Police report reveals new details in reported slap of Britney Spears on Strip
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — No charges will be filed in connection with a battery case involving pop star Britney Spears, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced on Friday morning.
Spears said she was hit in the face by a member of the San Antonio Spurs' security team inside a Las Vegas Strip resort on Wednesday.
TMZ reported Spears was with her husband, Sam Ashgari, and two others at Catch restaurant inside the ARIA resort when she saw Spurs' draft pick Victor Wembanyama and approached him.
When she tapped Wembanyama on the back, Spears said a Spurs security guard slapped her, knocking her glasses off her face.
The "Toxic" singer later filed a police report.
In that incident report, since obtained by Channel 13, police state surveillance footage showed Spears' own hand hit her in the face when the security guard pushed it off Wembanyama's back.
"Detectives and I were able to review surveillance footage of the event which showed Britney going to tap the Spurs player on the shoulder," an investigator wrote. "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."
Video shared by TMZ shows a security guard pushing Spears' hand away as she reached for Wembanyama's shoulder.
🚨VIDEO OF BRITNEY/WEMBY INCIDENT SHOWS SHE DIDN’T GRAB HIM🚨 Full video here: https://t.co/nSXYAE6jhu pic.twitter.com/uMBqtLKJGN — TMZ (@TMZ) July 7, 2023
Spears' agent and security team told police the security guard came to Spears' table to apologize after the incident. The pop star's security team told police Spears and the Spurs' security guard "both said sorry to each other for the misunderstanding," according to the report.
Investigators concluded there was no probable cause to arrest or cite the security guard "due to the fact that [they] DID NOT willfully or unlawfully use any force or violence upon Britney."
"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," officials stated on Friday. "No charges will be filed against the person involved."
Wembanyama told the Associated Press that he didn't know it was Spears until hours later and that his security team advised him not to stop for anyone as he walked into the restaurant.
"We were in the hall. There was a lot of people so people were calling [at] me obviously," Wembanyama said. "There was one person who was calling me but we talked before with security. I couldn't stop. That person was calling me 'Sir, Sir', and that person grabbed me from behind. I didn't see what happened because I was walking straight and didn't stop. I just know security pushed her away. I don't know with how much force."
Spears later released a statement on Twitter calling the incident "super embarrassing to share with the world."
"Traumatic experiences are not new to me and I have had my fair share of them," Spears stated. "I was not prepared for what happened to me last night.
"I recognized an athlete in my hotel lobby as I was heading to dinner. I later went to a restaurant at a different hotel and saw him again. I decided to approach him and congratulate him on his success. It was really loud, so I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention," Spears continued.
"I am aware of the players statement where he mentioned 'I grabbed him from behind' but I simply tapped him on the shoulder," she wrote. "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 off my face."
The multi-platinum pop star adds that she gets "swarmed by people all the time," including that night, when she says she was "swarmed by a group of at least 20 fans."
"My security team didn't hit any of them," Spears stated.
While she said it was embarrassing for her to relay the story to the world, Spears said she thinks it's important "to urge people in the public eye to set an example and treat all people with respect."
Source: KTNV 13 Action News Las Vegas
