UPDATED– Houston-born rapper Travis Scott has been released from custody in Paris after being arrested on Friday morning, and local authorities have no plans to press charges in the future.
Sources close to Scott told Variety that the performer had been swarmed by paparazzi and fans all week while in Paris and that he was upset with his bodyguard for not adequately protecting him. Multiple videos posted to social media show Scott pleading with paparazzi and fans to leave him alone and asking the police for help. Instead, the source says police overreacted and arrested Scott and held him for 24 hours over a verbal argument. We’re told no physical violence occurred.
The Paris Prosecutor’s Office has also confirmed that no charges are being brought against Scott as the offense was insufficiently characterized.
Scott was arrested in Paris on Friday morning after a confrontation with a security guard outside the five-star George V hotel, located next to the Champs Elysees avenue. Contacted by Variety, a rep for the hotel declined to comment and said, “An investigation is going on.”
In a statement sent to Variety, a representative for Scott said, “We are in direct communication with the local Parisian authorities to swiftly resolve this matter and will provide updates when appropriate.”
According to local media, Scott and one of his bodyguards were fighting near the hotel when the security guard intervened. Police were then called to the hotel at 5 a.m. local time to break up the fight. These reports were confirmed by the Paris prosecutor’s office in a statement sent to Variety.
A source close to the rapper said he got into a fight with his bodyguard over his security because he had been “chased and harassed by paparazzi” for several days and not received help.
The source said no injuries had been reported and added that Scott is expected to be released shortly.
Scott has been in Paris to attend this year’s Olympics and was seen at the United States Men’s basketball semi-final match against Serbia on Thursday evening.
Local media sources are reporting that several people present during the altercation have said that Scott was heavily intoxicated at the time of the quarrel and refused to take a breathalyzer test. A staffer at the George V told Variety that Travis was in a “state of inebriation” when he showed up at the hotel.
Scott was previously arrested for disorderly intoxication and trespassing in June after an altercation on a yacht in Miami Beach, Florida. He was released on bond after paying a $500 disorderly intoxication fine and a $150 citation for trespassing.
Scott’s Paris trip comes during a break in his Circus Maximus Tour, which recently wrapped its European leg in Portugal and is set to resume in Santiago, Chile, on Sept. 7 before wrapping in Las Vegas in November.
Source Agencies
