Yahoo Finance Britney Spears scuffle with NBA star's team won't lead to criminal charges
The incident between Britney Spears and NBA star Victor Wembayama's entourage will result in no criminal charges.
The singer and the athlete have differing recollections of the event, with Spears claiming one of Wembayama's security guards "backhanded" her in the face as she tapped his shoulder to congratulate him at a Las Vegas restaurant. For his part, the basketball player alleges he was "grabbed from behind".
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department published a statement yesterday (July 7), saying it "has concluded its investigation of the alleged battery that occurred on July 5, 2023, at 11pm, in the 3700 block of Las Vegas Boulevard. No charges will be filed against the person involved" (via Entertainment Weekly).
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A video of the interaction obtained by TMZ started circulating following the incident. The police report noted that the clip "showed Britney going to tap the Spurs player on the shoulder. When she touched the player (redacted) pushes her hand off of the player without looking which causes Britney's hand to hit herself in the face."
EW further reports that the bodyguard in question went over to Spears' table and offered an apology, which she accepted.
It was understood that the security teams for both parties agreed that pushing someone off without looking "is a standard response for security/bodyguards and it would not be uncommon for them to respond this way."
Spears gave her own account of the incident in a post shared on her social media, explaining she tapped Wembanyama on the shoulder to get his attention.
"I recognised 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."
The 'Toxic' singer continued: "I am aware of this player's statement where he mentions 'I grabbed him from behind' but I simply tapped him on the shoulder.
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Meanwhile, Wembanyama, who was secured by the San Antonio Spurs in last month's NBA drafts, claims he was grabbed from behind and didn't stop to look.
"I didn't see what happened because I was walking straight and didn't stop. That person grabbed me from behind – not on my shoulder, she grabbed me from behind," the sportsman told a local news reporter for KENS 5.
"I just know the security pushed her away. I don't know with how much force, but security pushed her away.
"I didn't stop to look so I could walk in and enjoy a nice dinner."
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