Britney Spears, the American pop star and songwriter, has been accused by her housekeeper of striking her during a dispute on Monday morning at the singer’s Southern California home, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, NBC News reported.
In the complaint, the employee alleged that Spears, who has been embroiled in a prolonged legal battle, also slapped the employee’s phone out of her hands. Initially, the housekeeper called deputies to the house and later went to a sheriff’s station to file a complaint. The employee was not hurt.
According to the news report, the sheriff’s office said that the deputies attempted to get in touch with Spears but she “would not speak with them”. They also informed that the sheriff’s office will forward the results of its investigation to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office for potential consideration of misdemeanor battery charges.
In an email statement, Spears’ lawyer Mathew Rosengart, a former federal prosecutor, called the allegation “sensational tabloid fodder.”
“This is … nothing more than an overblown alleged misdemeanour involving a ‘he said she said’ about a cell phone, with no striking and obviously no injury whatsoever. Anyone can make an accusation. This should have been closed immediately,” read the statement.
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The 39-year-old pop singer, in June this year, called the conservatorship under her father, Jamie Spears, “abusive” and said “It’s my wish and my dream for all of this to end without being tested”. In 2008, at the age of 26, Spears entered into a temporary conservatorship or guardianship with her father following several media meltdowns. It gave her father control over her financial affairs, estate, and her personal life.
Last week, Jamie Spears agreed to step aside and work with the court to assure “an orderly transition to a new conservator.”
The matter is scheduled to be heard next on September 29.