Just hours before her infamous 2007 MTV Video Music Awards performance, Britney Spears was spotted partying in Las Vegas with Sean "Diddy" Combs, Paris Hilton, and other celebrities, according to recently resurfaced photos and court testimony.
On the night of September 7, 2007, Spears joined Diddy at Jet nightclub, looking upbeat and surrounded by friends.
Later, she and Diddy headed to a second event at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, where they met up with Hilton and rapper 50 Cent, PageSix said. The party reportedly continued into the early morning of September 8.
These events came just one day before Spears, then 25, returned to the stage for what was meant to be her big comeback at the VMAs on September 9.
Her performance of "Gimme More," however, was widely criticized. Viewers and critics noted her low energy, missed dance steps, and poor lip-syncing. Many said she appeared disoriented and unprepared.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs brought Britney Spears to Cassie Ventura’s 21st birthday party where he first kissed her https://t.co/s7fQ4HuqxX pic.twitter.com/htojrXwmoc
— New York Post Metro (@nypmetro) May 15, 2025
Spears Reveals Panic Attack Before Disastrous VMAs Show
In her 2023 memoir "The Woman in Me," Spears opened up about the struggles she faced that night. "I hadn't slept the night before," she wrote. "I was dizzy. Nothing was going right. I was having a panic attack."
According to DailyMail, Spears also described pressure from her team to perform, despite knowing she wasn't ready. "My team was pressuring me to get out there and show the world I was fine. The only problem with this plan: I was not fine," she shared.
The resurfaced photos and details emerged during Sean Combs' ongoing legal trial, where his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura testified that Spears had attended her 21st birthday party that same night in 2007. "Sean was there, and he brought Dallas Austin and Britney Spears," Cassie said in court.
Fans now believe this chaotic night may have played a role in Spears' downward spiral, which led to her being placed under a conservatorship just five months later, in February 2008.
At the time, Spears was already under intense media scrutiny following her divorce from Kevin Federline and a series of public incidents, including shaving her head earlier that year.
The fallout from the VMAs performance only added to the public concern about her well-being.
Originally published on Enstarz
