Surveillance footage has surfaced showing Lil Nas X wandering around Los Angeles just hours before his arrest for allegedly battering a police officer.
TMZ released a five-minute clip from Wednesday (Aug. 20) around 1:30 p.m. PT, where the 26-year-old is seen roaming aimlessly near the Short Stories Hotel in Hollywood. Sporting a cowboy hat and boots, Nas eventually sits in the hotel lobby, removes his shirt, and lingers on a bench.
By early Thursday (Aug. 21) around 4:30 a.m., Nas — real name Montero Lamar Hill — was spotted on Ventura Blvd. wearing only his underwear and cowboy boots. Police later arrested him, stating he was hospitalized for a “possible overdose” of an unspecified substance.
After being released from the hospital, Nas was booked on a misdemeanor charge of battery against a police officer.
A Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson told CNN that officers responded to calls about a man walking in underwear. “Upon arrival the suspect charged at officers and was taken into custody,” the spokesperson explained. Nas is currently being held at Valley Jail in Van Nuys.
Before the arrest, viral clips showed Nas interacting with bystanders — mentioning a party, threatening to throw someone’s phone, and even balancing a traffic cone on his head.
Back in 2020, Nas told Variety that he had struggled with grief and anxiety during his rise, turning to heavy weed use after losing Nipsey Hussle, XXXTentacion, Juice Wrld, and his grandmother.
“You know, drugs and murders,” he said at the time. “And my grandmother passing — she was the first person close to me who died. It was devastating. And it made me a hypochondriac: I’d wake up, heart racing. It was scary. But then I started feeling more connected with the universe, and taking everything as a sign.”
