Larry Rudolph, who has represented Britney Spears for much of her 25-year career, is stepping down as her manager.
In a letter to the singer’s father, Jamie Spears, and Jodi Montgomery, conservator of Spears’ personal well being, Rudolph cites the singer’s “intention to officially retire” as the reason for his resignation.
“I have never been a part of the conservatorship nor its operations, so I am not privy to many of these details,” writes Rudolph, who notes that he hasn’t communicated with Spears in over two-and-a-half years. “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.”
The letter was first published by Deadline; PvNew has confirmed its authenticity.
Rudolph (seen above with Spears in 2008), whose client roster includes or has included Steven Tyler and Aerosmith, Pitbull and Kim Petras, ends the note wishing “Britney all the health and happiness in the world” and says the door remains open should she need him again.
Read the letter in its entirety below.
James P. Spears and Jodi Montgomery, as co-executors of the estate of Britney Spears:
It has been over 2 1/2 years since Britney and I last communicated, at which time she informed me she wanted to take an indefinite work hiatus. Earlier today, I became aware that Britney had been voicing her intention to officially retire.
As you know, I have never been a part of the conservatorship nor its operations, so I am not privy to many of these details. 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.
Please accept this letter as my formal resignation.
I will always be 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.
Larry Rudolph
On June 23, Spears addressed the court publicly for the first time in her nearly 13-year legal battle. She has been under a court-ordered conservatorship since 2008 with her father, Jamie Spears, largely acting as her sole conservator. While Spears endured a tough time in the public eye in 2007, around the time she was placed under her conservatorship, the musician was more than able to make her own 24-minute statement in front of the court. Typically, conservatorships are put in place for elderly individuals with dementia or Alzheimers, or people with disabilities, who are, quite literally, unable to mentally or physically care for their own best interest.
“I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry it’s insane. And I’m depressed. I cry every day,” Spears told the judgeduring her hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Court, asking for her conservatorship to be terminated with no further evaluation.“I’m not lying. I just want my life back. And it’s been 13 years. And it’s enough. It’s been a long time since I’ve owned my money. And it’s my wish and my dream for all of this to end without being tested.”
Calling her conservatorship “abusive,” some of the revelations Spears claimed while speaking to the judge is that she is banned from seeing her friends, cannot drive in a car with her boyfriend and has been prevented from having her IUD removed at a doctor’s office, despite her desire to get married and have a baby. She also said that she was forced by her father to enter a $60,000 per month rehab center, is given no privacy and has to change her clothing in front of caretakers who have seen her nude.
The pop star’s shocking testimony put the #FreeBritney movement even more into the spotlight with fans around the world rallying behind her, demanding justice for Spears who said she is “traumatized” from living under her restrictive arrangement. Hollywood stars, including Spears’ ex Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Spears’ younger sister, actress Jamie Lynn Spears, have all spoken up in the days after to lend their support, as the messy legal battle as persisted as a major news story across international media outlets.
In May 2019, as the singer announced she would not continue performing a Las Vegas residency, Rudolph told PvNew: “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. My role is to handle her career when she wants a career. If she comes back strong and full of desire and passion and wants to do it, great. If she takes off six months or six years, it’s totally fine. … I’ve been with her for two-thirds of her life. I look at her almost like I look at my own daughter. 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.”
