LAS VEGAS (AP) — No charges will be filed after a brief investigation of the altercation involving pop star Britney Spears, San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama and a member of the player’s security team, Las Vegas police said Friday.
Spears said a security guard struck her as she tried to approach Wembanyama near a restaurant in a Las Vegas casino complex on Wednesday night. Wembanyama said a person, he was later told was Spears, grabbed him from behind her.
Spears filed a police report, alleging assault. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said its investigation of her has ended and “no charges will be filed against the person involved.”
Police say surveillance video shows Spears inadvertently punching herself in the face after her hand was knocked off Wembanyama.
Wembanyama is scheduled to do his debut in the NBA Summer League for the Spurs in Las Vegas on Friday night. The 7-foot-3 French teenager was the No. 1 pick in last month’s NBA draft and is entering the league with as much recognition as anyone since LeBron James in 2003.
The altercation occurred on Wednesday night; Spears said that she recognized Wembanyama at another hotel earlier in the evening and when she saw him again at the Aria Resort & Casino, she “decided to go up to him and congratulate him on his success.”
Spears said: “Her security then punched me in the face without looking back, in front of a crowd. She almost knocks me over and knocks my glasses off my face.”
Spears said in posts about Twitter and Instagram that the encounter was “super embarrassing” and he denied grabbing Wembanyama, saying that she only “tapped his shoulder to get his attention”. She also said that she was hoping to get an apology from the team or from the security guard she said was involved.
Wembanyama had a different version of events. He said security advised him not to stop for anyone when he entered the restaurant, aware that pausing could cause a stir and allow a crowd to form. He said a person was yelling “sir, sir” at him, “and that person grabbed me from behind,” he said.
Hours later they told him that person was Spears. He never saw her, she said, because she never turned around.
