With celebrities, it’s no surprise that a lot of them have been arrested for DUIs. DUIs are pretty common among people who are rich and famous, as they have easy access to alcohol, more party time than the average person, and can also afford to pay for their legal fees if they’re caught driving drunk.
However, some celebrities with DUI charges get away with it more easily than others do. Celebrities like Randy Travis, Matthew Broderick, Chris Pine, Nick Carter, Caitlyn Jenner, John Stamos, and so many more have gotten into legal trouble concerning DUIs, but here are our top 10 celebrity DUI arrests.
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. is a talented actor and producer who has been nominated for an Oscar and won three Golden Globes.
In 1996 Downey was arrested in Los Angeles county for driving under the influence of drugs after crashing into another car while allegedly high on cocaine. He was charged with marijuana possession, along with cocaine and heroin. He continued to fight a long, hard battle with substance abuse, going in and out of the courts to the point where the Judge stopped feeling sorry for him, accused him of abusing the system and sentenced him to three years in prison.
Downey eventually realized he needed to make a change, and so he did. He cleaned himself up, and climbed the ladder once again to achieve super stardom and success.
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson was arrested in 2006 for driving under the influence. He was stopped by police after he was seen driving erratically, weaving across lanes, and failing to maintain his lane.
When authorities pulled him over, Gibson started on a drunken, anti-semitic rant, yelling that now notorious line, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.” He called it an “unfortunate incident” when an “unscrupulous police officer” decided to illegally take videos of the incident and make matters worse for the actor, who was having a nervous breakdown at the time.
He allegedly failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a breathalyzer test after being taken into custody. He was charged with DUI and resisting arrest.
In his first public statement on the matter, Gibson apologized for driving after drinking and stated that he was “ashamed” of his actions. He was sentenced to 3 years probation and ordered to attend alcohol counseling. Since this wake-up call, Mel Gibson has made a dramatic turn-around in his career.
Gavel with drunk driving desk sign
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes has a long and storied history with the law, so it’s no surprise that her name appears on this list. 2012 was a busy year for her. Bynes found herself with a DUI arrest after crashing into an SUV in Los Angeles. She was driving a BMW at the time of her arrest and had a blood alcohol level of .08—the legal limit in California. Earlier that same year, though, she was also the culprit of a misdemeanor hit and run in Santa Monica in West Hollywood, when she actually hit a police cruiser and drove off, resisting arrest.
Los Angeles County Court ordered Bynes to not be behind the wheel without a valid license, but just a few weeks later, she was seen driving around again. Her car was impounded shortly after that.
Her charges include driving under the influence (DUI), reckless driving, and driving on a suspended license.
Bynes’ legal troubles have continued through 2013, for allegedly throwing a bong out of her apartment window and many more that followed throughout the years.
Justin Bieber
In January of 2014, Miami Beach police pulled Justin Bieber over in his yellow Lamborghini Spyder. The pop star was arrested after failing a sobriety test, and was charged in Miami Beach with DUI, resisting arrest, and driving without a valid license. He initially pled guilty to the charges and later changed his plea. He was sentenced to community service and probation after being found guilty of DUI by a Miami-Dade County judge.
Justin Bieber took his Miami Beach legal troubles back to the West Coast where he eventually spent three months in jail after he was found violating probation by drinking alcohol at a club in Calabasas (a star-studded city in Los Angeles county).
Paris Hilton
Not all celebrities who are pulled over are actually charged. Paris Hilton is one example of someone who was actually charged with a DUI after being arrested by police officers in 2006. She was driving on the highway in Los Angeles when she was riding her Mercedes-Benz at 70 mph in a 40 mph zone and was immediately pulled over by police officers because they knew she had been drinking earlier that evening at a club called The Viper Room bar. After failing three field sobriety tests, Hilton was arrested and charged with DUI. She ended up spending 45 days in jail after she pled guilty to drunk driving charges.
What is crazy about this DUI is that Paris Hilton blamed it on In-N-Out Burger, claiming that she was hungry and craved their burgers after she had been drinking alcohol on an empty stomach. She was on her way over there when police officers pulled her over.
Hilton was sentenced to three years probation and attendance of a mandatory alcohol education class. In 2007, she violated her probation when she was found driving with a suspended license. After just three days of serving a 45 day jail sentence, she was permitted to serve out her time under house arrest. However, this permission was revoked just a day later and she served the rest of her time in custody.
