Britney Spears insists Chateau Marmont ambulance incident was over ‘twisted ankle’

Britney Spears has downplayed photos that appeared to show her being escorted out of a luxury Hollywood hotel by paramedics on Thursday, as she insisted it was all to do with a twisted ankle despite growing fears among fans over her recent behaviour.

Tabloid media in the US published photos of the pop star leaving the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles barefoot while clutching a blanket and hotel pillow on 2 April.

Spears, 42, was reportedly assessed by medical staff but did not leave in the ambulance.

She then shared a message with her fans on Instagram telling people “the news is fake”, seemingly shutting down gossip reports that she got into a row with rumoured boyfriend Paul Richard Soliz.

The Independent has contacted Spears’s representatives for comment.

“Just to let people know... the news is fake!” Spears wrote in her Instagram message, shared in the evening on 2 May.

“I [twisted] my ankle last night and paramedics showed up at my door illegally,” she added. “They never came into my room but I felt completly [sic] harassed. I’m moving to Boston! Peace.”

In a second post, the “Oops! I Did It Again” star shared a video of her visibly swollen ankle and said she had injured herself while trying to do “a leap” in her hotel suite.

“I really twisted my ankle last night like an idiot,” she said. “It’s so bad. F***ing idiot here tries to do a leap in the living room at the Chateau and I fell, embarrassed myself, and that’s it. Paramedics came to my door illegally, of course causes this huge scene, and all I needed was ice.”

“It is actually pretty bad,” she said, apparently referring to the ankle. “S*** happens.”

Spears also posted a photo of her lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, who became known for his success in having the “Toxic” singer freed from her longtime conservatorship, which controlled her personal and business affairs, after more than 13 years.

“This man is wonderful,” she told fans. “He’s like a father to me and he got me through last night. I adore you and admire you mister Mathew!”

The incident at the Chateau coincided with Spears officially reaching a divorce settlement with her soon-to-be-ex-husband, 30-year-old model and actor Sam Asghari.

Court documents filed on Thursday 2 May gave few details but said neither Spears nor Asghari would receive future spousal support. A judge is likely to sign off on the stipulated solution soon and declare them both single.

Spears and Asghari announced their separation in July 2023, around 13 months after they married and seven years after they began dating. Asghari filed for divorce in August.

They were married in a private ceremony at Spears’s home in June 2022, in front of celebrity guests including Madonna, Paris Hilton, Drew Barrymore and Selena Gomez.

Last week, Spears also reached a settlement with her estranged father, Jamie Spears, over the lingering issues from the court conservatorship that controlled her personal and business affairs for more than 13 years. It means both parties avoid what could have been a long and ugly trial that was due to start later this month.

While she was initially celebratory as she enjoyed her newfound freedom, Spears quickly appeared to grow exasperated by the ongoing scrutiny from fans and the media as she tried to get on with her life.

In January last year, she pleaded with fans who allegedly sent police to her home to perform a welfare check after she deleted her Instagram account.

Months later, she was also forced to reassure her followers after posting a video that showed her dancing with what appeared to be kitchen knives, claiming they were fake. The video reportedly prompted calls for a second welfare check.

“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,” the singer wrote in the caption.

“No one needs to worry or call the police,” Spears wrote at the time. “I’m trying to imitate one of my favorite [sic] performers Shakira… a performance I was inspired by! Cheers to us bad girls who aren’t afraid to push boundaries and take risks.”

The pop star, who has stated that she has no plans to return to music, released a widely publicised memoir The Woman in Me in October last year, in which she recounts the last 20 years of her life in the spotlight.

Among the many revelations in the book were her feelings about family members including father Jamie Spears and sister Jamie-Lynn, along with her treatment by the media and recollections of her relationship with fellow pop star Justin Timberlake.

Additional reporting by agencies