The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has concluded its investigation into an incident involving pop star Britney Spears and a security guard for NBA star Victor Wembanyama, and no charges will be filed relating to it.
Spears, who accused Wembanyama's security guard of battery, said that after she tapped the San Antonio Spurs rookie on the back, his security "back handed" her in the face without looking back, nearly knocking her down and causing her glasses to fall off her face. However, the San Antonio Spurs phenom has alleged that the "Hold Me Closer" singer "grabbed" him from behind, prompting his head of security, reportedly Damian Smith, to push her away.
"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 department said Friday in a statement.
The incident occurred Wednesday while the celebrities were patronizing the Catch restaurant at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The "Toxic" hit-maker filed a police report. In a statement provided Thursday to the Los Angeles Times, Las Vegas police said that the incident had been documented and no arrest or citations had been issued.
The police report, obtained Friday by the L.A. Times, said Spears suffered an "apparent minor injury" but redacted information identifying Smith by name.
It also said that two members of Spears' security team told police that Wembanyama's guard did not appear to strike the singer in the face with a closed fist but seemed to simply push Spears' hand off of Wembanyama — a "standard response for most security/body guards."
The report said that officers and police detectives who responded to the incident reviewed surveillance camera footage that showed Spears appearing to tap Wembanyama on the shoulder. The guard then pushed "her hand off of the player without looking which causes Britney's hand to hit herself in the face."
"Due to the fact that [Wembanyama's guard] DID NOT willfully or unlawfully use any force or violence upon Britney and probable cause did not exist an Arrest was not made and a Citation was not given," an officer wrote in the report.
Both members of Spears' security team also told officers that the security guard came over to talk to Spears about the incident and apologized. They apologized to each other for the misunderstanding and thought the incident had ended, but images of the singer obtained by TMZ suggested that she appeared visibly agitated.
Police also said they spoke with the head of security for the Spurs, who said that he "felt someone touching him and the individual he was hired to protect." He explained that he "swatted" the hand away to protect the player and continued to walk. He said at the time that he didn't realize he hit Spears and, after being approached by her security guard, was told that she would not press charges.
A statement from Spears herself was not included in the report obtained by the L.A. Times.
The pop star posted a lengthy message Thursday on her Instagram story recounting the incident, denouncing the security guard's alleged behavior and responding to Wembanyama's account of what happened.
"Traumatic experiences are not new to me and I have had my fair share of them," Spears wrote. "I was not prepared for what happened to me last night."
She demanded a public apology from Wembanyama, who on Thursday said that he did not realize it was the Grammy Award winner who approached him until hours after the incident.
"I thought it was no big deal, and then security of the Spurs told me it was Britney Spears," Wembanyama told KENS 5 reporter Nate Ryan. "At first, I was like, 'You're joking,' but yeah, it turns out it was Britney Spears. I never saw her face. I just kept walking straight."
Wembanyama is in Las Vegas to make his NBA Summer League debut Friday with the Spurs, who chose the 7-foot-4 French athlete as their No. 1 overall draft pick last month.
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(L.A. Times staff writer Christi Carras contributed to this report.)
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