Britney Spears was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The pop star was arrested in March after being pulled over for reckless driving on US 101 in California.
The pop star was arrested in March after being pulled over for reckless driving on US 101 in California.
Britney Spears was charged in California on Thursday with driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, authorities said.
The 44-year-old pop star was charged with one misdemeanor count of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and at least one drug, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said.
An email sent to Spears’ representatives seeking comment was not immediately returned.
The criminal complaint did not specify what type of alcohol or drug, or what quantity, Spears is alleged to have used.
Spears, who has since been undergoing substance abuse treatment, was arrested on March 4 after being pulled over for driving her black BMW recklessly and at high speed on US 101 near her home, the California Highway Patrol said. She appeared intoxicated and underwent a series of field sobriety tests, after which she was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs and taken to the Ventura County Jail, the CHP said.
She was released on bail the following day. The police concluded their investigation and turned the case over to the district attorney on March 23.
A representative at the time called Spears’ actions “utterly inexcusable” and said that ideally it would be “the first step in a long-overdue change that needs to happen in Britney’s life.”
Spears voluntarily entered a drug abuse treatment facility more than a month after her arrest, her representative said.
Spears’ hearing is scheduled for Monday. Since this is a misdemeanor charge, she is not required to appear in court, the prosecutor said.
The teen pop sensation and former Mickey Mouse Club star became a leading superstar of the 1990s and 2000s with hit songs like “Toxic,” “Gimme More,” and “I’m a Slave 4 U.” Most of her albums have been certified platinum, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, with two albums certified diamond: …Baby One More Time (1999) and Oops! …I Did It Again (2000).
Spears became the focus of tabloids in the early 2000s and a subject of public scrutiny as she battled mental illness and the paparazzi documented the details of her personal life.
In 2008, Spears was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship, largely run by her father and his lawyers, who would control her personal and financial decisions for more than a decade. The conservatorship was dissolved in 2021.
Since then, she has married and divorced, and released a best-selling autobiographical memoir titled The Woman in Me.
She has essentially retired from performing in recent years, releasing only a few collaborative singles since her last full-length album in 2016.
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