Lil Nas X has been arrested and briefly hospitalized after an altercation with police in the early hours of Thursday morning, according to authorities in Los Angeles.
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Officers found the 26-year-old rapper and singer walking on the normally busy Ventura Boulevard in the Studio City neighborhood shortly before 6am, according to a police spokesperson, Charles Miller.
TMZ obtained video footage of the incident that appears to show Lil Nas X wearing only underwear and cowboy boots and claiming he was going to a party.
The two-time Grammy winner, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, was later booked on suspicion of misdemeanour battery after he was confronted by officers and charged at them, Miller said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.
Officers took the rapper to a hospital first because they suspected a drug overdose, Miller said. There was no further word on his condition, but he was released from the hospital and taken to jail after just a few hours.
He has since been booked on suspicion of misdemeanour for obstructing an officer and was being held at Valley jail in Van Nuys, near where the police found him.
Lil Nas X gained fame after his track Old Town Road became a record-breaking No 1 hit, staying there for 19 weeks. He also had success with songs including Industry Baby and Montero (Call Me By Your Name).
He is set to release his album Dreamboy later this year after releasing a number of singles this spring, and in the last week, returned to social media with a series of posts featuring snippets of new music. He also changed his Instagram name to Queen Madeleine and shared images of himself in a variety of costumes with the furniture in his apartment being rearranged.
In April, he was hospitalised after experiencing sudden facial paralysis. In a video shared to Instagram, he said he “lost control” of half his face.
The Guardian has reached out to his representatives for comment.
