Victor Wembanyama Claims Britney Spears 'Grabbed' Him Before Alleged Security Slap

Singer Britney Spears was allegedly slapped by a member of Victor Wembanyama’s security team on Wednesday night, while she was dining at the Catch restaurant in the ARIA Hotel in Las Vegas along with her husband, Sam Asghari, and two other individuals.

Initial reports stated that the 41-year-old pop star had walked up to the NBA star from behind with the intent to request a photo since she was a big fan. Unfortunately, the Director of Team Security for the San Antonio Spurs mistook her for an overzealous fan and allegedly slapped her across the face, causing her to go down.

The "Hold Me Closer" singer filed a police report, although the extent of her injuries is unknown at this time. Although initial reports said that she tapped him on the back/right shoulder, Victor himself is now claiming that Britney "grabbed" him from behind; however, he did not know it was her at the time.

The San Antonio Spurs player, who was just drafted last month, explained his side of the story to KENS 5 reporter Nate Ryan shortly after a workout on Thursday afternoon. He claims that Britney didn't just tap him on the shoulder, as was initially reported. He says that Britney "grabbed me from behind" which resulted in security intervening.

"I didn't see what happened, because I was walking straight and we were told, 'Don't stop,'" Wembanyama explained. "But that person grabbed me from behind -- not on my shoulder, she grabbed me from behind -- and so I just know the security pushed her away."

He went on to as that there were a lot of people in the hallway outside the restaurant calling his name and trying to get his attention for a photo, but he was instructed not to stop and to keep walking in order to avoid a scene. However, he did not know that the woman who allegedly "grabbed" him from behind was actually Britney Spears.

He said that he knew security pushed her away, but admitted, "I don't know with how much force, though. But security pushed her away. I didn't stop to look so I could walk in and enjoy the nice dinner." Although the security guard reportedly apologized to Britney later in the night, Victor claims that he didn't know that he had been touched by the pop star until "a couple hours later" because he never turned around to see her face.

"At first I was like, 'No, you're joking,'" he said. "But, yeah, it turns out it was Britney Spears." Given his response, it seems clear that Britney never got the photo that she wanted from the star athlete. Although she has yet to address the incident on Instagram, her husband, Iranian actor Sam Asghari, did release a statement slamming the "coward" that struck his wife.

On Thursday afternoon, the former personal trainer took to Instagram to release a statement in defense of his wife, who has yet to publicly comment on the incident.

“I am opposed to violence in any form, especially without justification in the defense of yourself or someone else who is unable to defend themselves,” Sam began. “Self-defense can be unavoidable, but the woman of any woman, especially my wife, is not debatable. I consider my reaction subdued considering what occurred, and I hope the man in question learns a lesson and changes his disregard for women. Thank you for the support.”

A few minutes later, he followed it up with a second slide, which read, “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 continued. “The blame should fall on the coward who did this, the people who hired him without proper vetting, and a systemic culture of disregard for women within sports and entertainment.”

“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,” he concluded. “The changes needed will have to come for the top, and I look forward to those changes.”