'Straight Outta Compton' Actor Jason Mitchell Arrested
Actor Jason Mitchell is facing legal trouble after being arrested on April 22, 2020, according to TMZ. Mitchell, who played Eazy-E in Straight Outta Compton, was arrested in Mississippi and was booked into Harrison County Jail. The actor faces four felony charges, per TMZ.
Two of the felony charges are "for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute," and TMZ reported that police supposedly found "two pounds of marijuana and 1,300 doses of MDMA" in Mitchell's GMC Yukon "during a traffic stop." The substances were packaged "in a manner consistent with a mid-level distribution operation," police allege.
The remaining felony charges are "for possession of a weapon by a felon." The actor was reportedly found with a "Glock 19 pistol and a mini Draco AK47 semi-automatic pistol."
This isn't the first time Mitchell has made headlines, as he dealt with multiple controversies in 2019.
Jason Mitchell's representative speaks out
After being booked in jail, the actor was released that same evening on a $150,000 bond, per Page Six.
On April 23, 2020, Mitchell's rep addressed the arrest, telling TMZ, "Jason is at home with his family right now, working on an amazing new project. News stories move fast and oftentimes without all of the facts. This misunderstanding will be resolved shortly. We trust that the court systems blind justice will protect Jason's rights and allow him to tell his story."
The rep added, "During the Pandemic it's best we focus on the importance of our Nation growing back to our full capacity." However, the rep did not add any particular details on the arrest.
Unfortunately, this is not Mitchell's first time being in the spotlight for controversial reasons. In 2019, the actor was dropped by his agency and dismissed from certain work projects due to allegations of misconduct, Deadline reported.
So what happened?
Jason Mitchell was accused of sexual harassment
Jason Mitchell got his breakout role in 2015, when he played the rapper Eazy-E in the biopic Straight Outta Compton, according to USA Today. Mitchell went on to play Brandon Johnson in The Chi, a TV drama about "Chicago South Side neighbors" created by actor Lena Waithe.
Then in 2018, Mitchell's The Chi co-star, Tiffany Boone, left the series after making sexual harassment allegations against him, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Although Boone claims her concerns were ignored, Waithe said during an appearance on The Breakfast Club that she handled Mitchell directly. "There was definitely a conversation where I called him and got really real," she said. "'You need to be respectful of any woman on set. You need to be respectful of everybody."
After establishing himself as a key character in The Chi, Mitchell was cast in the Netflix movie, Desperados. While he was down in Mexico to work on the Netflix production, Mitchell was dropped from the movie in May 2019 when a colleague claimed he was sexually inappropriate toward her in an incident that took place off-set, according to Deadline.
Netflix was the first to drop the actor, but shortly after they let him go, Showtime's The Chi followed suit. Not only that, but Mitchell was dropped by United Talent Agency, per Deadline.
Jason Mitchell shares his side of the story
After allegations of misconduct, actor Jason Mitchell appeared on The Breakfast Club in November 2019 to address the claims against him. The actor said he felt like he didn't get a fair chance to defend himself before getting dropped by Netflix.
Mitchell claims that the incident in question occurred during a night out in Mexico, the filming location for Desperados. The actor alleges that when a female coworker got drunk, he decided to assist her home, a gesture he claims was misinterpreted. "Being the person that I am, I felt responsible to make sure she got home," he claimed. "Because they're already telling us, like, 'Don't take the Ubers, don't trust these people, don't jump in a cab, don't do any of that.' We're in Mexico City and we're in a foreign land and we should stick together."
Mitchell added, "This isn't where I leave her. So I make sure she got home and the next day, it kind of all slapped me in the face ... I made sure she got home but other than that, nothing really happened."
The next day, rehearsal was canceled and Mitchell was called in to share his side of the story. When production decided to send him home, Mitchell claimed it was never clearly stated what he was being accused of, and he noted that he was paid in full for his work.
Circling back to Mitchell's arrest in April 2020, fans will just have to wait and see how this case plays out.