Victor Wembanyama and Britney Spears speak out on allegations that Spurs security punched Spears in the face

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LAS VEGAS Spurs Victor Wembanyama and pop star Britney Spears are in a public brawl after reports that a member of the Spurs security team punched Spears in the face at a Las Vegas restaurant on Wednesday night when she caught, hoping for a photo together.

I didn’t know for a few hours. When I got back to the hotel…I thought it was no big deal. Spurs security told me it was Britney Spears, Wembanyama said. At first, I was like, no, you’re kidding.

Several news outlets reported the incident.

KSAT contacted Las Vegas police and confirmed that police were called around 11 p.m. Wednesday to a property in the 3700 block of Las Vegas Boulevard regarding a battery investigation.

TMZ reported that the alleged slap happened near the ARIA Hotel’s Catch restaurant.

Police did not confirm the identity of any of the parties involved, but said the incident was documented in a police report and no arrests or citations were issued.

TMZ identified the security guard as Damian Smith, Spurs’ director of team security.

According to TMZ, Spears was heading to the restaurant when she saw Wembanyama, approached to ask for a photo, then tapped him on the shoulder.

TMZ first reported that the security guard backhanded Spears, knocking off her glasses.

The outlet later reported that security footage would show Smith pushing Spears’ hand away and his own hand punching her in the face.

In an interview with KSAT 12 on Thursday afternoon, Wembanyama said he didn’t immediately realize the extent of the situation at the time.

I saw the news, of course, this morning. I woke up with a few phone calls. There was… something kinda happened when I was walking with some team security, Wembanyama said Thursday morning.

He said he was surrounded by security and he could hear someone calling him but couldn’t see who it was.

There was a person calling me, but we spoke with security. Don’t stop because it’s going to get crowded. So I couldn’t stop… This person grabbed me from behind. I didn’t see what happened because I was walking straight and was told not to stop, Wembanyama said. Not on my shoulder, she grabbed me from behind.

The basketball star said security pushed the woman away and then he continued walking, unaware of what had happened.

Security pushed her away. I didn’t stop to watch, so I kept walking and enjoyed a nice dinner. It was a fun night with the guys, Wembanyama said.

Hours later, Wembanyama said he learned who grabbed him.

Turns out it was Britney Spears. I didn’t know because I never saw his face. I just kept walking straight.

Spears released a statement shortly after Wemby on her Twitter account saying she was unprepared for what happened and called it a traumatic experience.

I recognized an athlete in the lobby of my hotel as I walked to dinner. Later, I went to another hotel’s restaurant and saw him again. I decided to approach him and congratulate him on his success, Spears said. It was really loud, so I patted her on the shoulder to get her attention. I’m aware of the player’s statement where he mentions that I grabbed him from behind but just tapped him on the shoulder.

His security then knocked me in the face without turning around in front of a crowd, almost knocked me over and caused me to lose my glasses.

The pop star said she has yet to receive an apology from Wemby, her security or the Spurs organization.

She also thanked the Las Vegas PD and detectives for their support. You can read his full statement here.

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