mind off wockesha ♪ ♪ watch me put my heart in this cup mfeel she therapist ♪ i ear ♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, a pop superstar and her supporters. >> britney! >> battling in court to get back a life she calls overprotected. ♪ protected ♪ >> accusing her father of a toxic influence. ♪ don't you know that you're toxic ♪ >> the case captivating the country. plus racist rage. england losing a nail biter in the european championship. >> and it's italy! >> oh, lost for words. i'm actually lost for words. >> disappointment turning into vicious racist attacks on social media. >> when the chips are down and when things aren't going so well, that's when the veil comes

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that's what we're made for. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. get a quote today. good evening. thank you for joining us. in a high-profile legal battle to gain control of her life and make her own decisions, today, britney spears was given permission by a court judge to

hire her own attorney to represent her. it's a small victory, but one the pop star hopes will be a big step in her fight against a 13-year conservatorship and supporters waiting outside of the courtroom, where no cameras and cell phones were allowed. >> free britney. >> reporter: outside of a los angeles courthouse, britney spears supporters rallied with signs and chants. free britney now. >> reporter: hoping that the conservatorship may soon come to an end. >> she is a huge part of who i am today. >> reporter: inside what could be a major shift, the judge granting spears' request to hire her own attorney, matthew rosenguard. spears recoaddressing the court. i would like to charge my father with conservatorship abuse.

if this is not abuse, i don't know what is. today, brittaney spears was g granted a new lawyer. >> that's huge. she has greater autonomy than a court-appointed attorney. we'll see more of britney spears in her legal decisions after this is decided. she will ask for no more c conservatorsh conservatorship. >> reporter: she wrote her fans saying, i have gratitude and am blessed. you have no idea what it is to be supported by awesome hasnfan. spears breaking her silence, calling the court order conse conservatconser conservatorship abusive. saying i just want my life back. she is not allowed to ride in a car with her own boyfriend, make her own decisions about birth control, marriage or having

children. >> we heard a britney spears we had never heard before. it was a watershed moment in how she was perceived. you could hear in her voice, so much emotion, and so much pent-up feeling, as she delineated all of the things that happened to her and all of the manners she suffered while being inside this conservatorship. >> reporter: in the aftermath, outpouring of support for the star. no one should be treated like this. stay strong, queen. you deserve better. even her ex, justin timberlake, calling on the court and her family to let her live how she wants to live. timberlake writing, after what we saw today, we should all be supporting britney at this time. adding, no one should be held against their will or ever have to ask permission to access everything they've work ed so hard for. after spears' explosive statement, an attorney speaking on behalf of her father, saying, he is sorry to see his daughter in so much pain.

mr. spears loves his daughter. since spears stopped performing several years ago. instagram is the only way fans have gotten glimpses of her life. >> i want to let you guys know, i am fine. i'm the happiest i've been in my life. >> reporter: but in the hearing, spears says those posts online weren't her true feelings. i lied and told the whole world i'm okay and i'm happy. it's a lie. i've been in denial. i've been in shock. i'm dratraumatized. i'm not happy. i can't sleep. i'm so angry. >> this was always the feeling of the people in the free britney movement. the things being said on social media connected to her name were not necessarily her true thoughts. ♪ show me how you want it to be ♪ >> reporter: britney spears was only 16 years old when she catapulted to stardom in 1998, with her multiplatinum hit "hit me one more time." >> she was pretty and sexy.

a late teenager. that's an image she built on over the next several years. and she became one of the biggest stars in the world. snoe ♪ oops i did it again ♪ >> reporter: releasing one hit after another. "oops i did it again." and "toxic." by 2007, life in the spotlight seemed to take a toll. the young mother of two, struggling amidst a divorce, custody battle and scrutiny. >> britney spears with a shaved head circulates over the internet. >> reporter: under the relentless flash of cameras, she took a pair of clippers to her own hair at a los angeles salon. >> people tend to lash out when there's that kind of pressure on them. and she did. >> i think the paparazzi loved britney. and i don't think britney loved the paparazzi. they transformed her life.

>> it's on 24 hours a day. >> he had not begun dating britney yet. we asked him, why is she so constantly a figure of fascination. why is she worth it. >> because she is so unpredictable. she will get in a car. you think she is going to get coffee, she will go to vegas. he will go to the airport and fly to cabo for two days. >> they were getting rich off of britney seriopears. but the constant surveillance was taking a huge toll on her mentally. >> reporter: what seemed to be a public unraveling coming to head, in a 2007 altercation with paparazzi in los angeles, broking down on the documentary "framing britney spears," moments after, she was denied access to her children. >> please, god. >> and britney started to come

after me and started to beat the passenger side of my truck. >> reporter: that following year after two hospitalizations, britney's father, jamie, assumed control over his daughter's esta estate, along with an outside trust. >> britney spears con seserva conservatorship is unprecedented. it doesn't look like a lot of the steps getting in or getting out, were navigated or charted because they thought it would be temporary. here we are 13 years later. >> reporter: 13 years later, the court-mandated conservatorshcon denying the 39-year-old control of her estate. my colleague, amy robach talked to vivian thoreen. >> jamie saved britney's life. he has worked fi ed tirelessly protect her. he helped her regain custody of her children. he brought her finances back from disaster.

