This Wednesday, pop singer Britney Spears filed a police report, which alleged that she was slapped by a member of NBA phenom Victor Wembanyama's security team. The incident, (first reported by TMZ), which occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada—outside of a restaurant near the ARIA Resort & Casino—escalated quickly, according to Spears.
In an Instagram story, Spears wrote that she she tapped Wembanyama on the shoulder in an effort to get a picture with him. His security, she alleged, "backhanded me in the face without looking back, in front of a crowd. Nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses off my face." After the altercation, the security guard allegedly told Spears, "You understand how it is when you're being swarmed by fans," and attempted to apologize to the pop singer. She still filed a police report afterward, citing battery. "I have yet to get a public apology from the player, his security or their organization," Spears continued in her Instagram story. "I hope they will..."
Related Story
Meanwhile, Wembanyama says he was unaware of the incident—until he saw the headlines on Thursday. "Something did happen, a little bit, when I was walking with some security from the team to some restaurant," Wembanyama told ESPN. "We were in the hall. There was a lot of people, so people were calling [at] me, obviously. There was one person who was calling me, but we talked before with security." Wembanyama added, "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. 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."
Later, after finding out that the person was Britney Spears, he couldn't believe it. "I thought it was no big deal, and then security of the Spurs told me it was Britney Spears," Wembanyama said. "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."
According to The New York Times, Spears is still looking for an apology. "I think it’s important to share this story and to urge people in the public eye to set an example and treat all people with respect,” she said.
As an assistant editor at Esquire, Rosenberg covers film, TV, sports, anime, music, and video games. When he’s not trying to remember character names from House of the Dragon, you can find him theorizing about the future of Yellowstone, or putting another hundred hours into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Rosenberg's standout stories include an interview with Olympic breakdancing athlete Victor Montalvo, a pitch to the Oscars to add a Best Animal Actor category, and a plea for Hollywood to fix bad movie titles. His past work can be found at Spin, Insider, and his personal blog at Roseandblog.com. What’s one piece of life advice that Josh can give? A movie a day keeps the doctor away.
Follow Rosenberg on Twitter/X @Roseandblog and check out his “Good Movie List” on Letterboxd: @Movies4MePlease
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pr%2FQrqCrnV6YvK570qmmq6yjZK51gJNwam1uZ2TDqq%2FTqKlmr5Wir6K62JqkmmWSp7a1usSyZKyolZa%2FtHnApaueqpOWwaq7zWacsaiclravscNo