Joe Budden has been charged with lewdness in New Jersey for walking around nude in his apartment building and the podcaster’s attorney is firing back at the police department.
Joe Budden Incident Goes Viral
On Monday (Dec. 30), the Edgewater Police Department put out a press release revealing Joe was charged on a complaint summons on Dec. 4. According to police, they were called to the complex because a resident complained that the former rapper was standing in a hallway naked and had attempted to enter a code on their keypad before returning to his own residence. Joe was not arrested.
Edgewater Police Department Chief of Police Donald A. Martin released a statement detailing the Dec. 4 incident.
“On December 4 at approximately 07:21am, The Edgewater Police were dispatched to an apartment complex for the report from a resident that a man was standing outside of their apartment door completely naked. The caller recognized the man as a neighbor, JOSEPH BUDDEN JR, a 44-year-old male. The caller was alerted to BUDDEN by their doorbell camera. The video depicted BUDDEN attempting to enter a code into the door keypad several times before reentering his own residence across the hall.
As a result of Police investigation, BUDDEN was charged with Lewdness, 2C:14-4a (disorderly persons offense) on a complaint summons.
Chief Martin states that these charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Joe and Attorney Address Strange Incident
Joe Budden addressed the news via social media on Tuesday (Dec. 31).
“Y’all so dramatic,” he wrote on X in the tweet below.
He also addressed the headlines on the latest episode of his The Joe Budden Podcast.
“I just sleptwalked somewhere I shouldn’t have sleptwalked,” he said in the video below, downplaying the incident. “You know how I sleep. Butt-a*s [naked]. Nice naked-a*s, good naked sleepwalk. I just did it again.”
Joe’s attorney, Nima Ameri, is calling out the EPD for publicizing the situation. They put out a press release on Tuesday calling the police press release “inflammatory and slanderous” and also noted Joe’s “well-documented medical condition known as sleepwalking.”
“Had Mr. Budden not been a prominent Black voice for his community, we do not believe such a press release would have been issued over these mediocre allegations,” Joe’s attorney wrote below.
Joe’s attorney also says he’s filed multiple cross-complaints about the police’s handling of the incident.
Check out Joe Budden reacting to news of him being charged with lewdness below.
