No charges will be filed against NBA rookie Victor Wembanyama’s security guard after Las Vegas police determined Friday he did not ‘backhand‘ pop princess Britney Spears, but that video footage shows she “hit herself in the face” during an incident Wednesday.
Footage from outside Catch restaurant at the Aria Hotel and Casino shows Spears approaching the basketball player from behind, and reaching up to tap the center, who ESPN describes as “a 7-foot-5 French phenom with an 8-foot wingspan,” on the shoulder. A member of Wembanyama’s security detail, provided by his new team the San Antonio Spurs, is seen swatting Spears’s hand away with such force that she ended up striking herself in the face.
Video of the incident between Britney Spears and Victor Wembanyama has been released.
Charges won’t be brought against Wembanyama’s security guard.
(via @TMZ) pic.twitter.com/gZuIMWe8n3
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 7, 2023
Spears then stopped moving, as two other members of the rookie’s entourage pushed past her.
The video also debunks a claim Wembanyama made to the press, where he insisted that he had been “grabbed by behind” by Spears, a claim she protested in her own statement.
“I couldn’t stop. That person was calling me, ‘Sir, sir,’ and that person grabbed me from behind,” Wembanyama told reporters Thursday, and 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.
Moments ago,#Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama addresses the incident last night with Britney Spears in Las Vegas: pic.twitter.com/T33s7R4yUl
— Nate Ryan (@nateryansports) July 6, 2023
Britney responded to the rookie on her Twitter page Thursday, saying:
I am aware the players statement where he mentions ‘I grabbed him from behind’ but I simply tapped him on the shoulder. His security then back handed me in the face without looking back, in front of the crowd. Nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses off my face.
— Britney Spears 🌹Ὠ (@britneyspears) July 6, 2023
Wembanyama makes his long-awaited NBA debut Friday night, when the San Antonio Spurs take on the Charlotte Hornets.