Britney Spears opens up about ‘traumatic’ encounter with NBA player’s security
Britney Spears said she’s still a ‘huge fan’ of Victor Wembanyama despite having a ‘traumatic experience’ where she alleged being hit by the NBA player’s security. (Getty Images)
Britney Spears said she’s still a “huge fan” of Victor Wembanyama despite having a “traumatic” experience with the NBA star’s security.
The pop superstar alleged she was struck by a security guard as she tried to approach Wembanyama near a restaurant in a Las Vegas casino complex on Wednesday (5 July).
The San Antonio Spurs centre player, selected first in this year’s draft, claimed a person – who he later was told was Spears – grabbed him from behind during the incident.
In a video of the incident, shared by TMZ, Spears can be seen reaching towards the basketball player’s back from behind when she’s confronted by a third party and knocked back sharply.
Spears filed a police report with the Las Vegas Police Department after what she called an “embarrassing” and “traumatic” experience.
The “Toxic” hitmaker refuted Wembanyama’s claims that she grabbed him. Instead, she said she approached the NBA star to congratulate him on his success so she tapped him on his shoulder because it was “really loud” at the venue.
“I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention,” Spears wrote on Instagram.
“His security then backhanded me in the face without looking back, in front of a crowd. Nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses to fall off.”
However, Las Vegas police said its investigation into the incident is over and that no charges will be filed against the person involved.
The authorities concluded that, when Spears touched the player, his security guard pushed her hand away “without looking” which caused “Britney’s hand to hit herself in the face”, the BBC reported.
After police confirmed that charges wouldn’t be filed over the encounter, the global pop icon posted a lengthy statement to social media, sharing her feelings about the decision.
“I’ve been working in the industry for years and have been with some of the most famous people in the world,” Spears wrote in an Instagram post.
“NSYNC at one point were like The Beatles … girls would throw themselves at them everywhere we went … not one time in my life has a security guard ever hit another person!!!”
Spears added that she’s “not sharing this to be a victim,” and said her reaction to the incident “was a cry out on all levels” as she “felt helpless in most situations”.
The pop star previously spent 13 years in a controversial and highly publicised conservatorship that controlled many aspects of her life.
Spears was freed from the legal arrangement in November 2021, and she was able to get married to Sam Asghari in June 2022.
“No, I don’t feel like I have been treated as an equal person in this country … of course when I watched the video myself … the people who actually swarmed around me when they heard me get hit made me feel like I mattered,” Spears said.
Spears added that she still remains a “huge fan of the NBA player” and said it’s “not his fault his security hit me”.
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