Britney Spears charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs

Los Angeles: Britney Spears has been charged in California with driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, authorities said.

The 44-year-old pop star was charged on Thursday with a single misdemeanour count of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and at least one drug, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said.

A Spears representative had no immediate comment.

The criminal complaint does not specify what kind of alcohol or drugs, or what amount, Spears is accused of having used.

Spears, who has since entered substance abuse treatment, was arrested on March 4 after she was pulled over for driving her black BMW fast and erratically on US Highway 101 near her home, the California Highway Patrol said. She appeared to be impaired, took a series of field sobriety tests, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs, and was taken to a Ventura County jail, the CHP said.

She was released on bail the following day. Police completed their investigation and presented it to prosecutors on March 23.

A representative at the time called Spears’ actions “completely inexcusable” and said it would ideally be “the first step in long-overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life”.

Spears voluntarily checked into a substance abuse treatment facility just over a month after the arrest, her representative said.

Spears’ arraignment is set for Monday. Because it is a misdemeanour charge she will not be required to appear in court, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the case will be handled according to their standard protocol for defendants with no DUI history, no crash or injury on the road and a low blood-alcohol level.

In court on Monday Spears will be offered what is commonly known as a “wet reckless”, which allows a defendant to plead guilty and get a year of probation, credit for any time served in jail, a required DUI class and state-mandated fines and fees, prosecutors said.

The offer is common especially for defendants who have independently shown motivation to address their problems and seek treatment, the district attorney’s office said.

The singer has a home in Ventura County just outside the Los Angeles County line. Her arraignment will be held in the city of Ventura, a seaside community of about 110,000 people about 110 kilometres north-west of downtown LA.

The one-time teen pop phenomenon and Mickey Mouse Club alum became a defining superstar of the 1990s and 2000s with hits like Toxic, Gimme More and I’m a Slave 4 U. Most of Spears’ albums have been certified platinum (1 million copies sold or streamed), according to the Recording Industry Association of America, with two diamond (more than 10 million copies sold, or 15 billion streams) titles: 1999’s … Baby One More Time and 2000’s Oops! … I Did It Again.

Spears became a tabloid focus in the early 2000s and a source of public scrutiny as she battled mental illness, and paparazzi documented the details of her private life.

In 2008 Spears was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship, run primarily by her father and his lawyers, that would control her personal and financial decisions for well over a decade. It was dissolved in 2021.

Since then she has married and divorced, and released a bestselling, tell-all memoir, The Woman in Me.

She has essentially retired as an artist in recent years, releasing only a few collaborative singles since her last full album in 2016.

The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday.