November 25, 2008 17:08

Britney Spears reportedly has the legal rights of a child under conservatorship

New interview says even the singer's phone calls are monitored

Britney Spears is still paying the price of her "meltdown" earlier this year, with a new report that says she has the legal rights of a child.

Spears’ has been under conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears since a spell of erratic behaviour saw her institutionalised at a Los Angeles hospital twice in January.

"I feel like an old person now," she tells Rolling Stone. "I do! I go to bed at, like, 9:30 every night, and I don't go out or anything, you know what I mean? I just feel like an old fart."

According to the story, Britney is apparently not permitted to drive her own car and is watched over day and night by security guards hired by her father, but she pays their wages.

An unnamed source says Britney's phone calls are closely monitored that Jamie even fired a guard who let her use his phone. This was denied by her reps.

Under such restrictions, the report says, “Britney today has about as many legal rights as when she was in the Mickey Mouse Club.”

The full story will be published November 28, two days before the 90-minute MTV documentary ‘Britney: For The Record’, which sees her discuss in detail her new life.

--By our New York staff.
[url="/about"]Find out more about NME.[/url]

To receive the latest news updates every week – plus free MP3s, videos and more – sign up to the NME Newsletter.