Deep Dive: Cade Hudson

Britney first connected to Cade Hudson through her ex-fiancé, Jason Trawick. Trawick, by the way was made a co-conservator on the conservatorship, which has got to be one of the most demented aspects of the entire Con. In any event, Jason and Cade were close friends and as far as we know, it was at Britney and Jason’s engagement party that Britney and Cade begin their friendship. Shortly after this, there was a “guest appearance” from Cade on stage during at least one or two of her performances. Looking back before he befriended Britney, here is what we know about Cade.

Cade is one of five children, having two brothers and two sisters. His parents were happily married for 30 years, until his father sadly passed away in 2013. Cade grew up in Austin, Texas. Most of his family still lives there, including his mother, who works as a general manager for a radio station in Texas. His father was a well respected athlete, having played for the University of Texas and eventually going on to play professionally for the Jets. I actually get the feeling Cade comes from a very solid family, his parents seem really hardworking and respected in their community, his Dad was even inducted into the Hall of Fame for the University of Texas in 2012.

Cade started working for CAA in 2014 or 2015. Prior to that he was a publicist at Full Picture and got his start in Hollywood “answering telephones as an assistant at a PR agency.” This statement was in response to an allegation of inappropriate behavior. The statement went on to say “Mr. Hudson did not even become a talent agent until years after [the accusations took place].”

Cade was accused of sexual indecency but when responding to Sean Rose’s version of the events, reps for Cade leaned heavily on the fact that this was not a professional setting and it was not while he was in any position of power. I am not sure if that makes it any better or not, but at the very least it speaks to Cade’s moral character, if the allegations are true. He is accused of leveraging connections to celebrities in exchange for sexual favors. Though Cade had not worked at CAA at the time of the incident with Sean Rose, Sean came out with his experience after Cade was hired by the talent agency, around the time Harvey Weinstein and other CAA agents were in hot water for harassment.

During his time with CAA, Cade represented high-profile celebrities such as Bella Thorne, Kate Hudson (no relation), Seth MacFarlane, Johnny Knoxville… and Gwyneth Paltrow to name a few.

Though their friendship started more than a decade ago, Cade only spoke up about the conservatorship at the very end of the nightmare ordeal. “I’ve kept my mouth shut for 12 + years on Britney. Enough is enough,” he said in a social media post. “After getting thousands of death threats, getting water bottles thrown at my head in bars from bystanders telling me I’m brainwashing her – Britney I’m now speaking up.”

Brushing past the implication there, that Britney encouraged or wanted him to keep quiet, or the tone sort of seeming to be frustrated with Britney, but I digress. He said it was “sexism at its best” and that the conservatorship was “a violation of someone’s basic human rights that were taken away. I’ve kept my mouth shut out of the fear of losing my job.” He went on to mention he was intimidated by someone involved in the conservatorship, but didn’t name any names, for legal reasons.

Since these statements were made two years ago, Cade has become Britney’s manager. They’ve gone on multiple vacations, her social media often posting videos of the two dancing and enjoying time together on private jets, boats and partying in tropical get-aways. In a now deleted video, the two were even dancing and basically grinding while in bathing suits, leaving Britney fans divided on whether or not it was just some harmless fun or more evidence of something being wrong.

So, is Cade a real friend, or a snake in the grass? Really, there is no way any of us can know for sure. Britney and Cade are the only ones that can really know what their dynamic truly looks like. Nevertheless, there are a few conclusions I can come to, and to be honest, a few areas I feel less comfortable making assumptions.

Off the bat, the idea of Britney being best friends with her Manager is problematic for a plethora of reasons. There is the obvious conflict of interest. He’s banking, literally, on Britney getting back to work. Britney has, on more than one occasion, flat out said she is done with Hollywood. She’s even referred to her retirement in the last month. How can Cade possibly be objective about Britney not wanting to work? He took over when Larry left, so did he negotiate the revised contracts for the Britney inspired Broadway musical? Is he finding opportunities for her to make a living without her having to deal with the business? One thing is for sure, I can’t recall the last time I saw Lady Gaga, Beyonce or John Legend dancing with their manager on a boat. I’m not saying it’s completely out of the realm of possibilities. But a lot of questions still need answers before footage of Cade enjoying lavish vacations can be viewed as Britney living her best life. From where most of us stand, it seems like yet another person using Britney.

My hope is that Britney’s surrounding herself with those she trusts. My hope is that she salvaged, from the last decade and a half, two trusted confidants, meaning Cade and her husband, Sam. Perhaps they helped her regain freedom. Maybe that is why Britney married the boyfriend approved by her father, and kept the agent that never stood up to her oppressors. If they were helping her from the inside, it would explain a lot. There’s a chance that when she was sneaking around the surveillance her father had in place, it was Cade that assisted her. Someone snuck her a phone. It could have been him, after all he was allegedly the one to connect her with a competent lawyer. (Though many Britney Army soldiers still question Matthew Rosengart, he was the one to get Britney out of the abusive conservatorship. Matthew, much like Cade, I can’t figure out if he can be trusted.)

The problem is, since she regained some level of “freedom”, things still look pretty messy for our Queen, and I don’t mean because she posts candid videos of her dancing.

The PR looks messy. That’s suspicious. Even in this picture above, Cade’s fly is down and that feels like a really appropriate metaphor here. This just looks really sloppy, and it’s in no way Britney’s fault. Her instagram is clearly not managed by her alone, and if it is Cade running her PR, he should be working as hard as I do advocating for Britney to be treated better by the press. This is not a case of “all news is good news”. This is a matter of: the same week there are accusations of Britney being on heavy drugs, her instagram is posting videos of Cade and Britney dancing on a boat. Who is that helping? Of course, I want to say, “that’s a middle finger to the paparazzi! She is living her best life!” But that just feels dismissive to all the evidence that this is not normal. Cade should be working overtime to control the narrative FOR Britney. Not on vacation with her.

There were recent allegations that Cade is even in complete control of her phone, which feels confusing… The same reports went on to victim blame Britney for a slew of irrational allegations, up to and including her own miscarriage. I mention it because, if Cade does have that level of control over Britney’s social media, or her ability to contact the outside world, that could make sense… but it would also mean her Instagram content couldn’t possibly be a reflection of her mental state. You can’t have it both ways.

For me, I can’t decide how I feel about Cade. On the one hand, I want to trust Britney’s judgement. I want to see her happy and thriving. But the fact of the matter is, it was June 23, 2021 the last time we heard from her for certain. Until we have some kind of proof that Britney is happy and being protected and supported by Cade Hudson, we still have a ton of reasons to question his motives, and watch his every move.

Although I could go on and on about reasons I question Britney’s “BFF”, I’m also wicked hesitant to say anything negative about him because if he is a good guy in all this, Team Con wants us to try to alienate the only people close to Britney. And no matter what the truth is about how they became friends and what his intentions are, it’s undeniable that (besides her spouse) Cade Hudson currently has the most access to Britney Spears.

Articles used for reference: Family, Background, & His comments on the conservatorship