Britney Spears is currently left reeling after her father, Jamie Spears, allegedly assaulted her 13-year-old son, Sean Preston. The news broke on September 3rd, after Britney's ex-husband Kevin Federline, and his lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, filed a restraining order against Jamie.
“There was a disagreement that occurred while Britney and the children were visiting with Jamie at his home that led to a physical altercation that was observed by Jayden,” Kaplan said. “Britney did the right thing and removed the children and took them out of there, but the trauma to the kids is nonetheless.”
Insiders corroborated this story, and there are reports that Jamie "violently shook" Sean Preston after he refused to do something Jamie had asked because he "wasn't interested."
“Both of Britney’s boys are very well-behaved and well-mannered. What happened with Jamie and Sean was very unfortunate and definitely not right,” one source said.
“Jamie has a temper, which is no secret to anyone in the family,” another insider told Us. “Fortunately, Britney did the right thing and took her boys to safety and away from her father. The whole incident was very upsetting to her and her boys. Kevin was and still is furious.”
Kaplan spoke with Us Magazine to explain what went happened on the day of the alleged assault. Things are more complicated because while Britney is the mother, her father Jamie has a conservatorship over the singer, so custody is a little tricky.
“I went with Kevin on August 25 to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department to help him navigate the legally complex issues in hopes of obtaining an emergency protective order against the conservator, Jamie Spears,” Kaplan explained.
Even though there's been a restraining order taken out against Jamie, Kevin isn't trying to keep their boys, Sean Preston and 12-year-old Jayden James, away from their mom.
“Kevin wants Britney to have meaningful and significant contact with their children,” Kaplan said. "Kevin has always maintained that position, and I commend him for that because he only wants what is best for the boys. He recognizes that includes having their mother as an active participant in their lives.”
Kevin and Britney, who got married in 2004 and split in 2007, had previously shared 50-50 custody of their kids, but as of August 2018 the had decided to try a 70-30 split, with Kevin getting the boys for 70% of the time. That agreement became formal as of August 28th, meaning Britney will get her boys for 30% of the time with unsupervised custodial rights.
Things got a little rocky in May of 2019 after Britney was admitted to a mental health facility. Kevin was reluctant to give the singer any extra time with Sean and Jayden.
“Britney’s immediate concern has been in having increased visitation time with her boys,” the insider told Us at the time. “Kevin won’t allow the boys to spend more time with their mother until Britney is once again stable and therapeutic on medication. He allows the boys to spend time with Britney, but it’s at his discretion.”
Clearly that has since changed. It's upsetting to hear that Jamie Spears would get violent with his children. It's not clear whether or not this has anything to do with his illness that was previously reported. However, judging by the reaction of Kevin, this doesn't sound like it could be a one-time thing.
