ARE CONSERVATORSHIPS IN ENTERTAINMENT PREDATORY?
- Kean Huy Alado
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
By Diana Morose
How would you feel if your civil freedoms were taken away from you? If you had little to no control over your day-to-day life and someone else was in charge of choosing what you eat, who you communicate with, and how your money is spent? Well, those are some of the autonomous choices that you lose when you're placed into a conservatorship.
If the term sounds familiar to you, then you may have heard it in reference to pop star Britney Spears and the #FreeBritney movement that trended on social media to raise awareness about the conservatorship under which Spears had been placed.
A conservatorship is a legal concept where a court appoints a person to manage the personal and financial affairs of someone who is deemed unable to meet their own needs, whether that be due to age or disability.
Two types of conservatorships exist. There is the conservator of the person, where the legally appointed guardian has the authority to make personal decisions for the conservatee including where they live, medical decisions, and day-to-day decisions like what meals they can eat and forms of transportation. There is also the conservator of the estate who manages a conservatee’s financials, including their investments, property and debts.
While conservatorships are typically appointed for the elderly, cases within the entertainment industry should have precautions put into place since conservators may be able to take advantage of a celebrity under conservatorship as they can control how much a performer works.
Conservatorships were back in the public eye once again when TV personality Wendy Williams stated that she was trapped within a conservatorship, which was initiated by the bank Wells Fargo after Williams was diagnosed with dementia in 2022.
In an exclusive with People magazine, William’s health care advocate, Ginalisa Monterroso, stated that Williams initially agreed to guardianship after Wells Fargo petitioned for it because she thought that they would help protect her finances, not realizing that a lot of her personal freedoms would be taken away.
“I am not cognitively impaired," insisted Williams, calling in to a radio interview with the Breakfast Club on Jan. 16. "You know what I'm saying? But I feel like I am in prison."
This wouldn't be the last time that Williams would reach out to different media outlets to plead her case that she should not be in a conservatorship – or at least that she should have a different guardian from the one that has been appointed to her.
Williams' guardian Sabrina Morrissey claimed in legal filings that the former TV host had become "cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated" by her dementia. Williams, who spoke out against those claims in January, said she had test results to prove otherwise.
On the morning of March 10, a note dropped from the window of an assisted living facility in New York that simply read, “Help! Wendy!!” It was a handwritten note from Williams pleading for help, which led to officers responding and escorting her to an ambulance.
"I wish I was allowed to actually put on nice clothing and come see you in person, but I cannot,” stated Williams during her most recent call-in interview on the morning talk show, The View.
Conservatorships raise concerns about the potential for abuse or exploitation and the overall loss of autonomy for a conservatee, especially when alternatives to conservatorships exist. For examples, establishing a power of attorney may be a safer alternative. They are voluntary, require no court involvement, and can be revoked at any time as long as the person is considered of sound mind.
Kalkidan Gallagher, a senior majoring in public relations and advertising with a minor in communications, shared some of her thoughts on the matter.
“I think that conservatorships can be dangerous; there are definitely instances where they were used to target celebrities or people who are wealthy. There should be more awareness on the subject because [conservatorships] can cause harm when in the hands of evil people,” said Gallagher.
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