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On Sept. 28, 2021, Netflix released Britney vs Spears. The documentary investigates Britney Spears‘ fight to remove the conservatorship that has controlled her life for 13 years. The documentary introduces an array of people from the time Britney’s conservatorship began. One name crops up several times: Louise (Lou) Taylor.

Louise Taylor talks into a microphone. She is wearing an all-black outfit and large hoop earrings.
Louise Taylor | Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images

For those who have been following Britney’s struggle for freedom, Taylor is a name that will sound familiar. However, the documentary doesn’t go into explicit detail about who she is in relation to Britney. If you’re confused, here’s everything you need to know about Taylor.

Who is Lou Taylor?

Over 28 years ago, Taylor launched Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group, a business management service that caters to musicians, athletes, actors, writers, producers, and executives. According to Esquire, Taylor previously served as business manager for Britney’s younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears. In 2008, she started speaking on behalf of Britney. This was the same year that Britney’s conservatorship began.

Britney’s father Jamie had a close personal relationship with Taylor. The two were both Christians, and Taylor’s husband Rob was a pastor at an evangelical church. In Feb. 2008 Britney entered into a temporary conservatorship with her father that would end up lasting 13 years. According to The New Yorker, Taylor had allegedly previously recommended conservatorships for a variety of celebrities, including Lindsay Lohan and Courtney Love.

Esquire also reports that Britney’s mother Lynne alleges in her memoir that Taylor was one of the first people to recommend a temporary conservatorship for Britney. These claims were vehemently denied, The New Yorker Reports. “At no time did Ms. Taylor ever make any effort to put anyone into a conservatorship,” said Taylor’s lawyer Charles Harder.

Lou Taylor in ‘Britney vs. Spears’

Taylor appears sporadically in the Netflix documentary Britney vs. Spears. One thing is apparent, Taylor is not to be messed with. The filmmakers asked Britney’s former assistant, Felicia Culotta, about Taylor. “I will not touch that one,” Culotta replied. “Sorry. She will chew me up and spit me out.” Harder also sent the documentary makers an extensive legal letter regarding any mention of Taylor or her company in the film.

The documentary states that in 2008, a few days after Britney was released from her involuntary psychiatric hold, Taylor went on the TODAY Show as a spokesperson for the Spears family. Taylor also “led business decisions at times over the course of the conservatorship.”

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Then, Taylor crops back up at the end of Britney vs Spears. According to the documentary, she had emailed Jamie saying her company had lost $400,000 in billing in 2019 for work as Britney’s business manager. However, this was at a time when Britney was not working. In spite of this, Jamie paid up when he received a bill from Tri Star.

Jamie Spears suspended as Britney’s conservator

On Sept. 29, 2021, the day after Britney vs Spears was released to Netflix, a judge suspended Jamie as the conservator of Britney’s estate. BBC News reports that Jamie had previously acted as both the conservator of the person and estate for Britney, but stepped down as his daughter’s personal conservator in 2019.

Britney’s fans are ecstatic to see the conservatorship removed. Yesterday, the pop star posted a video of herself on Instagram flying a plane for the first time with the captain, “On cloud 9 right now.” Britney is currently engaged to her long-term boyfriend Sam Asghari.

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