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No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Victor Wembanyama found himself in an interesting situation Wednesday involving Britney Spears. According to reports, a member of his security team slapped the pop star while escorting the new Spur.
Those reports also say that she reached out to grab the basketball player, which caused the reaction from Wembanyama’s team. He’s now responded to the incident publicly.
The altercation occurred in Las Vegas where Wembanyama makes his Summer League debut this week.
Wembanyama decided to grab dinner at Catch inside the ARIA and was accompanied by the security team… Wembanyama was approached by a fan who tapped him on the back in the hopes of getting a photo, as San Antonio’s Director of Team Security apparently slapped the person in question so hard that their glasses fell off and they stumbled to the ground.
The crew didn’t realize it was Spears at the time, who happened to be grabbing dinner at the same establishment.
On Thursday, Wembanyama met with the media to discuss his upcoming Summer League matchup. He was asked about the situation and responded.
Victor Wembanyama addresses reports that Spurs security allegedly struck Britney Spears when she approached him Wednesday at a Las Vegas restaurant
(via @CassidyHubbarth)pic.twitter.com/YJ1gP9nXEd
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 6, 2023
“Something did happen,” Wembanyama began. “I was walking with some security to a restaurant… One person was calling me, but I talked to security, and they said, ‘Don’t stop because it’s going to make a crowd.’ That person grabbed me from behind. I didn’t see what happened because they told me not to stop… I just know the security team pushed her away, I don’t know with how much force.”
Fans quickly chimed in on social media.
One person wrote, “It took him five minutes to find controversy in the NBA.”
Another commented, “Well at least we know he has great security.”
This follower joked, “I guess you can say the situation is… Toxic.”
Wembanyama went on to say he didn’t know the woman was Britney Spears until a few hours later, though he did mention he went on to have a great dinner.
A truly bizarre situation.