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan has been arrested many times for driving under the influence. The first time was in 2007 when she was 21, chasing her personal assistant’s mother down the road with her white SUV in Beverly Hills. She was arrested just down the road in Santa Monica and charged with possession of cocaine, DUI, transporting narcotics into a custody facility, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, speeding, and other traffic violations.
The second time was in 2010 when she was 24 years old and it happened again later that year after a car accident involving alcohol-related charges.
The third time was in 2014 when she was 28 years old and arrested on suspicion of DUI while driving her Porsche on Pacific Coast Highway with nearly twice the legal limit of alcohol in her system, according to police reports.
There were more arrests for Lindsay Lohan that included DUI and drug possession, but let’s move on…
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson, was arrested for driving under the influence in 2009 when he crashed his Bentley into a tree and then fled the scene. The former boxer and heavyweight champion was also arrested for DUI and cocaine possession in 2007 in Arizona when he was spotted driving erratically and nearly collided with a police car.
Tyson has a long history of DUIs and drug possession: In 2004, he was arrested for DUI; in 2001, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence after driving erratically with his BMW and crashing into two cars on New Jersey highway; and in 1999, he pleaded guilty to another charge of driving while intoxicated.
Tyson was also arrested for driving under the influence in 1992 after police found him asleep at the wheel of his car, according to the police report. Many people think this is a sign that Tyson suffers from alcoholism, but he maintains that drinking isn’t an issue for him.
Nicole Richie
Nicole Richie was arrested for DUI in 2006. She was driving a Mercedes-Benz CLK when she was stopped and had a blood alcohol level of .14. She pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors—driving under the influence and driving with an open container of alcohol in her car. She received three years probation and a $1,500 fine.
According to the police report, Richie was pulled over after an officer spotted her driving the wrong way down a street in Burbank, California. After being stopped, she was given a field sobriety test, which she failed. She then gave another breath sample at the police station which showed that her blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.
Aaron Carter
Singers Aaron Carter, and his brother Nick Carter, both made headlines with DUIs. Aaron Carter was arrested on three separate occasions for driving under the influence. His first arrest came in 2012 in Florida, while his second arrest happened in Georgia that same year. The third time around, he was charged with DUI in Georgia again in 2014.
His most recent brush with the law came when police pulled him over in Florida for speeding and failing to maintain his lane in 2016. The officer smelled alcohol on Carter’s breath and had him perform various field sobriety tests before placing him under arrest for DUI charges once again.
Although Carter was never convicted on any of his arrests, he has had a DUI charge pending against him in Georgia since at least 2013. The judge hearing the case has been willing to give the singer and actor time to pay his fine and complete alcohol treatment programs before moving forward with sentencing.
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods was arrested for DUI in May of 2017 when the arresting officer found him asleep inside his running car. The crazy thing about this celebrity one is that according to the toxicology report, Woods had 5 drugs in his system: painkillers, sleep drugs and THC, which is an ingredient found in marijuana. He states that he was trying to treat his back pain from an injury that forced him to quit the 2015 competitions, and also to cope with insomnia. He realizes that attempting to treat these things without medical assistance was not a good decision and that a doctor should have been advising him, especially when it comes to mixing medications.
The two DUIs were an unusual case, but not without precedent: Tiger Woods actually has a history of driving under the influence (DUI). In May of 2018, he was arrested for DUI a third time!
He continued his bad behavior by getting arrested again in 2019 and 2020.
Celebrity DUI arrests are very common
You may have the misconception that celebrities are somehow above the law, or that they are less likely to be arrested for drunken driving. In fact, celebrity arrests for drunken driving are quite common.
Celebrities often get in trouble with the law because of their popularity and fame, but this also means that when celebrities get a DUI charge, it makes headlines and that can have a huge impact on their image. As a celebrity, image is everything and one mistake can cost them their livelihood.
The most common celebrity DUI arrests are those involving celebrities who have been charged with drunk driving after being pulled over by police for different reason. A celebrity may be pulled over for a traffic violation, or a police officer may suspect that they are under the influence of alcohol. The arresting officer then tests their blood alcohol content before charging them with DUI.
Conclusion
Countless celebrities have been arrested for drunk driving, just like “normal” people do. In fact, there are hundreds of celebrities who have been arrested and served jail time for a DUI and many others who have had their license suspended due to their actions while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It is important that we learn from these mistakes so that they do not happen again. We should also take note that some people recover from addiction while others do not; however, they all need support from family and friends during this difficult time in order to stay sober.