The Weeknd has managed to avoid jail after pleading no contest to an assault charge after punching a police officer in the head.
The 25-year-old, real name Abel Tesfaye, was arrested in January in Las Vegas. Police came to the Cromwell Hotel around 4.20am on 10 January to find Tesfaye involved in a fight. They intervened, pulling Tesfaye into an elevator, where he punched an officer. He was taken to jail, and later bailed, and was charged with battery of a protected person.
TMZ reports that he was ordered to pay $1,000 to a fund for injured police officers, complete an anger management course, undergo alcohol evaluation and perform 50 hours’ community service. The latter will be undertaken at a non-profit group at home in Canada. The case will be dismissed once Tesfaye completes his sentence, assuming he stays out of trouble.
To plead no contest is not the same as pleading guilty, though it has the same effect. The defendant concedes the charges without admitting guilt or offering a defence. It is common in plea bargains.
In an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this week, Tesfaye took credit for the new trend of artists releasing surprise albums, claiming it was inspired by the three mixtapes that made his name, later given a major-label release as Trilogy. “It definitely changed the cultyre,” he said. “A lot of artists started doing things faster and quicker after that: Justin Timberlake dropped two albums in a year; Beyoncé dropped a surprise album.”
