Cindy Birdsong’s family asks for The Supremes singer to be put under a conservatorship
Battle over Cindy Birdsong: The Supremes singer’s family petitions for conservatory, demanding the caretaker be REMOVED amid claims she is ‘isolating’ the singer, 83, from loved ones
- Lander reportedly received a power of attorney from the 83-year-old singer more than a decade ago
- Birdsong’s family alleges Lander attempted to ‘isolate’ the singer from her family and take control of her finances
- The family has asked Birdsong’s brother Ronald and entertainment manager Brad Herman as co-custodians and to remove Lander from Birdsong’s care.
Singer Cindy Birdsong’s family hopes to create a conservatory to look over her… and remove caretaker Rochelle Lander.
The 83-year-old singer, who joined The Supremes in 1967, replacing founding member Florence Ballard, had given power of attorney to caretaker Rochelle Lander more than a decade ago and has lived together for years, he says. The New York Times.
Birdsong’s family has now asked a Los Angeles court to create a conservatorship for Birdsong’s care, appointing her brother Ronald and entertainment manager Brad Herman as co-conservators, while also removing Lander from her care.
The singer’s family has alleged that Lander purposefully “isolated” her from her family as she tried to control her finances out of the reach of the family.
They also claim that Lander has kept the family “in the blind” about her deteriorating health.
Conservatorship: Singer Cindy Birdsong’s family hopes to create a conservatory to watch over her… and remove caretaker Rochelle Lander
Supremes: The 83-year-old singer (left), who joined The Supremes in 1967, replacing founding member Florence Ballard, had given power of attorney to caretaker Rochelle Lander more than a decade ago and has been living together for years, according to The New York Times
The police report added that, after Birdsong suffered a second stroke about seven years ago, Lander, “became increasingly secretive about the status of Birdsong’s health.’
They also claim that Lander wouldn’t even tell the family where the singer was treated after the stroke.
“We didn’t even know where Cindy was,” Melody Birdsong, the singer’s sister-in-law, claimed.
Other family members claimed they had “repeatedly tried to visit” Birdsong, though Lander refused them.
When some family members were finally allowed to visit the singer, they became concerned when they found she was hooked up to a feeding tube.
“I was so devastated the last time I went to see my sister because she wasn’t like that the last time I saw her,” Cindy’s sister Terri Birdsong told the New York Times.
“I was able to feed her and cook for her and then I show up and she gets a feeding tube?” she added.
The family called the police and had Cindy placed in a skilled nursing facility in 2021, with police calling her “deteriorating condition.”
Stroke: The lawsuit added that after Birdsong suffered a second stroke about seven years ago, Lander, “became increasingly secretive about the status of Birdsong’s health.”
Family: They also claim that Lander wouldn’t even tell the family where the singer was treated after the stroke
Repeatedly: Other family members claimed they had “repeatedly tried to visit” Birdsong, though Lander refused them
Lander reportedly told police that Birdsong actually suffered, “a complete mental breakdown,” adding that “no one else” would help her.
The family claims Birdsong is “totally incapacitated” while shared in the nursing home, “unable to get out of bed or communicate.”
The move to find a conservatory would see Lander no longer in control of Birdsong’s finances, which the family said were “dwindling.”
The Los Angeles District Court has scheduled a hearing on the conservatory for August.