Bruce Springsteen, Jeep, and the entire world can sweep the singer’s DUI controversy under the rug. The driving while intoxicated charge has been dropped, and he is now back in the good graces of the Powers That Be at Jeep and parent company Stellantis.
The DUI story was as strange as it was unexpected. This year’s edition of the Super Bowl saw the premiere of a 2-minute film for Jeep, “The Middle,” which placed more emphasis on the need for political centrism and less on actual Jeeps. To be sure, the ad still featured two of them: Springsteen’s own 1980 Jeep CJ-5 as the hero vehicle and a 1965 Willys Jeep CJ-5 as an extra, but the focus was on the need to “reunite” America again.
Just as the debate on Jeep’s sudden decision to make a political stance was picking up speed, two days after the video premiere, word got out that Springsteen had been busted for DUI. Since no car company wants their new spokesperson associated with a DUI, Jeep “paused” the campaign.
The incident was from November of last year when Springsteen went riding his Triumph motorcycle in Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and there were conflicting reports about what happened. One account noted that Springsteen had a BAC of just .02, a quarter of the legal limit, so this wasn’t a DUI. It said he’d been pulled over by a cop who saw him take a swing of tequila from a fan, then mount his bike and be on his way.
The actual police report told a different story. It claimed no breathalyzer was administered and that Springsteen failed sobriety field tests. His condition was described as glassy-eyed, swaying and reeking of alcohol on his breath and person, with the cop noting that a bottle of tequila on Springsteen’s person was “completely empty.”
Springsteen was charged with DUI, reckless driving, and consuming alcohol in a closed area. TMZ reports that he pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor of consuming alcohol in a closed area (the park, in this instance), and prosecutors dropped the other two charges. Court documents show prosecutors stressed that the DUI and reckless driving charge couldn’t stick because the singer’s BAC was a mere .02.
Springsteen has to pay a $500 fine and another $40 in attorney’s fees, and won’t have any spot on his criminal record. As a result, Stellantis has decided to “unpause” the Jeep video and bring it back into rotation.
“As we stated previously, we paused the commercial until the facts were established. Now, that the matter has been resolved, we are unpausing the film,” a Jeep spokesperson tells Fox Auto.
So this is a happy ending, even though no explanation is offered for the conflicting accounts of the DUI stop.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News