Britney Spears Says Hit in Face by Wembanyama's Security

French basketball player Victor Wembanyama was caught up in an incident involving his security and pop star Britney Spears. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
French basketball player Victor Wembanyama was caught up in an incident involving his security and pop star Britney Spears. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
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Britney Spears Says Hit in Face by Wembanyama's Security

French basketball player Victor Wembanyama was caught up in an incident involving his security and pop star Britney Spears. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
French basketball player Victor Wembanyama was caught up in an incident involving his security and pop star Britney Spears. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP

Las Vegas police said Thursday they had investigated an incident between French NBA top draft pick Victor Wembanyama's security and pop star Britney Spears, who said she had been hit in the face.

Wembanyama is in Las Vegas ahead of his first game in the NBA Summer League against Charlotte on Friday and was heading to a restaurant when he was spotted by fans -- and Spears.

Media reports said that Spears was pushed away by Wembanyama's security, which the singer's husband Sam Asghari said was "violent" and "out of control."

Wembanyama told reporters after practice that he only heard of Spears' involvement some hours after his dinner, AFP said.

"There was one person who was calling me but we talked before with the security (to not) stop because it's gonna make a crowd," said the Frenchman.

"That person was calling me 'sir sir' and that person grabbed me from behind, so I didn't see what happened because I was walking straight.

"I don't know with how much force but security pushed her away and I didn't stop to look so I kept walking and enjoyed a nice dinner."

Spears said she had simply wanted to greet the player and questioned Wembanyama's account.

"I recognized an athlete in my hotel lobby as I was heading to dinner. I later went to a restaurant at a different hotel and saw him again. I decided to approach him and congratulate him on his success," she said on Instagram.

"I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. I am aware of the players statement where he mentions 'I grabbed him from behind' but I simply tapped him on the shoulder," she said.

"His security then backhanded me in the face without looking back, in front of a crowd. Nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses [to fall] off my face."

The Las Vegas Police Department investigated the incident but did not take any action.

"On July 5, 2023, at approximately 11 p.m., LVMPD officers responded to a property in the 3700 block of Las Vegas Boulevard regarding a battery investigation," the police said in a statement.

"The incident has been documented on a police report and no arrest or citations have been issued. No further details will be provided at this time."

Asghari posted on social media that Spears had been "assaulted."

"The violent behavior of an out-of-control security guard should not cast a shadow on the accomplishment of a great young man on the rise @wemby," he wrote.

"I can't imagine a scenario where an unarmed female fan, showing any kind of excitement or appreciation for a celebrity would cause her to be physically assaulted, much less being hit in the face for tapping someone on the shoulder."



Brazilian DJ Alok Rocks Coachella, While Some Other International Artists Cancel 

Alok performs during the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Indio, Calif. (AP) 
Alok performs during the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Indio, Calif. (AP) 
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Brazilian DJ Alok Rocks Coachella, While Some Other International Artists Cancel 

Alok performs during the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Indio, Calif. (AP) 
Alok performs during the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Indio, Calif. (AP) 

Brazilian DJ Alok brought a beaming blend of electronic dance beats to the stage on Saturday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival despite the growing fears of international artists about the future of performing in America.

"For me as a Brazilian, it's always been hard to get a visa. So, for us, it didn't change much," Alok told Reuters during an interview backstage at Coachella, held in Southern California.

"But, of course, for Europe and others, they changed the rules, right?" he added.

Alok heard about other Coachella performances being cancelled in 2025 due to visa issues and feels fortunate that he made it to the festival when other international artists could not.

"For us, we were very lucky. The team were all here from LA, so that was amazing," he said.

In the first week of April, British singer FKA Twiggs, who was scheduled to perform at Coachella, cancelled her performance.

She said that she was bowing out due to "visa issues" on the social media platform Instagram.

She also cancelled her entire North American tour.

With the Trump administration rapidly cancelling the international student visas of pro-Palestinian activists as well as revoking the legal status for 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, international music artists have also found that they are not immune.

In March, British punk rock band member of UK Subs, Alvin Gibbs, shared on the social media platform Facebook that they were allegedly denied entry into the United States while traveling to their performance at LA Punk Invasion 2025.

Despite evolving visa policies looming, the music producer Alok did not fret about the future during his set. He moved his music to the next level.

While Alok traditionally uses LED projections to create rows of artificial background dancers for his music sets, for his Coachella set, he evolved the performance with live performers dancing to his beats.

"It was very challenging. I'm very used to doing a lot of crazy stuff in the shows, very integrating with new technology, but this one for sure was the most difficult," Alok said.

"We're dealing with human technology and the synchronizing. But it's also something beautiful because once we are connected in the same synergy, same purpose, we can do stuff that is extraordinary," he added, noting a desire to keep performance human instead leaning too much on artificial intelligence.

"Art is made by soul," the singer said, later adding his appreciation for his guest performer, American singer Ava Max.

"We have a song that works super well and she's a rock star, so she did great. And we also have this classic song 'Hear Me Now' and we did a new version for Coachella. I'm just going with the flow."

Alok is best known for that 2016 single and for his 2024 album, "The Future is Ancestral," which features nine dance tracks mixed with indigenous songs, some of which have been sung for centuries by Brazilian tribes.