers, etc.. permission to speak with clinicians, and the conservator should be barred from sharing that information with anyone who is on the payroll of the “conservatee.” It’s a conflict of interest. I cannot imagine how irate I would be if someone told me I was forced to pay $60,000 a month for treatment that I felt I didn’t need. Finally, it’s as if the treatment has to be carried out in the most embarrassing way possible. They could’ve treated her at home, but no, they had to take her to Westlake. The more I think about this situation, the angrier I become. This entire situation is a horrible combination of reproductive coercion, disability rights, sexism, and mental health stigmatization. Infuriating.

You have no way of knowing that. No one has any way of knowing that. Also, unless she poses a danger to others, she has every right to refuse medication. I have never heard of someone being forced to take medication against their will. WTF? Are you in show business? This “the show must go on” mentality is going the way of the dodo bird. No one should be forced to work with a fever. That’s why sick time should exist. I have known actors who’ve become sick, and they weren’t forced to perform. Either the show was canceled or an understudy performed the part.

No one “needs a baby.” However, every woman should be able to decide that for herself. And if her money is gone in a few years? Well, it’s her money. She should be able to do what she wants with it. She’s the one who’s earned it. word to everything @Rootbeer said.

It’s an impossibly difficult situation. What is being done to her is absolutely wrong but I have seen so many people spiral out of control because of untreated mental illness. I have my doubts that ending the conservatorship will end well even though it probably is the right decision to end it. People with mental illnesses still have rights. Britney’s situation seems like something out of 1921, not 2021.

This is heartbreaking. I had a chance to watch her in a production of The Niceties, and I met her at the theatre since I worked there. She was really nice. I'm sad. Fuck hit and run drivers. I hope this person is punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Heh. It's been a minute since I've watched s4, and I have no inclination to watch again. Thanks for clarifying.

It's funny because I saw something back then that talked about changes from previous Superboy iterations referring to "the black Pete Ross and Native American Lana Lang." While mixed race Asians have passed for Native (see Kelsey Asbille Chow), Kristin Kreuk never did. I also remember Smallville discussions, a fair amount of people did blame the creative team because the writing did not serve her, but unfortunately Kristin was the public face and took the brunt of it. Personally, I'm not sure it's as much about race than because she got in the way of the Clark/Lex fans, but that's a different discussion. What made this extra crazy was that there was a storyline in Season 4 where Lana is possessed by a witch...in China.

I absolutely think they should increase the size of the playoffs. Four teams is ridiculous at this point, IMO.

Looking at the scores from nationals, no. Bars: Beam: Floor: Vault: One thing to take into account is that Jade didn't do her more difficult vault and floor routines, so her start value will be higher at the trials. Now, if it's just as high as Simone, I'm not sure it will be.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

This isn't too surprising. I hate it for her, but she did not do well enough this past weekend to warrant an invitation to the Olympic Trials. I'm trying to figure out what happened between 2017 and today. I hope she can make it to Paris in 2024. As far as who should make the team, IMO, Jade Carey shouldn't be chosen. It's nothing against her, but she decided to go the route she did to ensure she could go to Tokyo. She's done that. Jordan Chiles is peaking at the right time, and I'm so happy for her. I've loved her ever since she wore that Wonder Woman leotard at the Classic back in 2018.

That kid has to be the lead guitarist of a rock band some day. It’s a missed opportunity otherwise. LOL. I’ve been a huge fan of Tom’s ever since Smallville, so I’m happy for him.

Considering how terrible both Thomas and Samantha have been acting the past 4 years, I wouldn’t put it past them. Samantha’s next book might use Meghan and Harry’s daughter’s name as a title. I hope they’ll put a stop to that.

Exactly. Harry’s last name has never been Markle, and I’m almost positive that it’s no longer Meghan’s last name either. They’ve made no such statement that they’ve changed their names. As @Blergh and other posters have mentioned, it’s causing unnecessary confusion because we don’t know who you’re talking about. Unless Thomas or Samantha Markle has had a baby, it’s incorrect. I don’t know that since they don’t go by those names.

Harry’s last name isn’t Markle.

Meghan Markle

I thought Jo's application was denied because she'd recently been a patient in a psychiatric ward. How much time has it been since then?

I've only seen the first two episodes, but I'm really loving this series. It's moving and well done.

As a Bostonian, it drove me crazy to hear Deja and Malik say that Harvard is in Boston. It's in Cambridge, damn it!