Darius Rucker, the “Hootie and the Blowfish” singer and country music singer behind hits like his rendition of “Wagon Wheel” and “Alright,” was arrested in Tennessee on drug charges. He was booked and released on Thursday, February 2nd, by the Williamson County, Tennessee, sheriff’s office.
According to the sheriff’s office and local media, he is accused of simple possession, casual exchange, and violation of registration law. He was then released on the same day after posting a $10,500 bond with the office over the drug-related offenses. Mark Puryear, Ricker’s spokesperson, said, “Darius Rucker is actively collaborating with law enforcement in connection to misdemeanor allegations.”
TMZ, reporting on the situation, added that after being arrested, the country singer “was brought into the jail around 10 AM PT, and he was released about an hour or so later — we’ve confirmed Darius bonded out and is no longer in custody.” It added that an expired vehicle registration tag appears to have precipitated the incident, leading to the drug discovery, but that is not currently confirmed.
After news of Rucker’s arrest broke, Rucker’s ex, Kate Quigley, took to Twitter (now X) to roast him as his mugshot spread around the internet. In her first post on the matter, Quigley said, “Yes. I’ve heard. All I can say is Karma.” Then, in a second post, she posted a selfie of herself in a bikini and captioned it, “Mood when u hear your d-bag ex got arrested. #Karma.”
People on X had mixed reactions to the news. One commenter on a viral post about the arrest argued that a law enforcement officer must have had it out for Rucker, writing, “Bro… I toured with Darius… and everyone knew he liked some pot. The entire country music scene knows. Obviously some cop just hated the guy to make this happen.” Mocking that take, another commenter said, ‘“He was a criminal. Everyone knew he was a criminal. And some cop hated him enough to do his job.”’
Another commenter noted the perceived injustice of Rucker having to pay a large bail for a non-violent offense after violent illegal immigrants were let off without bail in New York City after having attacked a police officer, writing, “So Hootie gets arrested and held on bail for simple possession but a mob of migrants beat up cops in MYC [sic] and walk free no bail.” Similarly, another commenter wrote, “Yet the illegal migrants that attacked a cop in New York got zero bond.”
Still others took the opportunity to poke at Hunter Biden. One, for example, said, “If he was Hunter Biden, he wouldn’t have anything to worry about.” Another wrote, “Damn, that sucks. Hope it was pot and not Hunters white cheddar.”
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Featured image credit: Williamson County Sheriff’s Office