Following reports of an incident between pop icon Britney Spears and Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama, the recent No. 1 NBA draft pick addressed the incident to reporters on Thursday afternoon, detailing his perspective of the encounter. Later in the day, Spears issued a statement, in which she described being slapped by a member of Wembanyama’s security team after approaching the player in a hotel restaurant.
“Traumatic experiences are not new to me and I have had my fair share of them. 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,” Spears’s statement read. “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 … 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.”
Spears also refuted Wembanyama’s earlier assertion that he felt someone grab him from behind, insisting that she merely tapped him on the shoulder. She has since filed a police report with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Rolling Stone confirmed Thursday.
Wembanyama told reporters on Thursday that he felt somebody grab him from behind, and that security pushed that person away, but that he was only informed afterward that the person who he encountered was Spears. He also said he did not know how much force his security team used, and that he never turned around or saw her face.
Spears also wrote that she hasn’t received a public apology from Wembanyama or a member of his security, but hoped that she would at some point.
According to TMZ, Spears was dining at Catch restaurant in the Aria hotel with her husband and two others. She is a fan of Wembanyama’s, and approached him to request a photo when she was slapped by Spurs director of team security Damian Smith. Smith reportedly later approached Spears at her table to apologize, saying, “You understand how it is when you’re being swarmed by fans.”
