Pop superstar Britney Spears has confirmed that she filed a police report following an unsettling incident in Las Vegas on Wednesday night. Allegedly, she was forcefully backhanded and knocked to the ground by a member of NBA star Victor Wembanyama’s security team. Both Spears and Wembanyama have addressed the incident separately, shedding light on what transpired at the Catch restaurant in the Aria hotel around 8:30 PM.
In a statement on social media, Spears revealed that she recognized the towering French basketball phenomenon, Wembanyama, who stands at an impressive 2.26 meters (7 feet 4 inches). Expressing her intention to approach him and offer her congratulations on his success, Spears claimed that she tapped Wembanyama on the shoulder to request a photograph due to the noisy environment. However, she asserted that Wembanyama’s security guard, without looking back, unexpectedly struck her in the face, causing her glasses to be dislodged.
Wembanyama, addressing the media earlier on Thursday, provided his own account of the incident. He stated that Spears “grabbed him from behind – not on my shoulder” and that he did not see her face, only becoming aware that his security team had intervened to separate them.
Spears described the incident as “embarrassing” and expressed her gratitude to the Las Vegas police department for their assistance. She asserted that being approached by fans is a regular occurrence for her and mentioned a separate incident that evening where she was surrounded by a group of at least 20 fans, with her security team managing the situation without resorting to physical force.
According to reports, the security guard apologized to the 41-year-old pop star during the course of the evening, stating, “You understand how it is when you’re being swarmed by fans.” Following discussions between the security teams, Spears’s team filed a police report, alleging battery.
The Las Vegas police confirmed the incident and stated that officers responded to a battery investigation at the reported location on July 5, 2023, at around 11 PM. A police report was filed, and no arrests or citations have been made at this time. Further details regarding the incident were not disclosed.
Wembanyama, touted as a “once-in-a-millennium prodigy,” is set to make his highly anticipated NBA debut for the San Antonio Spurs on Friday in Las Vegas as part of the NBA’s Summer League, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. The 19-year-old athlete is widely regarded as one of the most promising NBA prospects since LeBron James entered the league in 2003.
As for Spears, she has been residing in Los Angeles since the termination of her family’s 14-year conservatorship in 2021, which granted her control over her reported $60 million estate and relieved her of the financial burden of a team of professionals and attorneys overseeing her affairs. She tied the knot with her husband, Sam Asghari, in June 2022.