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Joe Budden has been charged after police say he appeared naked in front of his neighbor’s front door.
The Edgewater Police Department announced the single charge of lewdness against the 44-year-old podcaster on Monday, December 30. In a press release, Chief Donald Martin confirmed police were called to an apartment complex in Edgewater, N.J. on the morning of December 4. The caller told responding officers that Budden was butt naked when they saw a video of him in front of their home. According to the doorbell camera footage, Budden tried to enter a code several times before he retreated to his apartment across the hall.
The caller claimed their two juvenile daughters saw the incident play out live in the doorbell’s app on their phones. Police charged Budden with lewdness earlier this month. In a statement to TMZ, Budden’s attorney Nima Ameri, Esq, of Ameri Law Firm, blasted Martin’s press release and called his comments “reckless” and “racially motivated.”
"Mr. Budden is saddened by Police Chief Martin's press release,” Ameri began. “Mr. Budden has been waiting weeks for his cross complaints to be processed which include substantially more serious charges include possible felony charges against the persons behind these charges against him. The Chief has in our opinion sat on those but instead used his time to gain some free publicity for himself. Chief Martin should seek publicity by doing notable policing not inflaming disorderly person allegations."
"The allegations against Mr. Budden are a minor charge, not even resulting in an arrest,” she added. “A charge Mr. Budden is looking forward to beating in court on the merits, not in the press. The Chief's comments are reckless, and in our opinion racially motivated. Our research has not shown a single press release on a disorderly person charge on the police website this year. His choice to single out Mr. Budden in our opinion is self motivated and based off of Mr. Budden’s race and celebrity status."
Joe Budden vaguely discussed the situation in a recent episode of The Joe Budden Podcast. While explaining why he abruptly took time off from the show, Budden told the crew that he “slept walked somewhere I shouldn’t have slept walked.” He also mentioned his past issues with sleepwalking. The rapper-turned-podcaster is due in court next month.
Watch what Joe Budden had to say below.