Photo: Lionel Hahn/Getty Images
Lil Nas X was reportedly arrested and taken to the hospital after police responded to calls about a man walking around Los Angeles in his underwear early on Thursday morning. TMZ was first to report the story and published footage of the rapper appearing to be in a dazed state while walking down Ventura Boulevard in L.A.’s Studio City neighborhood.
In the video, someone driving alongside Lil Nas X, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, films him making several references to going to a party, admonishing the person filming him, and strutting down the middle of the road in his cowboy boots. TMZ also obtained a photo of the rapper putting a traffic cone on top of his head.
A spokesperson for the LAPD told People that officers responded to reports of a man “nude in the street.” The suspect, whom the LAPD could not confirm was Hill, then allegedly went on to “batter an officer.” The tabloid reported that the suspect would be formally charged once he was released from the hospital. A police source told NBC Los Angeles that the suspect was indeed Hill, and that the rapper threw punches at officers on the scene. Both NBC and TMZ reported that police referenced a possible drug overdose when they requested paramedics.
According to the New York Times, Hill was discharged from the hospital a few hours after arriving and taken to jail, where he was booked on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing an officer.
On Friday, TMZ reported that Hill would stay in jail for at least the rest of the weekend as he waits to see a judge and have his bail set.
Prior to the events caught on video, Hill wiped his Instagram account and began sharing some odd new posts. Since Tuesday, he has posted 11 times, teasing new music in some posts, while another showed the rapper wearing a bathrobe and the same cowboy boots from the video published by TMZ, singing and playing the tambourine in front of a pile of his possessions.
Following Hill’s arrest, a video he posted in February received renewed attention online. “These last few years were pretty difficult for me,” he admitted. “I’m just now, like, arriving to this place of feeling confidence in myself and what I’m doing.”
The Cut has reached out to a representative for Lil Nas X and will update this post if we hear back.
This post has been updated.
