The first month of summer is usually a sweltering time, but this past June, the heat was directed at more than just the climate. 

Pop icon Britney Spears broke her silence in June of this year, bringing to light the things she’s had to endure during her conservatorship, which was controlled by her father. On Sept. 8, however, Spears’s father filed for release from the contract naming him as her conservator. This was a forward move in ending Spears’s 13 years of conservatorship, but the formal end is still yet to be seen. Spears will return to courts in Los Angeles today at 4:30 p.m. EST to plead her case in person.

“I think her conservatorship is absolutely horrible and it makes me so upset to think that she has endured its strain on her mental and physical health,” lifelong fan and senior Grace Kimball said. “Her conservatorship was initially to protect her after her mental health issues due to the stress of life as a celebrity and harassment by the media, but it warped into a way to use her as a work horse for cash by her greedy family. They forced her to work, kept her away from her children, and ended some of her romantic relationships, all without her consent or control.”

Kimball started listening to Spears when she was very young. Her older cousins introduced her to the pop star, and they would all attempt to imitate the icon through her music videos and “Just Dance” routines.

“Ever since I was super young, my older cousins and I would listen to her music and try to recreate her dances from her iconic music videos,” Kimball said. “I have some great memories blasting her music with my friends and dancing to all her songs on Just Dance.”

When her story came out, Kimball was appalled. While the beginning of her conservatorship was initially for her protection in regard to her mental health, allegations have come forth that claim that greediness took over sympathetic concern. Kimball believes that now, there is no true reason to keep the conservatorship in place.

“Britney’s mental health has improved so much and her workload has shown that she is in no doubt strong enough for her to take back control of her life,” Kimball said. “There’s no reason for her to have a conservatorship and the only thing it’s doing is keeping her from being able to make decisions about her own life.”

Kimball’s love of Spears hasn’t changed in all those years since the dance parties, even now that her ordeal has been revealed. In fact, Kimball now views Spears as an even stronger woman than she did before.

“Despite all her struggles, she continued to be such a loving person to her family and fans, showing just how resilient she is,” Kimball said. “Knowing everything she’s been through and how she stayed an incredibly kind and generous person throughout it all makes me just respect and love her even more.”

Kimball believes that this controlling aspect of celebrity life being brought into the light will have far-reaching effects. She hopes that it will call attention to life as a woman in Hollywood and beyond.

“It opens up the conversation about agency and the ability to control your own life, especially for women,” Kimball said. “For a long time, women have been unable to control their own finances, decisions and futures. Despite advances as a society, her story has shown just how much farther we have to go to ensure that women everywhere have the freedom that they deserve.”