Police conducted a wellness check on Britney Spears on Wednesday after the pop star posted a video of herself dancing with knives, police confirmed to HuffPost.
According to a spokesman for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office in California, someone who knew Spears personally – not a concerned fan – called police to express concerns.
“We don’t normally do something like this when fans call and are concerned about celebrities and what’s being said or done on social media,” Dean Worthy of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office told HuffPost on Thursday. “However, we added the information and discovered that this person was not just a fan. Rather, this person was close to, had a relationship with, and knew Miss Spears personally.”
The police officer – who knows Spears and had previously checked on her at the house – left after Spears’ head of security and her lawyer both assured him that the singer was OK, Worthy said.
Spears’ head of security said over an intercom that the star was “absolutely fine” and that he did not want to speak to the officer in person, according to Worthy. Her lawyer then called the officer.
Her attorney “basically held the same belief as the security chief that she was absolutely fine and that this was an overreaction to her video of her just expressing herself,” Worthy said. Therefore, Worthy said they had “sufficient information” to determine that Spears was not in danger.
Many facets of Spears’ life – her relationships, her mental health struggles and a long battle with the conservatorship – have been put on public display. And while the singer regularly posts videos of herself dancing on social media, the inclusion of two butcher knives in her latest video sparked concern among fans, even though she said the knives weren’t real.
Spears directly responded to her fans’ concerns on Tuesday, telling them to “lighten up” and that she would only be honoring Shakira’s MTV Video Music Awards Appearance earlier this month.
A representative for Spears did not respond to a request for comment. But an unnamed source close to the singer told NBC News that the health check and fans’ concerns were “overblown.”
“She expressed her freedom, as she continues to do,” the source told NBC News, adding that Spears is doing “fine.”
In January, a little over a year later the end of her conservatory periodspears fans called the police to make an inquiry a wellness check due to concerns about their mental health. At the time, Spears said she had been unfairly portrayed by the media.
“The police never entered my house, and when they arrived at my gate they quickly realized there was no problem and immediately left,” Spears said. “It felt like I was being cheered on and bullied when the incident hit the news and was once again portrayed in a bad and unfair light by the media.”
About a week laterSpears told her followers on Instagram that she was doing great.
“Because everyone thinks they know my story. THINK AGAIN!!!” She wrote. “No, I’m not having a breakdown… I am who I am and making progress in my life [after her 13-year conservatorship ended]. I have never felt better!!!”