Pop star Britney Spears is facing fresh legal trouble after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Southern California.
The 44-year-old was taken into custody Wednesday night in Ventura County by the California Highway Patrol, law enforcement sources told TMZ. The “Oops!… I Did It Again” singer was reportedly stopped around 9:30 p.m. before being booked hours later.
According to the outlet, Spears was processed by the sheriff’s department at approximately 3 a.m. and later released from custody around 6 a.m. She is expected to appear in court on May 4 to face the charge.
In the immediate aftermath of the arrest, Spears appeared to wipe her presence from social media, with her Instagram page—where she frequently posts dance videos and personal updates—deactivated as news of the incident spread.
The arrest comes during a period when the pop icon has recently notched several legal victories. This month, Spears secured a restraining order against a man she accused of stalking and harassing her online for years. The 51-year-old Louisiana man was arrested in 2025 after allegedly trespassing at her Southern California home.
Spears also famously won a long-time legal battle in 2021 when a Los Angeles court terminated the conservatorship that had governed her life and finances for 13 years. The arrangement—controlled largely by her father, Jamie Spears—was put in place following a highly public breakdown that played out in tabloids throughout 2007 and 2008.
That turbulent period included erratic public incidents that became pop-culture lore, such as Spears shaving her head at a Los Angeles salon and later attacking a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella.
Her public troubles escalated with an alleged hit-and-run accident involving a parked car in 2007. Following the incident, Spears lost custody of her two children, Sean and Jayden, whom she shares with ex-husband Kevin Federline. The star was eventually hospitalized and placed under psychiatric evaluation in 2008.
The conservatorship remained in place for more than a decade, controlling major aspects of Spears’s personal and professional life until it was dissolved following a wave of public support from the #FreeBritney movement.
For now, Spears has not publicly commented on the DUI allegation.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Spears’s team for comment.
