Britney Spears was arrested Wednesday night in Westlake Village by the California Highway Patrol on suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs. The singer’s representative calling the incident “inexcusable.”
Spears, 44, was stopped by the CHP just before 9 p.m. while driving a black BMW 430i. Dispatchers had received reports of the car being driven “erratically at a high rate of speed southbound on 101 Freeway near Borchard Road exit in Newbury Park,” the agency said. A few miles south, CHP officers stopped Spears. According to the agency, she was alone in the car and “showed signs of impairment and submitted to a series of field sobriety tests.”
She was booked around 3 a.m. Thursday, according to online records from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. Her BMW was impounded, and she was released just after 6 a.m. CHP officials said chemical tests were pending. According to a law enforcement source, Spears’ blood was drawn at Los Robles Medical Center.
A substance was found in the car on Wednesday night, and the vehicle was searched again on Thursday morning at Roy’s Towing in Thousand Oaks, the source told The Times.
According to police dispatch audio, Spears was spotted “erratic[ally] braking, swerving and driving without taillights” in a black sedan on the 101 South near Westlake Village.
“This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable,” a representative for Spears told The Times in a statement Thursday morning. “Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in a long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life. Hopefully she can get the support she needs during this difficult time.
“Her boys are going to be spending time with her,” the statement continued. “Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well-being.”
The singer, who was not injured, has a May 4 hearing date set for Ventura County Superior Court in Ventura.
The pop star’s occupation was listed online as “celebrity.”
Also this week, Spears obtained a permanent restraining order against a Louisiana man identified only as Donald, according to TMZ. The performer reportedly said in court documents that she does not know the man, who was arrested in 2025 after appearing at her L.A.-area home and has allegedly been harassing her online since 2013.
The pop singer was previously arrested in 2007 in Los Angeles County, shortly after her divorce from Kevin Federline was finalized. She was charged with misdemeanors for an alleged hit-and-run and driving without a license.
The prosecution was dropped in October 2008 after a jury split 10 to 2 in favor of acquittal.
Spears was placed under a conservatorship in early 2008, with her father controlling decision-making until he was removed as conservator in September 2021. With the viral #FreeBritney movement percolating in the background, an L.A. County judge released the singer from the legal arrangement two months later.
“We have a safety net in place for Britney, both on the personal side and on the financial side,” attorney Mathew Rosengart said at the time. “But Britney as of today is a free woman and she’s an independent woman. And the rest, with her support system, will be up to Britney.”
In the years since, Spears has been photographed leaving Chateau Marmont in her pajamas after paramedics were called to her room, allegedly after a fight with her then-boyfriend. She also has earned numerous headlines as she posted nude photos from various vacations and uploaded video of herself dancing in revealing outfits. Once, in 2023, she danced on camera using two large knives as props.
That last one earned her a wellness check from local authorities, who reported she was just fine.
She also married boyfriend Sam Asghari in June 2022 after five years of dating, but he filed for divorce in August 2023, indicating that they had separated weeks earlier. Asghari eventually got custody of their Doberman.
In early February, Spears sold rights to her entire catalog to music publishing company New Wave for a reported $200 million.
