The No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft Victor Wembanyama said he believes he saw Britney Spears grab him from behind while he was walking around Las Vegas, but his security pushed the pop icon away unaware of who she was.
The new San Antonio Spurs player admitted that he wasn’t told that the woman really was Britney until hours later. In the meantime, the singer filed a police report claiming she was struck by his guards while she was trying to get the French athlete’s attention.
According to TMZ, Spears said she noticed the seven-foot-five player and tapped him on the shoulder to ask him for a photo, but instead got struck in the face and had her eye glasses knocked off.
🤯 BREAKING: Britney Spears was allegedly slapped in Vegas by Victor Wembanyama’s security who backhanded her in the face after she tapped the NBA player on the back for a photo.
She reportedly filed a police report for battery, and an investigation is pending. pic.twitter.com/v4BcDnQ4C2
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) July 6, 2023
It wasn’t until the next day that the pop star addressed the situation in her Instagram account, admitting it was “super embarrassing to share with the world but its out there already.”
Even though Wembanyama later told the press that she had grabbed him, she differed stating that she “simply tapped him on the shoulder” and guaranteed that his security “backhanded me in the face without looking back, in front of a crowd. Nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses off my face.”
“I have yet to get a public apology from the player, his security or their organization,” Spears later added. “I hope they will…”
The following day, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department attended the press confirming that officers responded to a “battery investigation”, but did not disclose any names in their statement. Their communication then said that “no arrest or citations have been issued” while “no further details will be provided at this time.”
The French sensation later reminisced over how the incident unfolded from his end of the story
Wembanyama recalls that his security advised him to keep walking and not to stop for anyone as he was heading to a restaurant, knowing that this can give a chance for people to swarm into a crowd.
“Something did happen, a little bit, when I was walking with some security from the team to some restaurant,” Wembanyama revealed. “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.”
“I couldn’t stop. That person was calling me, ‘Sir, sir,’ and that person grabbed me from behind,” he continued. “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.”
According to the Spurs center, he confessed he had no idea the situation made news headlines until this Thursday.
“I didn’t know for a couple hours, but when I came back to the hotel … I thought it was no big deal, and then security of the Spurs told me it was Britney Spears,” the player 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.”
