Britney Spears Fans Want To Free ‘Star Trek’ Legend Nichelle Nichols From Her Conservatorship
Legendary Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols has a new set of fans whose mission is to free her from her controversial conservatorship.
According to BuzzFeed News, on Monday (Jan. 10), a group of #FreeBritney supporters and fans of Nichols, who starred as Nyota Uhura in the classic 1960s original series, Star Trek, marched at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles to raise awareness about the 89-year-old’s situation.
“We're going to do whatever we can to shed light on the issue and to make sure that there's lasting change for not just Britney, not just Nichelle but everyone who is trapped in this corrupt system,” #FreeBritneyLA organizer Kevin Wu told BuzzFeed News.
It has been reported that Nichols, who has been living with Dementia, has been placed under yet another unhealthy conservatorship since 2018, which is run by her son Kyle Johnson.
BuzzFeed News also notes that Angelique Fawcette, a longtime friend of Nichols, says that her son is not acting in her best interests and forced his mother to move out of her Woodland Hills home to New Mexico against her will.
Nichols’ former manager, Gilbert Bell, has also challenged the actress's conservatorship arrangement, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Johnson also reportedly sold her property against her wishes and has been isolating her from her loved ones.
In a conversation with BuzzFeed News, Fawcette pointed to a deposition from a previous conservator who raised eyebrows about Nichols’ son having control over his mom’s finances and wellbeing, believing that he is unfit to take care of his mother.
“You just can't come and take people’s home and money and just say, ‘Hey, it’s mine. Sorry, you’re old, you’re almost dead anyway, so I’m taking this,’” Fawcette told BuzzFeed News. “Look at all these amazing old people who are out there doing things. They’re living the life ’til their last drop and that's really what I'm fighting for, for Nichelle.”
According to the LA Times, in Jan. 2019 Johnson was appointed conservator of Nichols’ person and estate. He is his mother's sole caregiver in New Mexico and says he moved her there to take better care of her and to protect her from exploitation.
As for the hearing on Jan. 10, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge overruled Fawcette's objections to Johnson's final accounting report for his mother's conservatorship.
It is now under the jurisdiction of a New Mexico court.
Fawcette shares with Buzzfeed News that she will continue to fight for her friend.
“I'd be d***ed if this is my last stand for Nichelle Nichols,” she said. “Whether you are white, Black, Latino, Asian, American Indian, Persian, no matter what you are, you have roots in the soil. And you have a right to stand up for yourself and you have a right to stand up for your family and your friends.”
Nichols earned her a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1992. She is also the first woman to receive a lifetime career award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films in 2016.
