Britney Spears’ Knife Dance Explained: ‘She Was Just Trolling People,’ Source Says

Britney Spears had fans concerned after sharing a video on her Instagram page of her dancing with knives, but a source tells ET that the singer is doing “just fine.”

“She was just trolling people and doing ‘performance art’ in her knife dance video,” the source adds.

Spears, 41, posted the first video of her dancing with knives on Instagram on Monday, writing in the caption, “I started playing in the kitchen with knives today.” 

After seemingly drawing concern, she later updated the post, adding, “Don’t worry they are NOT real knives !!! Halloween is soon!”

A day later, she shared another video of her dancing, sans knives, trying to stem her fans’ worries. “Lighten up about the knives I’m copying Shakira 🙈 !!!” she captioned the post, referencing the singer’s MTV Video Music Awards performance earlier this month.

According to Us Weekly, authorities were asked to perform a wellness check after Spears’ video of her dancing with knives was reported.

“Somebody close to Britney had seen the video posted on social media, where she’s dancing and twirling with knives in her hands and they were really concerned for her mental well-being,” Captain Dean Worthy of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office told the outlet on Thursday.

Worthy noted that the call came from an anonymous individual who has a close relationship with the singer and was vetted before one of the department’s sergeants performed the wellness check.

“We would normally not respond to fans calling in about a celebrity unless we actually believed that there is a credible threat,” the officer said. “However, we vetted this individual through LAPD … and we determined this is someone who knows Britney on a personal basis.”

Worthy explained that officers spoke to Spears’ security team at her home in Thousand Oaks, California via intercom to let them know that she was “fine” and “nothing was going on.” The authorities also spoke with Spears’ attorney.

“They didn’t want to let the officer in to see her physically,” Worthy added. “There’s no criminal activity so we’re not going to force ourselves inside the home if there is no crime. Being a danger to oneself isn’t a crime. I think we did our due diligence by going and responding and speaking to two people who are close with her who sufficiently told us she’s fine.”

On Friday morning, Spears seemingly responded to the officer’s visit by sharing another video of her dancing with knives, offering a longer explanation behind her posts.

“I know I spooked everyone with the last post, but these are fake knives that my team rented from Hand Prop shop in LA,” she wrote. “These are not real knives. No one needs to worry or call the police. 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 💅🏼💅🏼💅🏼!”

Fans’ concerns come amid the pop singer’s divorce from her husband, Sam Asghari, and her brief relationship with her former housekeeper, Paul Richard Soliz. Asghari filed for divorce on Aug. 16, after one year of marriage.

Last month, Spears was spotted out with Soliz when they were photographed in Los Angeles. He was riding shotgun and Spears was behind the wheel when paparazzi snapped them in her white Mercedes-Benz coupe. 

Earlier this month, a source told ET that Spears had stopped seeing the ex-housekeeper, saying, “Britney is doing OK since her fling with Paul ended. She was given guidance to stay away from him and was told that he wasn’t good for her.”

ET previously reported that people close to the pop star felt Soliz wasn’t “good for her.” As for why she insisted on seeing him — albeit for a brief time — even though friends weren’t supportive of the relationship, the source said Spears liked him because he made her “feel like he is acting as her protector,” and she found comfort in that. 

“Sam is doing his best to take care of himself, both physically and emotionally, getting back out there and playing the field a bit,” the source added. 

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