No charges will be filed following 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 after determining she inadvertently “hit herself in the face.”
Spears said she was struck by a security guard as she tried to approach Wembanyama near a restaurant in a Las Vegas casino complex on Wednesday night. Wembanyama said a person, who he later found out was Spears, grabbed him from behind.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Spears had actually struck herself when someone pushed her hand off Wembanyama as she reached up to tap the No. 1 overall pick.
In its investigation, which is now over, police determined that the security guard did not willfully or unlawfully use force or violence against Spears. No arrests were made and no one was cited, the report said.
In the report, police said surveillance footage of the event “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.”
Spears filed a police report after the incident outside the restaurant, alleging battery. On Friday, she posted a reaction to Instagram with a caption that said “Either way I’m still a huge fan of the NBA player … it’s not his fault his security hit me.”
Wembanyama was making his NBA Summer League debut for the Spurs in Las Vegas on Friday night. The 7-foot-3 French teen was the No. 1 pick in last month’s NBA draft and is entering the league with as much acclaim as anyone since LeBron James in 2003.
The altercation happened Wednesday night; Spears said she recognized Wembanyama at another hotel earlier in the evening and when seeing him again entering a restaurant at the Aria Resort & Casino she “decided to approach him and congratulate him on his success.”
Spears said Thursday, “His security then back handed me in the face without looking back, in front of a crowd. Nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses off my face.”