Sam Asghari has broken his silence regarding Britney Spears‘ recent arrest for suspicion of a DUI, addressing the topic during an interview with Fox News.
On Friday (March 6), the fitness model and actor, to whom Spears was married from 2022 to 2024, reacted to the news near the end of an on-air conversation with Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt.
“My full attention has gone to Iran at the moment,” he said, keeping his voice level. “When it comes to people making mistakes, I understand that, but I think everybody deserves privacy. And I hope the press has learned from the past [and] that they give her the privacy that she needs.”
Spears was arrested Wednesday in Ventura County, California, as confirmed by Billboard via records posted by the county’s Sheriff’s Office. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the “I Wanna Go” singer was arrested Wednesday at 9:28 p.m. PT and booked at 3:02 a.m. PT. She was released at 6:07 a.m. PT on Thursday, and her court date is currently scheduled for May 4.
“This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable,” a rep for Spears told Billboard in a statement. “Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law, and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life.”
No stranger to legal troubles, Spears found herself enveloped in a hit-and-run case in 2007, which was eventually dismissed the following year and gave way to her highly controversial 13-year conservatorship. More recently, Variety reported that the Grammy winner sold the rights to her entire music catalog to Primary Wave, with BBC adding that the deal was finalized Dec. 30 with a value of roughly $200 milllion.
Though the last part of the conversation echoes Asghari’s reality television stints, he spent most of his Fox News appearance speaking on behalf of Iranians and Iranian-Americans who are in support of the American-Israeli strikes that began devastating the country on Feb. 28.
“It’s been 47 years since the Iranian people have been fighting this fight against the regime. They wanted nothing to do with this government,” said the 32-year-old, who was born in Tehran and moved to the States at age 12. “The difference between Iran’s government and its people is miles far… our understanding, our culture, even the language they speak is completely different. The people of Iran are in love with America. They love America just like I do… I’m happy this situation is happening to make it clear to this world that we stand with America and we stand with the free world.”
Spears and Asghari met on the set of her 2016 “Slumber Party” music video and got engaged in September 2021. The couple signed a prenuptial agreement, famously endorsed by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer in Spears’ Instagram comments. In April 2022, Spears announced she was pregnant with her third child and Asghari’s first, but miscarried a month later. After marrying on June 8, 2022, the couple stayed together for a year before separating in July 2023, with Asghari filing for divorce the following month, citing irreconcilable differences. Spears and Asghari’s divorce was officially finalized on Dec. 2, 2024, the superstar’s 43rd birthday.
Watch Sam Asghari discuss Britney Spears’ arrest and the U.S. attack on Iran below.
