Related Post
Britney Spears has hit back at a radio station that said she ‘deserved to be smacked’ during her encounter with Victor Wembanyama’s security guard in Las Vegas.
The 41-year-old pop star was struck last week, when she ran up to the NBA star, 19, outside a restaurant in Las Vegas.
And on Tuesday she took to her Instagram to discuss the incident saying she has been knocked down by fans before and that her security never hit anyone, and that ‘no woman ever deserves to be hit.’
‘I heard on the news this radio station talking smack and talking s**t that’s why I’m addressing it. Saying that I deserve to be smacked. Security was “doing their job and protecting their client,”‘ she said in the clip.
‘I’ve been with the most famous people in the world. *NSYNC at one time. Girls would like literally throw themselves at them… I was knocked down by like three 12-year-olds trying to get my picture. My security not one time touched them or even came near them.’
Hitting back: Britney Spears, 41, has hit back at a radio station that said she ‘deserved to be smacked’ during her encounter with Victor Wembanyama’s security guard in Las Vegas
‘Point being is I didn’t appreciate the people saying that I deserved to be hit. Because no woman ever deserves to be hit,’ she continued.
Towards the end of the video the star reiterated that she simply tapped the basketball player on the shoulder before getting hit.
‘I simply tapped him on the back and I was backhanded, hit my face, came back on the floor. My best friend picked me up and held me.’
Spears — who unveiled the cover to her long-awaited memoir The Woman In Me on Tuesday — also added that though she has received a private apology from the security guard, she is still waiting for a public one.
‘And I did get an apology at my table 30 minutes later. But I have yet to receive a public apology.’
It’s unclear which radio station the star was referring to.
The Toxic hitmaker wore a chic floral crop top in the clip, showing off her taut midriff. She paired the look with a khaki mini skirt and brown boots.
The Las Vegas Police Department’s investigation into the incident found that Spears had actually been the one to hit herself in the face after the security guard protecting the French athlete pushed her hand off him.
A source close to the singer previously told DailyMail.com Spears ‘wants an apology,’ and that the guard’s actions were dangerous and ‘disgusting’.
‘What if this was a little kid? What if it were a handicapped person that tapped him on the shoulder for an autograph? He would be arrested and sentenced to prison time,’ the source said.
‘The security guard had no idea what was behind him he just swung. No one was running. No one was screaming. There was no commotion. There has been no action taken against the bodyguard.’
Her insight: She took to her Instagram to discuss the incident on Tuesday, saying she has been knocked down by fans before and that her security never hit anyone
Not once: ‘I’ve been with the most famous people in the world. *NSYNC at one time… I was knocked down by like three 12-year-olds trying to get my picture. My security not one time touched them or even came near them’
Advocating for women: ‘Point being is I didn’t appreciate the people saying that I deserved to be hit. Because no woman ever deserves to be hit,’ she continued
Still waiting: Spears also added that though she has received a private apology from the security guard, she is still waiting for a public one
The source said that the security guard acted with excessive force.
‘They are being a bully. All they need to do is say we are sorry, and this will all go away. Be a classy organization.
‘Instead, they are trying to spin this by saying her hand hit her own face when it didn’t. He smacked her the video shows this.’
The source said Spears was shocked that there had not been an apology from the NBA star’s team.
‘All she wants is an apology and she has not gotten. Suck it up and apologize. Don’t try and turn this around to make Britney at fault.
‘That is disgusting… with everything she’s been through they are now going out on a limb to be like we are right, and this girl is wrong?’
Spears herself on Friday said she did not blame Wembanyama, but she felt she had been treated unfairly.
She wrote on Instagram that she did not want to claim she was a victim, but added: ‘I don’t feel like I have been treated as an equal person in this country.’
A video of the incident shows the shocking moment Spears was slapped – and it proved she didn’t grab him.
Shocking: The pop star was struck last week, when she ran up to the NBA star, 19, outside a restaurant in Las Vegas
Wembanyama said during a press scrum at the NBA Summer League that Spears ‘grabbed me from behind’ which led his team to spring into action – but the video disproves this
The footage shows the moments leading up to the shock incident outside Catch restaurant in the ARIA Hotel, Las Vegas on Wednesday – with Britney running up to Victor and exclaiming ‘sir, sir, sir!’ in a British accent before tapping him on the shoulder.
As she taps the star on the left side, the guard, who does not turn around – is seen backhanding her – either hitting in the face or causing her hand to fly into her face, with the star crying out and her glasses knocked off the impact.
The singer is immediately swarmed by her loved ones in the wake of the slap.
After the slap, an upset Britney is heard calling out in a British accent: ‘That’s America for you. F*** you all!’
Detective John Santo filed the report which was released on Friday and includes information that he had with two members of Spears’ security team who both said that this was the ‘standard response’ for most security/body guards.
One of the members of Spears’ security team said that the pop star was not hit with a closed fist and that Wembenyama’s security guard had pushed his hand off the Spurs player without looking and knowing who was tapping him on the shoulder.
A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced Friday that an investigation into the incident has come to an end.
‘No charges will be filed against the person involved,’ the spokesperson said.
Coupled up: Spears had been enjoying some down time in Las Vegas at the Catch restaurant in the ARIA Hotel around 8:30 p.m. with husband Sam Asghari and two other people
Spears’ husband Sam Asghari also posted a statement on his Instagram story defending his wife – whom he said was ‘physically assaulted’
Spears had been enjoying some down time in Las Vegas at the Catch restaurant in the ARIA Hotel around 8:30 p.m. with husband Sam Asghari and two other people when the incident occurred.
Spears and her husband both issued Instagram statements afterwards. She shared that the force of the hit – allegedly by Damian Smith – ‘nearly knocked me down’ and that she ‘was not prepared’ for it.
She said she decided to speak out because she felt it was ‘important to share this story and to urge people in the public eye to set an example and treat all people with respect.’
Asghari also posted a statement on his Instagram story defending his wife – whom he said was ‘physically assaulted’.
