Christina Aguilera arrested for drunkenness

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California (AP) _ Fresh from a stumble at the Grammys and muffing the national anthem at the Super Bowl, singer Christina Aguilera was arrested early Tuesday near the Sunset Strip on suspicion of being drunk in public but will not be prosecuted, authorities said.

Aguilera, 30, was ``extremely intoxicated'' when a car driven by her boyfriend was stopped, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Bill McSweeney said.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Aguilera ``didn't really understand where she was'' but was cooperative.

``She was not belligerent in any way whatsoever,'' Whitmore said.

Deputies saw the accelerate fast and fishtail onto a street, he said.

They smelled alcohol on the breath of 25-year-old Matthew Rutler, and a field sobriety test found him to have a blood-alcohol level of

0.09 percent, Whitmore said. In California, a driver is legally under the influence at or above 0.08 percent.

Rutler was arrested on suspicion of DUI and later released on $5,000 bail. Sheriff's officials didn't know if Rutler had hired an attorney.

McSweeney said Aguilera appeared too drunk to care for herself and had no driver to take her home. She was arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public so she could be held at the West Hollywood sheriff's station, he said.

Whitmore did not know much Aguilera may have been drinking.

She was given a breath test but the results will not be made public because she had no criminal intent and will not be prosecuted, he said. However, the misdemeanor arrest will remain on her record.

Whitmore said Aguilera was booked, fingerprinted and put alone in a cell. She was kept there until she was able to pass another sobriety test.

``When she was able to navigate and think on her own ... she was released'' on $250 bail, he said.

Aguilera was released from the back of the station at about 7:30 a.m., avoiding a cluster of paparazzi out front. She was driven home by an acquaintance who may have been a bodyguard, Whitmore said.

``It ends here,'' he said. ``She's home safe and sound so, you know, job accomplished.''

California law allows deputies to detain intoxicated people for their own welfare until they sober up, without having any intention of prosecuting them, McSweeney said.

Calls to Aguilera's agent, Tracy Brennan, and her publicist, Nicole Perez, weren't returned Tuesday.

Aguilera recently split from music marketer Jordan Bratman, the father of her 3-year-old son. She filed for divorce in October, and their split becomes official April 15.

Aguilera lost her footing and briefly went down at the Feb. 13 Grammy Awards during a tribute medley to singer Aretha Franklin. She also made headlines by botching a line while singing the national anthem at the Feb. 6 Super Bowl.

미국에선 사람들 앞에서 너무 취한 모습을 보이면 죄가 된다.

미국의 팝스타 크리스티나 아길레라가 경범죄인 ‘공공 만취’ 혐의로 체포됐다.

AP 등 외신에 따르면 크리스티나 아길레라는 지난 1일 LA 선셋대로의 한 나이트클럽 근처에서 술에 만취해 몸을 가눌 수 없는 상태로 체포됐다. 외신이 인용한 경찰의 전언에 따르면 아길레라가 이날 오전 2시 45분쯤 남자친구인 매튜 루틀러와 함께 차를 타고 있다가 루틀러가 음주 운전 혐의로 체포되는 바람에 같이 연행됐다가 망신을 사게 됐다.

경찰에 따르면 크리스티나 아길레라와 루틀러를 태운 머스탱이 고무 타는 냄새를 심하게 내며 달렸고, 좌우로 요동을 치는 바람에 경찰차에 의해 운행이 제지됐다. 이어 루틀러는 음주운전 혐의로 체포됐고, 몸을 가눌 수 없었던 크리스티나 아길레라는 경찰서로 인계돼 각종 조사를 받은 뒤 250달러의 보석금을 내고 오전 7시가 넘어 훈방됐다.

아길레라는 1999년 그래미상 신인상을 받은 뒤 2001년 최우수 협업상, 2003년과 2006년 최우수 여성 팝 보컬상을 받는 등 최고의 팝스타로 떠올랐으나 최근 잇따라 구설수와 악재를 겪고 있다. 지난달 미국 프로풋볼 챔피언 결정전인 수퍼볼에서 국가를 불렀으나 가사를 제대로 전하지 못해 비난을 받았으며 음악 마케터인 남편 조나단 브랫먼과는 파경을 맞아 오는 4월 15일 이혼 절차를 마무리하게 된다.

(헤럴드 경제) 

Christina Aguilera (AP)