Mitchel Musso spoke out following his recent public intoxication arrest, referring to the “unfortunate” incident as a “misunderstanding.”
The Hannah Montana alum, 32, was taken into police custody on in Rockwall, Texas, on Saturday, August 26, after he “appeared intoxicated” and allegedly stole a bag of chips from his hotel, a press release from the Rockwall Police Department read. He was charged with public intoxication and released on $1,000 bond.
“I was absolutely not drunk or drinking, and there was 100 percent no theft,” Musso told Entertainment Weekly in a statement released on Wednesday, August 30.
“I didn’t know it was illegal not to wear shirts these days,” Musso added, noting that the hotel employee he encountered was “agitated from the get go” and allegedly grabbed the chips out of his hand. Musso noted that this was what “set him off” ultimately.
“I was the one who was being verbally abused and also harassed,” Musso claimed. “Someone ripping something out of your hand is not the most polite manners to have in this situation.”
He went on to say that there were “20 officers outside surrounding me” at the time of the incident. “I shut my mouth and I just put my hands behind my back because that’s where it was going to begin with, and I let them take me in,” he added.
Musso allegedly had “several” outstanding traffic warrants in his name, according to the press release. According to the former Disney Channel star, that’s why he was arrested.
“I haven’t lived in Rockwall for years and I guess they’d been sending it to my old house there. And it had become a warrant and they used it against me,” he claimed. “So since then, all of those warrants have been paid and the matter has been resolved.”
As for the hotel, EW noted that that they declined to comment on specific moments from the “sensitive” incident. In fact, the hotel manager said that Musso “can say whatever he wants to say” about what went down.
While Musso told EW that he has an “incredible” film in the works, the actor is most known as Oliver Oken on Hannah Montana, a role he played from 2006 to 2011. Following his stint on the Disney Channel series, he was charged with a DUI in 2011. The actor has stayed relatively quiet in the public eye since then, releasing his Ghost mixtape in October 2022.
When it comes to his most recent arrest, Musso seemed unbothered by the repercussions.
“The truth’s gonna come out,” he told EW. “I’ve never stolen anything in my life and did not steal any chips nor was I drunk or drunken or drank or inappropriate to anybody inside that hotel.”
