Rapper Lil Nas X was arrested and briefly hospitalized Thursday morning after Los Angeles police say he charged at officers responding to reports of a naked man walking along Ventura Boulevard, one of the city’s busiest streets.
The 26-year-old performer, whose legal name is Montero Lamar Hill, was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor obstructing an officer, according to the Associated Press.
He is currently being held in custody at Valley Jail in Van Nuys, according to LAPD spokesman Officer Charles Miller.
“Officers found him walking on the normally very busy Ventura Boulevard in the Studio City neighborhood shortly before 6 a.m.,” Miller said.
Police say Lil Nas X charged at arriving officers and was quickly taken into custody, but out of concern for his health, they first transported him to a hospital for a suspected drug overdose. He was released from the hospital and taken to jail after just a few hours. No additional details about his condition have been made public.
Video obtained by TMZ appeared to show the Grammy-nominated artist wearing only underwear and boots while walking in the street.
The Atlanta-born rapper shot to fame in 2018 with his genre-blending megahit “Old Town Road,” which fused country and hip-hop and spent a record-breaking 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and featured country music legend Billy Ray Cyrus in the video.
Known for pushing musical boundaries and challenging industry norms, Lil Nas X followed up his debut success with his 2021 full-length album “Montero,” which reached No. 2 on the Billboard album chart and earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
Thursday’s arrest adds a troubling new chapter to the artist’s high-profile career. As of now, the circumstances surrounding the alleged overdose and his behavior on Ventura Boulevard remain under investigation.
