Louis Tomlinson Arrest: 1D Star’s Shaky History With The Paparazzi And The Law

The arrest of singer Louis Tomlinson at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) last week is just the latest chapter in a longstanding battle between the One Direction alum, the paparazzi and occasionally, law enforcement.

Several publications, including the Inquisitr, reported that the 25-year-old “Just Hold On” vocalist was making his way to the baggage claim area inside of the transportation hub on Friday evening, March 3, when an alleged skirmish with an aggressive shutterbug led to him being seized and booked on minor battery charges.

Tomlinson’s girlfriend, Eleanor Calder, who was traveling with the star from Charlotte, North Carolina, was also rumored to have been involved in a separate melee with fans who told the Sun that they had simply been trying to catch a glimpse of the singer at the worst possible time.

A spokesperson for Tomlinson confirmed with the Daily Mail that his client had been released on his own recognizance sometime on Saturday.

“The paparazzi provoked and caused the altercation that occurred with Louis,” the rep further explained of Tomlinson’s arrest, as TMZ adds,” [and] it’s not the first time that a paparazzi has created an altercation with a celebrity.”

Incidentally, Friday evening was not the only time that Tomlinson, who rose to prominence as one-fifth of the Brit-Irish music sensation One Direction, has reacted strongly to the actions of a lying-in-wait paparazzo or two.

In May of 2016, during a private Mexican getaway with then-girlfriend Danielle Campbell, several hidden cameramen were able to snap shots of a topless Campbell as Louis helped to remove her bikini top to properly sunbathe. Once the pictures began to circulate online, Tomlinson was notified by unnamed parties and took to Twitter to vent his understandable frustration.

“The privacy laws are f**ked up,” he went on to post, as Seventeen noted.

Just two months later, Tomlinson would personally request for all paparazzi to tone down their hounding of his first-born son, one-year-old Freddie Reign, after he relayed that their invasive snaps got in the way of the child living a normal life and also burdened his attempt to make a strong court case against baby Freddie’s mother, hairdresser Briana Jungwirth, for joint custody.

Meet my little lad, Freddie ? pic.twitter.com/nec7OqwuQR

— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) January 28, 2016

“Tomlinson’s rep says that the levels of paparazzi attention on Freddie pose security issues,” People explained, “and are intolerable and completely unjustifiable.”

“[He] appreciates, respects and values his relationship with the media,” the statement continued, “and we hope he and his son are afforded the same respect on this matter.”

Two years previous to that in May 2014, a leaked Daily Mail video of Tomlinson smoking marijuana with former One Direction band mate Zayn Malik would once again lead Louis back to the headline for negative reasons, albeit without any arrests being made or an association to a qualified photographer.

While being driven away from the Peru stop of the ex-quintet’s Where We Are tour, Louis and Zayn were filmed by a crew member sharing and puffing away on a joint as the two waxed poetically about the joys of being high.

“So here we are, leaving Peru,” Tomlinson is heard saying in the video.

“Joint lit. Happy days!”

“Later in the video, Louis pans to a police motorcyclist just yards away,” the Daily Mail post continues.

“Louis giggles, ‘One nil, b***h! Look at this b***h! He’s having a look. He’s thinking, ‘I’m sure I can smell an illegal substance in there.’ And he’s hit the nail on the head.”

Law officials in Peru never charged Malik or Tomlinson with a crime, but the Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration did issue a citation to the singers, demanding that they pay $5,000 before performing in the country later that year.

“The condition is intended to protect the public interest should the band members commit any violation during their stay in the Philippines,” bureau spokesman Elaine Tan expressed about the fine to the Telegraph,transcribed as a separate People report.

The matter was ultimately settled, and the show went on without any further incident. To date, Louis Tomlinson has not commented on the weed scandal or his most recent arrest.

[Featured Image by Vivien Killilea/Stringer/Getty Images]