and he created a safe environment for her to live the life the way she wants away from the media. anytime britney ends her conservatorsh conservatorship, she can file a petition to terminate it. she's never accessed this right for 13 years. >> reporter: but during her testimony, the pop star saying, she didn't know that was an option. mom, i didn't know i could petition the conservatorship to end it. sorry for my ignorance. what does she have to prove to get out of this? >> she has to show that she is able to take care of her own personal autonomy an her estate state. her alertness and processing. thought processes and the ability to modulate mood and affect. >> reporter: hearing isn't sch until november. until then, today's media circus

outside of the courthouse, showing once again, that there's still an insatiable appetite for all things britney. >> free britney. up next, the ugly side of england's beautiful game. touch after touch bacteria in your home never stops . that's why microban 24 doesn't just sanitize and stop. microban 24 keeps killing bacteria for 24 hours. spray on hard surfaces to kill 99% of viruses and bacteria initially, including the covid-19 virus. once dry microban forms a shield that keeps killing bacteria for 24 hours ... ...touch after touch. microban 24. touch after touch, it doesn't give up.

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italy by a point, some turned to social media to attack the players in defeat. revealing the ugly side, of not just the game, but a part of british society. here's abc's senior foreign correspondent, ian penn. >> reporter: the chants from soccerhiekend. england reached the finals of the european championship against italy, the first time in the final of a major tournament in 55 years. >> back and -- >> reporter: after 120 minutes, regulation and extra time, it came down to this, the fate of a dramatic penalty shoot-out. three, young english stars. taking the last of the penalty

kicks. marcus leaving bukayo final shot. it was the shot that delighted one nation and ended the dreams of another. >> it never goes for the fans. >> loss of words. loss of words. >> reporter: a national defeat again. but rather than celebrating reaching the finals, some turned to vitriol and racism, targeting the three, young players for the color of their skin. hateful images and racial slurs targeting their social media profile. with other slurs, some telling

saka to go back to nigeria. he was born in landon. >> they would be disgusted. >> reporter: the abuse, swiftly triggering backlash. i heard people say it's okay to be black and successful, but not to be black and fail. would you agree with in a? >> absolutely. there's a smaller minority. but still a large group of people that, suddenly, all of your failures on the color of your skin. >> reporter: hours after the game, prince william, the president of the football association, called for accountability, writing in a tweet, i'm sickened by the racist abuse aimed at england players after last night's match. it's totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behavior. england's manager gareth southgate also contempting the abuse. >> for them to be abused is unforgivable. i know a lot of that is coming

from abroad. the people that track those things have been able to explain that. but not all of it. it's not what we stand for. >> reporter: prime minister boris johnson chiming in. >> to abuse on some of the players, i say shame on you and i hope you crawl back under the rock from which you emerged. >> reporter: police in britain, looking at the abuse, with one suspect being questioned. for many black britons, the outburst confirmed what they already knew. >> it's been going on for a long time. when the chips are down and things aren't going so well, that's when the veil comes off and you see people for their true colors. >> reporter: josh denzel is a commentator for british soccer and has experienced racism

firsthand. cla he is not surprised at the abuse. >> i broke in at the end of the hooligan era of football in england. and that period, was rife in the game. all of the initiatives did, was suppress overt racism. and it stopped people from not espousing it in public. but the fundamental thoughts and opinions haven't >> reporter: marcus defaced. >> this response is normal, isn't it? >> reporter: but the graffiti was papered over with messages

of support for the soccer star, grateful for the love, denouncing the hate. english soccer players have denoun embraced the black lives movement. taking colin kaepernick's act o have a right to be up set to take a knee. some say her rhetoric and the response from prime minister johnson and others has fueled racial tensions in england. >> i blame the prime minister. i blame the party of which he is the leader. and i blame the home secretary. if you have a prime minister that use pickaniny and watermelon when he's talking

about africans, what are you going to do? >> reporter: he said his comments were satirical. >> when they take the knee for all those that live with racism, day in and day out. >> reporter: and at a public gathering, fans taking the knee in support. where does the onus of responsibility lie now? what would make it better? >> you need lifetime bans orders. not just can't come to the game for two years. and can't travel. there's needs to be police action. social media companies rooting out and finding these people. it also needs to be an educat educational thing. >> reporter: and future generations of fans and players must await the day when saka w be regarded not for the colors of their skin but for the colors of the jersey. >> what does football mean to

you? and what does it mean for the country? >> it's more than just a sport. a lot of violence or -- a lot of stuff that's not positive. and football is a thing that brings people together, like one big family. we hope that the world will be the same. our thanks to ian. our thanks to ian. up next, tru psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen, painful. tremfya® is approved to help reduce joint symptoms in adults with active psoriatic arthritis. some patients even felt less fatigued. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. janssen can help you explore cost support options. don't settle for products that give you a sort of white smile.

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finally tonight, french are celebrating bastille day, like our fourth of july. a holiday not usually known for its romance. that didn't stop a young soldier from proposing to his girlfriend on the champs-elysees, moments before the annual military parade. she said oui. and friends gave a round of applause. good for them. that's "nightline" this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. see you tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.

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