Louis Tomlinson Was Reportedly Arrested At LAX

There was an unexpected scuffle at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday night, allegedly involving One Direction's own Louis Tomlinson. According to People, Tomlinson has reportedly been arrested for an alleged altercation with a photographer, and the exact reasons behind the incident remain unknown. (A rep for Tomlinson could not be reached by Bustle at the time of publication.)

MTV News reported that Tomlinson and his girlfriend, Eleanor Calder, were allegedly provoked by a photographer. These provocations reportedly led Tomlinson to physically engage with the photographer and both men fell to the ground. According to BBC, Tomlinson was allegedly placed under citizen's arrest and it may have been by someone already on the scene.

Buzzfeed News shared Tomlinson's statement about the incident, as given by his lawyer, Martin Singer:

"The paparazzi provoked and caused the altercation that occurred with Louis at the airport this morning. This is not the first or last time that a paparazzi has created an altercation with a celebrity. While the altercation was going on with the paparazzi, three other individuals were attacking his girlfriend during this incident and he came to her defense."

According to the LAPD via People, Tomlinson and Calder were in the baggage claim area at LAX when they were swarmed by paparazzi late Friday night. It is not known what was said to either Tomlinson or Calder, only that the words exchanged may spurred the incident.

There are, luckily, no reports that state Tomlinson's young son, Freddie, was with him and Calder at the time. According to BBC News, Tomlinson is reportedly being held on $20,000 bail in Los Angeles. BBC News also reported that Tomlinson and Calder were returning to Los Angeles from a vacation in Las Vegas.

If, as Tomlinson's statement says, the singer was provoked by a photographer, it would not be the first time an incident of this nature has happened. For example, there was a recent reported incident between John Legend and a photographer in January. Legend's wife, Chrissy Teigen, took to Twitter and claimed that a photographer had used a racial slur toward Legend in an attempt to get his attention and possibly provoke him.

Incidents of this nature are always difficult to absorb. I hope that Tomlinson and Calder are able to come away from the situation relatively unharmed.