Pop icon Britney Spears was arrested in California on Wednesday evening under suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers detained Spears at approximately 21:30 local time (05:30 GMT), after reports that she was driving her BMW “erratically at a high rate of speed” on the US-101 motorway.
CHP said Spears displayed signs of impairment and submitted to a series of field sobriety tests after being pulled over. She was released from jail early Thursday morning and is scheduled to appear at Ventura County Superior Court on 4 May. Spears’ representative described the incident as “completely inexcusable” and stated that she plans to comply with the law, take the necessary steps to address the situation, and receive support during this difficult time.
The representative added that Spears’ children and loved ones are working on a plan to support her well-being and help her “set up for success.” The case remains under investigation, with chemical test results still pending, CHP said.
Spears was driving alone in her black BMW 430i southbound when stopped. Her car was impounded following the incident, and she was briefly taken to a medical facility for blood testing as part of California’s drink-driving protocol. She was not admitted to hospital.
News of the arrest coincided with Spears’ apparent deletion of her Instagram account. Spears, one of the most successful pop stars in history, is known for hits including, Baby One More Time, Toxic, Everytime, Gimme More, Womaniser, and Stronger.
In January 2024, Spears had declared she would “never return to the music industry,” though a now-deleted post earlier this year suggested she hoped to perform live in the UK and Australia. The singer was under a conservatorship controlled by her father for 13 years until 2021, a period she reflects on in her 2023 memoir The Woman in Me. Her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, published a memoir in late 2025 titled You Thought You Knew.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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