The Weeknd Manages To Get Charges Dropped After Punching A Police Officer

Reports indicate that Canadian R&B singer The Weeknd pleaded no contest in court last week to a battery charge that came from a disturbance at a Las Vegas hotel earlier this year.

On this past Wednesday, October 21, the Weekend stood before the Las Vegas judge to address the allegations against him in court.

People Magazine reports that the battery charge comes from an altercation that took place at the Cromwell Hotel in Las Vegas on January 10 of this year. The fight involved multiple men, including the 25-year-old “Can’t Feel My Face” singer, and took place in the early morning hours. The Weeknd allegedly punched a police officer who was attempting to break up the fight between the men.

The officer was not seriously injured when The Weeknd punched him, but the singer had to face a single battery charge because of the incident.

Judge Conrad Hafen has decided to dismiss the charge against The Weekend under a few conditions. First, the singer is required to avoid any other conflicts while he completes 50 hours of community service. The Weekend must also donate $1,000 to the Las Vegas Injured Police Officers fund, according to CBS News. In addition to these conditions, Judge Hafen also ordered The Weeknd to attend impulse control counseling and alcohol evaluation.

Shane Emerick, the defense attorney for The Weeknd, refused to comment on the case on Monday, October 26.

The dropped charges happened the same day an interview with The Weeknd in Rolling Stone was published.

In the interview, the rising star talked about everything from his music to an awkward encounter with Taylor Swift.

The Weeknd also talked about a time early in his career when all he did was party. The court ordered alcohol evaluation comes as no surprise after hearing about this time in the singer’s past.

“I never needed detox or anything. But I was addicted in the sense of ‘F–k, I don’t want to spend this day without getting high.'”

The Weeknd spoke a little about his song with Ariana Grande, “Love Me Harder”, and how it led him to put out the hits that have made “The Weeknd” a well-known name. If he hadn’t done “Love Me Harder”, he might not have worked with the producer of that song, Max Martin, who has helped him with the hits that have given The Weeknd his recognition.

When the 50 Shades of Gray song “Earned It” made it to the number four spot is when Weeknd really became an artist that everyone was beginning to recognize. The singer said that, right after that hit, he began to work on some songs with Martin.

“Can’t Feel My Face” was a result of the Weeknd and Martin’s work together. The “The Hills” singer talked about working with the Swedish producer and said that he felt honored that the producer was working so closely with him.

“His whole operation is just genius. I was told he doesn’t do this very much, but he would actually sit on the floor with us and come up with ideas. I feel like usually he’ll collaborate, but he’s not as passionate or as hands-on. I felt superhonored, you know? It was some real Michael-and-Quincy, John Lennon-and-Paul McCartney stuff.”

The Weeknd said that the most important thing to him right now is the songs and the music. The singer says that if a song can’t be stripped down, it isn’t really music at all.

“It’s all about songs for me right now. The production can be cool and crazy-sounding, but that’s just special effects. If you can’t strip it down and play it on piano, it’s not a good song.”

If his newest album Beauty Behind the Madness is any indication, the singer will continue to put out good music. Hopefully though, Weeknd will stay out of trouble with the law from now on.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]