Louis Tomlinson was arrested in Los Angeles last night for attacking a paparazzo. The paparazzi were allegedly provoking he and his girlfriend while they were trying to get their luggage when Tomlinson lost it.
Don't worry, One Direction fans, YOU CAN STOP PANICKING RIGHT NOW. LOUIS IS FINE. He just, like, had to spend a little time in jail last night.
And by a "little time," I mean 54 minutes. HE'S FINE. Go home and do something else.
TMZ reports Tomlinson pulled the photographer's legs out from under him, resulting in the man falling back and hitting his head on the floor. In a statement to TMZ, Tomlinson's team said,
The paparazzi provoked and caused the altercation that occurred with Louis. It's not the first time that a paparazzi has created an altercation with a celebrity. While the altercation was going on with the paparazzi, three other individuals were attacking his girlfriend during this incident and he came to her defense.
Ah, the protective boyfriend angle. I don't know about you guys, but literally pulling a guy's legs out from underneath him seems pretty aggressive and uncalled for in, like, most situations.
Sounds like Louis kind of lost his shit and attacked a dude. But that's just me.
It looks like the arrest happened around 11:30 pm, and he was booked around 12:30 am and then released around 1:30 am. There are no mugshots because Los Angeles apparently doesn't release those to the public anymore. LAME.
But there IS a screenshot of the arrest record floating around Tumblr.
Thank you, One Direction Tumblr universe. You are an extremely dangerous rabbit hole I never want to dive down, but you were useful today.
The arrest report says Tomlinson's bail was set at $20,000, but according to Daily Mail, his spokesman said he was released without having to pay it.
But that's kind of par for the course for misdemeanors. You pay a fraction of the bail, then the rest is held against you in order to make sure you show up for your court date. Tomlinson's is set for March 29.
Now obviously, One Directions fans didn't listen to me when I told them to calm down, since #WeSupportLouis is now the top worldwide trend on Twitter.
Fans are pissed he was arrested for defending himself and his girlfriend. But, like, let's not forget he attacked a man.
But you're right! Louis is a victim! He did nothing wrong!
"THE MEDIA IS THE ENEMY!" Who said it, a One Direction fan or the President of the United States?
Uh... one of these things is definitely worse than the other.
OK, this one's funny.
To be fair, Louis Tomlinson has probably been having a pretty tough time since he lost his mother to cancer in December of 2016.
While I have sympathy for the loss of his mother, I can't justify him pulling the legs out from underneath a man, even if the man was provoking him.
I get it, paps are insane and awful. But attacking someone is never OK. Tomlinson should have kept his shit together. Sorry. I just don't feel bad for this kid.
So, Louis, next time you think about attacking a man, you probably just shouldn't.
