Britney Spears granted five-year restraining order against ex-manager Sam Lutfi

Britney Spears’s former manager Sam Lufti has been handed a five-year retraining order preventing him from contacting the pop star or her family.

The decision, which also prevents the 44-year-old from making disparaging comments about Spears or her family online, was made by Los Angeles superior court judge Brenda Penny, who heard testimony from Lufti and Spears’s father James Spears.

Spears conceded that he does not have the most peaceful relationship with Britney, referring to their relationship as “strained”.

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However, Judge Penny said she found him to be credible during testimony that said Lufti – who became close to Spears in 2007 and 2008 and served briefly as her manager – had been a “predator” on his family for more than a decade and that he had recently resumed his harassment.

“I worried that he was trying to take down the conservatorship,” Spears said from the stand. “I was very angry. I was worried that we were right back in 2008.”

Spears and his lawyers suggested that Lufti has attempted to incite fans, who have been using the hashtag #FreeBritney to imply that she is being controlled against her will.

Judge Penny rejected arguments from Lufti’s attorney that the order is an unconstitutional restraint on his free speech.

Lutfi admitted that he had contacted Britney Spears’ mother, Lynne Spears, and the singer’s brother-in-law James Watson via texts and phone calls, and sent Lynne Spears money that was subsequently returned.

Lutfi testified that he sent the money “just like numerous other fans did” because Lynne Spears had “liked” Instagram posts that suggested she was in need of money and that she should be in charge of her daughter’s affairs instead of her ex-husband.

The Spears family has frequently fought Lutfi in court, starting with a restraining order they received against him in 2009.

“He’s been asked repeatedly to stay away from this family,” Chad Hummel, an attorney for the conservatorship, said in closing arguments. “He can’t help himself.”

Lufti told reporters outside the court that he plans to appeal the decision about the restraining order.

Additional reporting by Associated Press

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