Britney Spears, the pop icon whose life has unfolded under a relentless spotlight for more than two decades, was arrested Wednesday night in Ventura County, California, on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to authorities.

The arrest occurred around 9:30 p.m. when officers with the California Highway Patrol took Spears into custody. The singer was later booked into custody early Thursday morning at approximately 3 a.m., according to an arrest record. She has since been released and is scheduled to appear in court on May 4.

The news adds another chapter to the complicated public life of one of the most famous pop stars of the modern era — a performer whose career has been defined by meteoric success, intense scrutiny, and a long fight for personal autonomy.

Spears, now 44, has kept a relatively low public profile in recent years. Since the end of her controversial conservatorship in 2021, the singer has largely stepped away from the spotlight, focusing on personal recovery and sporadic social media posts that often give fans glimpses into her private world.

The conservatorship, which lasted 13 years, controlled many aspects of Spears’ life, including her finances and career decisions. Its termination followed a global “Free Britney” movement that argued the pop star had been unfairly restricted despite continuing to work and perform for years.

Following her legal victory in 2021, Spears celebrated her regained independence but also retreated from the high-pressure cycle of touring and album releases that once defined her career.

Her most recent studio album, Glory, was released in 2016. Her last live performance in the United States came in 2018 when she closed out her “Piece of Me” tour with a performance at the Formula One Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

Plans for a major return to the stage were later shelved. Spears had been scheduled to begin a new Las Vegas residency titled Domination in 2019, but the project was postponed indefinitely, and she has not returned to regular performing since.

Earlier this year, Spears made headlines again when she revealed she had sold her music catalog and certain rights to the company Primary Wave, a deal that reflects a broader trend among veteran artists who have chosen to cash in on the long-term value of their songs.

Around the same time, Spears also posted a deeply personal message to Instagram that suggested she may never perform in the United States again.

“I will never perform in the U.S. again because of extremely sensitive reasons,” she wrote in the now-deleted post.

However, Spears hinted she might still appear on stage internationally, writing that she hoped to one day perform in the United Kingdom and Australia — possibly alongside her son.

In the same post, she shared a throwback photograph of herself seated at a white Yamaha piano and wrote that she planned to send the instrument to her son.

“I dance on IG to heal things in my body that people have no idea about,” Spears wrote. “Yup and it’s embarrassing sometimes… but I walked through the fire to save my life.”