Britney Spears worried fans earlier this week when she posted a video in which she was dancing with what appeared to be two large kitchen knives. The concern was so intense that the L.A. Times reported that Ventura County, CA authorities performed a wellness check on the singer after someone with personal ties to Spears expressed concern about the clip to the LAPD’s mental evaluation unit.
When the investigative unit arrived on Wednesday morning (Sept. 27) a Ventura County sheriff’s deputy reportedly got a call from Spears’ attorney reassuring authorities that she was not in danger, with a member of her security team also reportedly confirming that the recently divorced star was fine.
Captain Dean Worthy of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office told Billboard that they sent out a sergeant who is familiar with Spears from earlier calls at her residence, who was told by a member of Spears’ security team that she was fine and did not wish to speak to him or have him come up to the house. Worthy also said that Spears’ attorney said this was “an overreaction for her expressing herself on social media.” After confirming with “two independent people that closely know [Spears]” that she was of sound mind, “we did our due diligence to check her well-being and we did not believe that she was in any harm whatsoever,” Worthy concluded.
“I know I spooked everyone with the last post, but these are fake knives that my team rented from Hand Prop shop in LA. These are not real knives. No one needs to worry or call the police,” Spears wrote in an Instagram post on Friday morning (Sept. 29) alongside another bikini knife dance clip. “I’m trying to imitate one of my favorite performers Shakira … a performance I was inspired by !!! Cheers to us bad girls who aren’t afraid to push boundaries and take risks 💅🏼💅🏼💅🏼!”
The latest police call on Spears comes after the singer said she was “alive and well” and asked fans to give her privacy following an earlier wellness check in January after Britney deleted her Instagram page, spurring worry from her followers.
In an edited caption on the original knife video — which appears to have been taken down — Spears explained, “I started playing in the kitchen with knives today !!! Don’t worry they are NOT real knives !!! Halloween is soon !!!” The post went viral and fans were instantly concerned for the singer’s safety. With the exception of the addition of the cutlery, the dancing video was not unusual for Spears, who has a well-established reputation for posting dance videos.
As for the knives, in a knife-free post on Wednesday, Spears explained that there was a good reason for the earlier clip. “Lighten up about the knives I’m copying Shakira!” she said, seemingly in reference to Shakira’s recent Video Vanguard performance at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards in which she danced with knives.
Spears posted a new video on Friday morning (Sept. 29) in which she pivoted away from the knife talk to promote her upcoming tell-all memoir, The Woman in Me, due out Oct. 24.
Check out Spears’ post below.
