Singer Akon, 52, arrested as mug shot released
Singer Akon, known for hits such as 'Lonely' and 'Right Now', was arrested in Georgia, USA.
The artist spent hours behind bars after being apprehended for an out-of-county warrant, according to law enforcement officials.
Akon, real name Aliaune Thiam, was taken into custody by the Chamblee Police Department on Friday (7 November).
He was reportedly arrested in DeKalb County, Atlanta, on a warrant issued out of Roswell, New Mexico, though details of the warrant remain unclear.
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Akon was booked around midday on Friday, spending six hours in the county jail before reportedly being released at 6.30pm that evening after being processed.
The 52-year-old from Missouri, US, was pictured in a mug shot wearing a back hoodie while remaining 'expressionless', as DeKalb County Sheriff's Office confirmed the arrest to TMZ.
It isn't the first time Akon has spent time behind bars, having been cuffed back in 1998 after being charged with car theft charges, spending months behind bars before the charges were dropped.
10 years on from this incident, Akon pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and endangering the welfare of a minor, after he threw a 15-year-old fan off the stage in the middle of his performance at Duchess Stadium in New York.
He was fined $350 (£265) and ordered to do 65 hours of community service, with the artist even reportedly meeting the fan outside the courthouse after the hearing to apologise.
While Akon was apprehended on US soil, the arrest comes prior to the Senegalese-American's tour in India, having performed in Delhi on 9 November and is set to perform in Bengaluru on Friday (14 November) before putting on a show for the people of Mumbai on Sunday (16 November).
His next American show is slated for Las Vegas on 3 January 2026, with the star continuing to perform into his 50s.
The artist is responsible for some of the catchier tunes of the 2000s, including some with some rather risqué lyrics, unbeknownst to children of the time.
His song ‘I Wanna Love You’ featuring Snoop Dogg, which has an explicit version titled ‘I Wanna F**k You’, includes lyrics such as: “I see you winding and grinding up on that pole / I know you see me looking at you and you already know / I wanna f**k you.”
Last year, Akon told Metro: “I would never condone anyone to change their past, because their past is where they make who they are, it’s what makes them who they are today.”
“But for the most part, I do love it all, and I feel like the acceptance of what that was, lyrically at that time, was necessary for me to become what I am today,” he said, concluding that he 'never regrets it at all'.
LADbible Group has contacted Akon's reps, DeKalb County Sheriff's Office and Chamblee Police Department for comment.
Joshua Nair