Britney Spears formally charged with DUI in March traffic stop

Britney Spears was charged Thursday with driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol — a misdemeanor — stemming from a March arrest in which California highway officers pulled her over for erratic driving, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said.

The criminal complaint did not identify the specific substance prosecutors say Ms. Spears had taken, and a spokesman for the district attorney’s office declined to provide details.

Ms. Spears is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Ventura County Superior Court. According to a news release from prosecutors, she is not required to appear in person because the charge is a misdemeanor. A representative for the pop star did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Officers with the California Highway Patrol arrested Ms. Spears on the evening of March 4 after a BMW was reported driving erratically at high speed on the southbound 101 Freeway in Ventura County. She was pulled over, showed signs of impairment and underwent field sobriety tests before being taken into custody, according to CHP spokesman Officer Ryan Ayers. Ms. Spears was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

At the time of her arrest, a representative called the incident “an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable,” adding that “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.”

About a month after the arrest, her representative confirmed she had voluntarily checked herself into a treatment facility. No further details about the type of program were disclosed.

Prosecutors said Ms. Spears will have the opportunity to reach a plea deal that could allow her to avoid jail time. In cases involving a low blood alcohol level and no crash or injury, defendants often reach such a resolution — particularly when they have also voluntarily entered a drug and alcohol treatment program — which would typically involve probation, a DUI class and a fine.

Ms. Spears, 44, rose to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s as one of the world’s best-selling pop acts, with era-defining hits including “…Baby One More Time,” “Oops!… I Did It Again” and “Toxic.” She has long been a subject of tabloid scrutiny, and her personal struggles played out publicly for decades.

In 2008, she was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship that gave her father, Jamie Spears, control over her finances and personal life for 13 years. The arrangement was terminated in November 2021 after Ms. Spears delivered an impassioned address to a judge describing years of alleged coercion and involuntary treatment.

In her 2023 memoir, “The Woman in Me,” Ms. Spears disputed having a persistent substance abuse problem, writing that her drinking had never been out of control and that her drug of choice had been Adderall, prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.