Britney Spears visits Vegas, blasts her family
When we last saw Britney Spears in public in Las Vegas, she was announcing her second Strip residency production. That was in October 2018. The show was “Domination,” and it never made it to the stage.
Spears was back in town this weekend. Instead of striding down a flight of stairs amid strobes and blasts of music, she notified the her legions of fans via social media.
In an Instagram post Sunday that she later deleted, Spears said she was more a commoner than a headliner on this trip.
She seemed to have liked that role, too.
“Wow!!! Being a guest in Las Vegas is way better than being me … or wait … is it because my family got to be the stars when I worked in Vegas???” Spears wrote in the since-trashed post. “I mean … they were given star treatment … spas … alcohol … the whole 9 yards. But guess what!!! This was my first time!!! It was absolutely lovely being treated like an equal in Las Vegas for the first time in 13 years … huge difference!!!”
Spears is no longer bound by the conservatorship initiated by her father, Jaime Spears, in 2008, about 13 years ago.
Resorts World President and CEO Scott Sibella confirmed Monday morning Spears and her fiancé, Sam Asghari, stayed at a hotel suite and were treated to spa treatments at the hotel. The exec said the visit was “just a getaway” for the couple, who booked the Presidential Suite at the Crockfords tower. Sibella also said there was no discussion of Spears performing at the resort (though Spears one day returning to the stage in Vegas is an idea we are not relinquishing).
Spears and Asghari enjoyed a private dinner at Wally’s on Saturday night. Vegas musicians Otto Ehling (keyboardist for David Perrico’s Raiders House Band) and singer Katie Welch of Delilah at Wynn Las Vegas performed in the nightspot’s downstairs hideaway.
Ehling said Monday the duo played an array of vintage Vegas songs, including “Fly Me To The Moon,” “Night and Day,” and”Cheek to Cheek.” The performers also sampled hits from the ’90s, among them “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
Spears and Asghari got up and grooved to several songs, and generally seemed to be very happy, Ehling said.
The gig was a treat for the Vegas performer. More than a decade ago, Ehling was the last artist awarded the Liberace Foundation scholarship for gifted music students at UNLV.
Ehling said of the night, “It was so cool for me to perform for a pop icon like her.”
Asghari posted photos from a guest room and the spa at Resorts World Las Vegas.
In one shot, Asghari is shown from a suite with at the with Strip in the background as he wears a black-leather jacket, while standing next to a Louis Vuitton duffle bag. The post reads “@ResortsWorld went above and beyond to make sure I had the best experience in Vegas for UFC 272. Elegant, chic, and amazing service. You guys rock.”
UFC 272 was held at at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night
In another shot, the Crockfords tower is shown in the background and Asghari is also posing with a medicine ball in the the spa. There is no mention of Spears. Filmmaker Kevin Ostajewski is credited with the photo series.
In her deleted post, Spears said, “I don’t have to entertain my family anymore and be their puppet.” Spears has feuded publicly and bitterly with her sister, Jaimie Lynn. Spears brother, Bryan, worked on Spears’ “Piece of Me” residency at Planet Hollywood from 2013-2017.
In a separate post, which was not taken down, Spears writes of her unforgiving performance schedule. “In a world where it’s okay to lock your daughter up and make her work 7 days a week — 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. … no days off … 105 people in and out of a small trailer home weekly … No private baths … seen naked when changing … drugged … can’t even speak or talk …”
The litany continues as Spears says those who have caused her distress have not been properly held accountable: “I want justice and won’t stop until something is done to those who harmed me.”
Cool Hang Alert
John Di Domenico, the comic actor and peerless Trump impressionist, hosts his first “Wine Wednesdays” show this week at The Space. The night starts at 7:30 p.m. with a tasting of Gerard Bertrand wines. Singers and funny ladies Kelly Vohnn and Christina Shaw guest star. Tickets are $25. The place seats about 100, or as Di Domenico’s Trump says, “We’ll have about 100,000, but the fake news — very bad people, the fake news — will say it’s only 100.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
