Joe Budden was arrested in Edgewater, New Jersey after allegedly being recorded on a doorbell camera trying to enter a neighbor’s apartment “completely naked.”
The incident happened on Dec. 4, but made headlines this week when X (formerly Twitter) user @TheeOctoberFirm posted a copy of Budden’s booking sheet on Sunday, Dec. 29.
The now-viral booking report said Joseph A. Budden, Jr. was charged with lewdness, related to sexual misconduct or indecency in public.
Budden, 44, is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 16, 2025.
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Breaking News: @JoeBudden has a court date on Jan 16th for disorderly lewdness, a charge related to sexual misconduct or indecency in public. He previously claimed the JBP had to relocate for recording in a residential building, but there seems to be more to the story. Stay tuned pic.twitter.com/jsvcOcDcrS
— ? (@theeoctoberfirm) December 29, 2024
Edgewater Police Chief Donald A. Martin later released a press release to the media, saying officers were dispatched to an apartment building at 7:21 a.m. on Dec. 4.
The release said a 911 call came in after a resident reported seeing a man — later identified as Budden — through a doorbell camera “standing outside of their apartment door completely naked.”
The video “depicted Budden attempting to enter a code into the door keypad several times before reentering his own residence across the hall,” according to police.
Budden’s attorney, Nima Ameri, issued a statement to TMZ criticizing the police department’s handling of the case.
“Mr. Budden is saddened by Police Chief Martin’s press release,” said Ameri. “The allegations against Mr. Budden are a minor charge, not even resulting in an arrest. 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 is a former rapper and currently hosts “The Joe Budden Podcast.” He frequently makes headlines for criticizing other celebrities.
