Britney Spears being investigated for allegedly striking employee, source calls it an 'overblown tabloid story'

Britney Spears is the suspect in a battery investigation, but we're told the incident is "overblown."

The 39-year-old pop superstar, whose conservatorship battle wages on, is under investigation by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office for possibly striking an employee at her home.

"On Monday at approximately 10:25 am, there was a dispute between Ms. Spears and one of her staff members inside Ms. Spears’ home, a spokesperson for Ventura County Sheriff’s Office tells Yahoo Entertainment. The staff member reported that during the dispute, Ms. Spears struck her. There were no injuries during the incident. Deputies responded to Ms. Spears' home and conducted an investigation. Ultimately, the reports will be forwarded to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office for filing consideration. The incident is classified as a misdemeanor battery."

While deputies would not confirm the nature of the dispute or any other specific details about the alleged battery, TMZ reports it involved one of her longtime housekeepers and it stemmed from dog care. The unidentified person reportedly had an issue with the care of one of Spears's pets and took the animal to the vet without the star's permission. There was a confrontation when the person returned and Spears is said to have swatted a phone out of the person's hand.

However, a source close to Spears downplays the situation to Yahoo Entertainment, calling it an "overblown tabloid story" about a cellphone. They say there was no physical altercation, and reiterate that nobody was injured.

Spears seems to have made her own statement on Thursday afternoon with this Instagram post (though it's unclear if she is the one posting the — we'll just go ahead and say it — bizarre content.)

This development comes on the heels of much more positive news. Just hours earlier, Spears's boyfriend, Sam Asghari, shared that the star would "absolutely" perform again amid her self-imposed work hiatus.

This investigation also comes as Spears fights to reclaim rights for more control of her life, having been in this conservatorship, with her father Jamie Spears in charge, since 2008. She broke her silence about it in June, accusing her father of conservatorship abuse. Since then, she's been able to replace her court-appointed attorney with one of her choosing and the former federal prosecutor, Mathew Rosengart, has been focused on removing Jamie as conservator. (It seems Jamie is "willing" to go — if the judge clears him of future monetary responsibility.)

Spears recently celebrated getting her first iPad, as she's had restrictions on her internet and phone use under her controversial conservatorship. (She said her teen sons have had iPads, but she wasn't allowed.) In 2019, it was reported she wasn't allowed to have an iPhone.

Spears, in her court statements in June and July, revealed a little bit about what life has been like behind the gates of her estate as she needs permission to go out and to have friends. She said that someone comes to her home each day to administer her medicine. She's kept on a strict budget, despite millions of her own dollars being spent to fund the operation of her conservatorship, and claims she couldn't even get a manicure last year amid the pandemic when her housekeepers were showing with their nails done.

The next hearing for the conservatorship case, which spawned the #FreeBritney movement, is Sept. 29.