Britney Spears Acknowledges Smoking on Plane, Calls Reporting Incident to Authorities ‘A Bit Excessive’
By Website Content Manager
The pop icon shared her perspective on the situation in a recent Instagram post, revealing it was also her “first time” trying vodka during the flight.
Britney Spears Responds After In-Flight Smoking Incident: Says Alerting Authorities Was “A Bit Much”
Britney Spears is offering her take after news broke that she lit a cigarette during a recent flight — a move that stirred both headlines and official concern.
The incident took place on May 22 aboard a public charter flight from Cabo San Lucas to Los Angeles. According to sources previously confirmed by PEOPLE, the 43-year-old pop star lit a cigarette mid-flight, violating aviation regulations. Flight attendants reportedly asked her to extinguish it, which she did. Despite her compliance, airport authorities were notified and met the flight upon landing, issuing Spears a warning for her conduct.
JSX, the charter airline operating the flight, declined to comment on the matter.
Spears, however, shared her perspective the next day through an Instagram post, which included a video of her on the plane. She captioned it with a mix of humor and surprise: “Me yesterday !!! It’s actually incredibly funny !!!”
In her May 23 post, Spears recalled being confused about the rules on board. She pointed out a unique feature — cupholders located outside the seats — which she claimed led her to believe smoking might be allowed. “Confession: it was my first time drinking vodka,” she wrote. “I swear I felt so SMART… I was like wow what the heck is in there!!! I felt so clear and smart and said I want a cigarette so bad!!!”
She went on to explain that a friend lit the cigarette for her, which led her to assume smoking was permitted on the flight. “I was like OH SO THIS IS A PLANE WHERE YOU CAN SMOKE!!!” she said.
In the same post, Spears issued an apology to anyone she may have upset but questioned the response to the situation. “I do so apologize to anyone I offended,” she wrote, “but calling the authorities felt like a bit much.”
She also alleged that one flight attendant acted inappropriately, claiming the attendant was unfriendly from the start, wouldn’t let her leave her seat when the cabin was still empty, and handled her seatbelt in a way that made her uncomfortable. “She invaded my space,” Spears wrote.
Despite the awkward experience, Spears shared that she initially misunderstood the arrival of airport officials, thinking she was receiving VIP treatment. “I thought officials greeted me as support… I was like WOW I feel special!!! I’ve never been to an international airport… Am I famous or something???”
A source told PEOPLE that Spears’ behavior has raised concerns in the past, stating, “This is not her first warning. She doesn’t exactly follow the rules.”
Though the flight ended without further incident, the situation has once again placed Spears in the spotlight — and on notice.