Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@britneyspears/Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Topics: Britney Spears, Celebrity, Music, US News, Sport
Emily Brown
Topics: Britney Spears, Celebrity, Music, US News, Sport
Police in Las Vegas have said Britney Spears accidentally hit herself in the face when she was stopped by security as she tried to get the attention of NBA star Victor Wembanyama.
The claim comes in contrast to Spears' side of the story, which she shared on Instagram after spotting Wembanyama walking into a hotel restaurant on 5 July.
In a lengthy post on her Story, Spears claimed she 'decided to approach him and congratulate him on his success'.
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She said: "It was really loud, so I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.
"His security then back handed me in the face without looking back, in front of a crowd. Nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses [to fall] off my face.
"I get swarmed by people all the time. In fact, that night, I was swarmed by a group of at least 20 fans.
"My security team didn't hit any of them."
Wembanyama himself told reporters his security guards 'pushed her away', though he didn't know 'with how much force', or have any idea at the time that the woman approaching him was Spears.
"Security pushed her away. I didn't stop to look, so I could walk in and enjoy the nice dinner," he said.
Las Vegas police were made aware of the incident and responded to a 'battery investigation', however in a statement shared with UNILAD on Friday (7 July), the department said there would be no repercussions against the security guard.
"The LVMPD has concluded its investigation of the alleged battery that occurred on July 5, 2023, at 11 p.m., in the 3700 block of Las Vegas Boulevard. No charges will be filed against the person involved," the statement said.
Surveillance footage from the hotel was able to offer detectives further insight to the events, and apparently revealed that Spears was actually hit by her own hand.
A police report on the case, obtained by the BBC, explained: "Detectives and I were able to review surveillance footage of the event which showed Britney going to tap the Spurs player on the shoulder.
"When she touched the player [the security guard] pushes her hand off the player without looking which causes Britney's hand to hit herself in the face."
Police said the security guard did not wilfully or unlawfully use force or violence during the encounter with Spears, and after interviews with security guards for both Spears and Wembanyama, they concluded it was standard practice to push a hand off someone's shoulder.
The report added that Wembanyama's security and Spears have both apologised to each other.