Grammy winner Lil Nas X’s stroll through Studio City early Thursday morning ended in his hospitalization and his arrest on suspicion of charging at a police officer.
The 26-year-old musician, known for hits including “Old Town Road” and “Industry Baby,” was transported to a local hospital for a possible overdose, an LAPD spokesperson confirmed to The Times on Thursday. Police did not confirm the singer’s identity but told The Times that at around 5:50 a.m., officers responded to the 11000 block of Ventura Boulevard to reports of a “nude man walking in the street.”
TMZ, which first reported on the singer’s hospitalization, shared video of the singer (real name Montero Lamar Hill) strutting in the street down a mostly empty Ventura Boulevard wearing only white underpants and cowboy boots. Police alleged that the “suspect charged at officers” upon their arrival, and he was taken into custody.
The Los Angeles Fire Department also reported to the 3700 block of North Cahuenga Boulevard where they picked up the musician, a spokesperson confirmed to The Times. The spokesperson did not share additional information about the singer’s condition.
Police booked the singer at the LAPD’s Valley Jail section in Van Nuys later Thursday morning on suspicion of misdemeanor battery on a police officer. A representative for Lil Nas X did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
In the clips shared with TMZ, the “Call Me By Your Name” artist speaks to a driver behind the camera about a party and repeatedly tells him to put away his phone. Lil Nas X also posed with an orange traffic cone over his head, as seen in photos published by TMZ.
Lil Nas X, who broke out in 2019 with the viral “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, was hospitalized earlier this year after he said in a since-expired Instagram story that he had “lost control” of the right side of his face. He reassured fans, “It’s getting better y’all, I promise.”
On Tuesday, the singer also seemingly wiped his Instagram page of old posts and shared 26 photos and videos. Several new posts seem to point to a new chapter in his music, including a brief snippet of his song “KIMBO” featuring Lil Jon. His recent photos take a more cryptic approach, with several featuring random items scattered in different parts of a room.
Lil Nas X also posted a selfie on Tuesday of himself wearing a fur coat, bright red lipstick, and both a cowboy hat and crown. “OH NO sHES GONE MAD! CRAZY I TELL U!,” he captioned the post.
In another photo, Lil Nas X poses in front of a backlit mirror as he wears a gold gown, white cowboy boots and a tiara.
He wrote in the caption: “And just like that she’s back. We’ve all waited so long. When dreamworld needed her the most.”
Times staff writers Christopher Buchanan and Richard Winton contributed to this report.
