The singer was briefly held in detention before she was released Thursday morning with a May 4 court date, according to local authorities.
The singer was briefly held in detention before she was released Thursday morning, say local authorities
Abby Hughes · CBC News · Posted: Mar 05, 2026 10:49 AM EST | Last Updated: 1 hour ago
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Britney Spears appears at the 29th annual GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on April 12, 2018. Spears was arrested overnight in California. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/Associated Press)
Britney Spears was arrested in Southern California, according to state and county officials.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to CBC News that Spears was arrested by the California Highway Patrol on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Spears was booked at a detention centre shortly after 3 a.m. on Thursday morning before she was released around 6 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office. The pop star was also given a May 4 court date.
Officials from the California Highway Patrol also confirmed the arrest to CBC News.
Spears, born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana, was a teen pop phenomenon who became a defining superstar of the ’90s and 2000s. She rose to fame from Disney Channel’s The Mickey Mouse Club to MTV and beyond, with era-defining songs such as Hit Me Baby One More Time, Oops! I Did It Again and Toxic.
The star struggled with her mental health and substance use in the 2000s, and was hospitalized for a period of time in 2008.
In recent years, fans scrutinized the conservatorship that allowed her father, James Spears, to control her life and money. This sparked the Free Britney movement and a documentary about her court fight with her father.
A judge suspended the conservatorship in 2021 in what was seen as a major win for the pop star.
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With files from Griffin Jaeger and the Associated Press
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