Britney Spears’s longtime manager Larry Rudolph says the singer may never perform again.
Rudolph said, “As the person who guides her career - based on the information I and all of the professionals who work with her are being told on a need-to-know basis - from what I have gathered it’s clear to me she should not be going back to do this Vegas residency, not in the near future and possibly never again.”
Rudolph has managed Spears for most of her career, going back to her first album, “Baby… One More Time,” in 1999. “I’ve been with her for two-thirds of her life,” he tells Variety. “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.”
The singer is scheduled to undergo psychological evaluation after postponing her Las Vegas residency in the wake of her father’s recent treatment for a ruptured colon. Rudolph says that, though Spears had rehearsed the show (the residency was due to launch on February 13), the Vegas engagement is effectively off, which is what prompted his speaking out in the early hours of May 15.
The decision was made “not to move forward with the Vegas residency,” he explains, adding that the question of what she’s going to do next is not the focus Spears or her family is concerned with right now. “She’s taking time to regroup and get her head together,” says Rudolph. “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. To me, it’s about her finding her happy place.”
Spears’ father Jamie Spears has been her co-conservator since 2008 when she suffered a very public breakdown. He became sole conservator this year after attorney Andrew Wallet resigned from his co-conservatorship in March. Jamie Spears’ recovery from his ailment evidently has not been smooth; after postponing her residency, Britney later checked herself into a health facility for a month-long stay, suffering from stress due to his illness.
Rudolph says that “[Britney] is the one whose focus is on on [getting better]. She’s driving it.” This runs contrary to the belief put forward by the “Free Britney” movement that she’s effectively imprisoned against her will. “I understand how much these fans love her and support her and I love that,” says Rudolph. “The part that concerns me is that it has no factual basis. The personal issues that Britney is dealing with are highly complicated and the conservatorship is there for a reason. The courts of the State of California take this very seriously. I hope the people allow her to have her private time.”
Spears’ business team is not involved in the conservatorship, nor is Rudolph privy to her medications or private life, which explains why he hasn’t spoken to his client “in four or five months.” At the same time, Rudolph says he’s happy that Spears “is not thinking about her business and her career — she’s dealing with these issues. Her not calling me tells me that she’s taking care of herself.”
Spears checked herself into a facility in late March, but left for several hours multiple times during her treatment, including an Easter Sunday visit to the Montage hotel in Beverly Hills with her longtime boyfriend, Sam Asghari.
“Let her be a civilian for a while,” says Rudolph. “She’s given so much. Give her time.”
Variety
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