The renowned singer Britney Spears has demanded an apology after alleging that a member of an NBA star’s security team struck her in the face outside a restaurant in Las Vegas. The incident occurred when Spears attempted to greet Victor Wembanyama, a player for the San Antonio Spurs.
In a tweet addressing the encounter, Spears did not explicitly name Wembanyama but referred to his public comments made to reporters earlier that day. The 41-year-old singer stated that she had encountered “an athlete” at two different hotels on Wednesday night and decided to approach him to congratulate him on his success outside a restaurant. However, she claimed that a member of his security team backhanded her in the face, causing her glasses to fall off.
Spears demanded apologies from the player, his security team, and his team as a whole. Wembanyama, the 19-year-old first overall pick in the recent NBA draft, is expected to participate in the NBA summer league, commencing in Las Vegas on Friday.
The San Antonio Spurs have not responded to requests for comment. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has concluded its investigation and stated that no charges will be filed against the individual involved.
According to the incident report, which The New York Times obtained on Friday, officers received a call reporting that Spears had been struck in the face by a security guard protecting a San Antonio Spurs basketball player.
The report included statements from three members of Spears’s security team, including her manager Cade Hudson. Hudson recounted that Spears spotted a tall man who she believed might be a basketball player for the Spurs. She attempted to tap his shoulder, and a member of the Spurs security team immediately backhanded her in the face.
TMZ, who initially reported the incident on Thursday morning, released a video of the brief encounter on Friday. The video appeared to show the security guard swiping his arm toward Spears as she approached Wembanyama and reached out her arm.
According to the police report, officers determined that the guard’s actions caused Spears to “hit herself in the face” after reviewing surveillance footage. However, a member of Spears’s security team, Quaran Smith, claimed that the security worker did not directly strike her but instead pushed her hand away from the Spurs player.
Smith and another member of Spears’s security team, Steven Ketter, reportedly stated to the police that it seemed like the person guarding Wembanyama merely pushed Spears away without looking.
Both Smith and Ketter mentioned that the security guard and Spears apologized to each other for the incident at the restaurant, as stated in the police report. They viewed the response by the Spurs security member as a standard reaction from personal security. However, in her tweet, Spears deemed the reaction excessive, citing instances where her security team did not harm fans who approached her.
Spears’s lawyer, Mathew S. Rosengart, declined to comment beyond her statement. Prior to her tweet, Wembanyama shared his version of events with reporters. He mentioned that someone called out to him, but Spurs security had instructed him not to stop for anyone to avoid drawing a crowd. He stated that someone grabbed him from behind rather than tapping his shoulder.
“I didn’t stop to look, so I kept walking and enjoyed a nice dinner,” Wembanyama remarked, adding that he only realized the person was Spears hours later. Spears expressed her lack of preparedness for the incident and admitted feeling embarrassed discussing it publicly.
“However, I think it’s important to share this story and to urge people in the public eye to set an example and treat all people with respect,” Spears asserted.
Wembanyama, standing over seven feet tall, is one of the most highly regarded NBA prospects in recent history. He achieved an average of over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game in his previous season with the French professional team Metropolitans 92.
Claire Fahy contributed to this report.
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