Left: Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish performs at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP). Right: Darius Rucker arrested in Williamson County on drug charges (booking photo from Williamson County Sheriff’s Office via WSMV).
Hootie and the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker is out on bail after an arrest in Tennessee Thursday on drug charges.
Rucker, 57, was booked into the Williamson County jail on two counts of simple possession and casual exchange of a controlled substance, and one count of violation of registration, Nashville NBC affiliate WSMV reported. He was released on $10,500 bond shortly thereafter.
Rucker, a 90s rock music icon for rock hits “Hold My Hand” and “Let Her Cry,” reinvented himself as a country music singer in the 2000s. His cover of Bob Dylan‘s “Wagon Wheel” rose to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 2013. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 2023.
Under Tennessee state law, it is a class A misdemeanor to knowingly possess or casually exchange a controlled substance. If convicted, Rucker faces jail time of up to 11 months and 29 days, and a fine up to $2,500, or both.
Model and comedian Kate Quigley, who once dated Rucker, posted about the singer’s arrest on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.
“Yes. I’ve heard. All I can say is Karma,” wrote Quigley.
Shortly thereafter, she posted again, this time with a tongue-out bikini selfie, writing, “Mood when u hear your d-bag ex got arrested. #Karma.”
In 2021, Rucker told media that Quigley was “doing great” after an accidental group overdose that killed three other people. Quigly allegedly used cocaine laced with fentanyl a neighbor’s party with fellow comedians Fuquan Johnson, Enrico Colangeli and another friend, Natalie Williamson. Johnson, Colangeli, and Williamson died from the overdose.
Multiple news outlets have reported that Rucker’s attorney, Mark Puryear, has said his client is fully cooperating with authorities.
