Britney Spears was spotted driving “erratically” before her arrest on suspicion of operating her vehicle under the influence, police say.
The 44-year-old star spent the night in the cells after being detained by officers on Wednesday evening, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) spokesperson confirmed.
She has been scheduled to appear in court on 4 May.
Meanwhile, her Instagram account, on which she frequently shares short videos of herself dancing in her living room, appears to have been deactivated.
Searching for the account, which had more than 42m followers, now brings up the message “Sorry, this page isn’t available”.
The singer “showed signs of impairment and submitted to a series of field sobriety tests” after being pulled over, police said.
The spokesperson said: “At approximately 8.48pm, a black BMW 430i was reported to the CHP’s Ventura Communications Centre for driving erratically at a high rate of speed on southbound US-101 near the Borchard Road exit in Newbury Park.”
Spears, who police said was alone in the car, was later arrested for “driving under the influence of a combination of drugs and alcohol” and taken to Ventura County Main Jail, north west of Los Angeles.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Office online records give Spears’ height as 5ft 5ins and her occupation as “celebrity”.
Chemical test results are pending and the investigation is ongoing, police said. She was released from jail at around 6am local time.
Her representative said, after the news emerged, that her arrest was “completely inexcusable” and the incident “can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life”.
In a statement, they said: “This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable.
“Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life.
“Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time.
“Her boys are going to be spending time with her. Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well-being.”
In 2007, Spears avoided a criminal hit-and-run trial by paying for damages after photographers pictured Spears steering her car into another vehicle as she tried to park in a California car park and walking away after assessing the damage to her own car.
In 2021, she went through a high-profile court battle to end the 13-year conservatorship that had allowed her father to control her freedom and finances due to concerns over her mental health.
While Spears has not released new music for several years, in February, she sold part of her rights to her back catalogue to music publisher Primary Wave.
While the exact fee is unknown, Sources told TMZ the deal was of similar value to the $200m (£150m) deal signed by Justin Bieber when he sold his back catalogue.
In 2024, Spears said she would “never return to the music industry” and shut down speculation that a new album was on the way.
