A former member of Britney Spears’ security team claims to have secretly kept a copy of an “extremely sensitive” audio recording of the pop star that his employer wanted deleted.
Alex Vlasov of Black Box Security spoke out about the alleged tape in a trailer for “Controlling Britney Spears,” the surprise follow-up to the Emmy-nominated New York Times documentary “Framing Britney Spears.”
“Edan [Yemini, a former bodyguard for Spears] and one of the agents working with him came into my office and handed me the audio recording device and a USB drive and asked me to wipe it,” Vlasov, who worked at the security firm from 2012 to 2021, claimed in Friday’s clip.
“I had them tell me what was on it. They seemed very nervous and said that it was extremely sensitive, that nobody can ever know about this, and that’s why I need to delete everything on it so there’s no record of it.”
Vlasov said the exchange “raised so many red flags,” adding, “I did not want to be complicit in whatever they were involved in, so I kept a copy because I didn’t want to delete evidence.”
It is unclear whether Vlasov plays the alleged recording or reveals more details about what can be heard in it in the full “Controlling Britney Spears” episode.
Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, hired Yemini of Black Box Security to protect the “Toxic” singer shortly after she was placed under a conservatorship in February 2008.
A lawyer for Yemini said in a statement to “Good Morning America” Friday, “Black Box have always conducted themselves within professional, ethical and legal bounds, and they are particularly proud of their work in keeping Ms. Spears safe for many years.”
Jamie’s lawyer, meanwhile, insisted that “his actions were done with the knowledge and consent of Britney, her court-appointed attorney and/or the court.”
Britney, 39, has been outspoken in recent months about wanting her conservatorship terminated, calling her dad’s control over her personal affairs and estate “abusive.”
After Jamie, 69, filed a petition earlier this month agreeing to finally end the legal arrangement, Britney’s attorney vowed to continue investigating potential “financial mismanagement” and other issues that his celebrity client has raised.
The conservatorship case, which will also be explored in an upcoming Netflix documentary, has another court hearing set for Sept. 29.
“The New York Times Presents: Controlling Britney Spears” premieres Friday at 10 p.m. ET on FX and Hulu.