Britney Spears covertly met a journalist in a hotel bathroom to try to get her own lawyer in 2009, according to a new documentary

Former Rolling Stone reporter Jenny Eliscu said she first spotted Spears poolside before moving to a private location to pass on the documents.

• Britney Spears met a journalist in a hotel bathroom to sign docs requesting a new lawyer in 2009, a new documentary claims.
• Netflix documentary "Britney Vs Spears" examines the workings of Spears' conservatorship.
• The documentary details that despite Britney Spears' attempts, her father gained more control.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A new Netflix documentary "Britney Vs Spears" probes the history of Britney Spears' longtime conservatorship and shared that Spears reportedly signed a court petition organized by her ex-manager Sam Lutfi and ex-partner Adnan Ghalib, calling for her former court-appointed lawyer, Sam Ingham, to be replaced in 2009.

According to the documentary, the petition was discreetly brought to The Montage in Beverly Hills, where Spears met former Rolling Stone journalist Jenny Eliscu in a bathroom stall, and received and signed the documents.

Eliscu, who had known Britney for a decade, said she first spotted Spears poolside before moving to a private location to pass on the documents. She said she wanted to be a "good Samaritan," and that Spears was scared about her father Jamie Spears' retaliation to the move, but appreciated the support.

"BRITNEY JEAN SPEARS has expressed her lack of confidence in her court-appointed attorney SAMUEL INGHAM, III," the petition said, adding that her counsel was, "Not advocating adequately on her behalf particularly in light of severe restrictions placed upon her."

"CERTAINLY THIS WOMAN WHO CAN COMPLETE TWO NEW CD's AND BE SET TO GO ON A NATIONAL TOUR HAS SUFFICIENT CAPACITY, AFTER NEARLY ONE YEAR OF PROTECTIVE CONSERVATORSHIP TO RETAIN COUNSEL OF HER CHOICE AND IN WHOM SHE HAS CONFIDENCE," the petition said, which was signed by Britney Spears on January 21, 2009.

The documentary also featured a voicemail that Britney allegedly sent a lawyer in 2009, asking to help her end her conservatorship but retain her custodial rights.

"I'm calling again because I just wanted to make sure that during the process of eliminating the conservatorship that my father has threatened me several times, to you know, he'll take my children away," Spears says in the voicemail.

Even though Spears attempted to advocate for herself through legal channels several times in 2009, the attempts were quickly squashed by her inner circle, the documentary claims.

According to the documentary, seven days after Britney signed the petition handed to her, Ingham emailed Jamie Spears saying that Britney had called him, told him about the meeting, and that she had signed legal documents.

In the email, Ingham told Jamie Spears that his daughter was "fully satisfied" with his services and that "Britney does NOT wish to do that" and asked Jamie Spears to do whatever is necessary to "squash" the documents, the documentary claims.

Ingham and a representative for Jamie could not immediately be reached for comment.

The same day, John Anderson, the lawyer she was trying to hire to replace Ingham, emailed Britney Spears rejecting to represent her, and said, "I can say no more; and do no more. And that is the end for me."

Eventually, in 2009, Jamie Spears earned greater control in the conservatorship, including the ability to manage Britney Spears' professional opportunities, cancel her credit cards, and create a new salary for himself.

In July 2021, a judge ruled that Britney Spears could choose her own lawyer.

At a conservatorship hearing on Wednesday, September 29, a judge will address Britney Spears' petition for her dad's removal from the conservatorship, and likely determine Jamie's continued involvement after he also filed a petition to end the conservatorship entirely.