A rep for Britney Spears is defending the singer from accusations that she caused a scene at a Los Angeles-area restaurant Wednesday night by, as TMZ put it, “with barking, yelling and even a knife involved.”
Spears, 44, was reportedly seen dining with two people, one of whom was a man she kept saying “I love you” to while they fed each other.
The representative clarified that Spears dined with her assistant and bodyguard at the Blue Dog Tavern in Sherman Oaks, but told a different story than the one reported by TMZ.
Eyewitnesses told the outlet they heard Spears raising her voice, screaming and barking. One witness described the vibe as chaotic and “kind of sad” though the singer reportedly “still looked cute.”
At one point, staffers had to ask a person with Spears to put out a cigarette she had lit inside, but the weirdest moment may have been when she walked through the restaurant holding a knife.
Entertainment journalist Jeff Sneider said on X that he was dining at the Blue Dog Tavern at the same time as Spears and called the incident both “WILD” and “INSANE,” adding “One diner feared for her life. This is not a joke.”
In a statement released to the media, an unnamed rep for Spears said the whole story has been unfairly exaggerated.
“Britney was enjoying a quiet dinner with her assistant and bodyguard,” he said, while insisting any noise from the singer was because “she was simply telling the story about how her dog was barking at the neighbors.”
“At no point did she put anyone in danger with a knife. She was cutting her hamburger in half. This constant attack on everything that she does and this is exactly what happened 20 years ago when the media tried to depict Britney as a bad person. This is ridiculous and it needs to stop now,” the spokesperson added.
The rep did not address TMZ’s kissing allegations or the “I love you” comments in the statement.
The story about Spears’ supposedly erratic behavior comes 10 days after she avoided jail for a DUI charge by pleading guilty to a lesser charge.