On the evening of July 5, Britney Spears was allegedly slapped by a security guard traveling with NBA rookie Victor Wembanyama. Initial reports suggested that Spears had approached Wembanyama to get a photo with him, only to be struck by the Spurs Director of Security Damian Smith. Furthermore, Spears' team later filed a police report, alleging battery. Per TMZ, the incident is being reviewed as a criminal matter. However, police sources appeared to indicate that Smith had not slapped Spears, but instead pushed her hand away from Wembanyama.
Additionally, TMZ spoke to a Canadian man named Brian Grajales who claimed to have witnessed the incident. Grajales primarily corroborated Spears' account, saying she was slapped in the face after approaching Wembanyama from behind. However, Grajales also included some more unusual details. He claimed that Spears had been speaking in a "British accent" and screamed "This is fucking America" have the incident occurred. At the time of writing, no video footage of the incident has been released to the public.
Spears And Wembanyama Give Conflicting Statements
Spears and Wembanyama have since provided their own statements about what happened. Wembanyama claims that he was "grabbed from behind" by someone while waiting outside Catch, the Vegas restaurant where the incident occurred. "Something did happen, a little bit, when I was walking with some security from the team to some restaurant. We were in the hall. There was a lot of people, so people were calling [at] me, obviously. There was one person calling me, 'Sir, sir,' and that person grabbed me from behind. 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." Wembanyama also claimed that he wasn't told it was Spears until several hours later.
Spears, speaking on Instagram, refuted Wembanyama's account. "I am aware the player's 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." Furthermore, Spears went on to demand an apology. “I also don’t appreciate nor do I thin this is a laughing matter. Watching the player smile and laugh was cruel and demoralizing with the situation that took place. I am 5’3 and he’s 7’4…” Spears' account also contradicts previous reporting that claimed she was knocked to the ground and that she did receive an apology from Smith. However, this story will not be resolved until video footage of the incident is released. This a developing story and we'll have any updates here at HotNewHipHop
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