T.I. arrested in Amsterdam for being on his phone while cycling

T.I. says he is “locked up” in Amsterdam after being arrested for being on his phone while cycling.

In a lengthy Instagram video, the rapper detailed how he was texting while cycling around the Dutch city, before crashing into a policeman and breaking his side mirror.

“So I’m locked up now,” T.I. said in an Instagram Live video, viewable on TMZ. “I’m obviously not supposed to have my phone as I’m biking and because the policeman ran into me and broke his side mirror…and I didn’t have my passport on me. I don’t know. It’ll be fine.

“He was extremely upset. I, myself, was out having a great time. I’m still not upset. They arrested me and didn’t even put me in handcuffs. They just opened the door and invited me to the backseat. I obliged.”

He added: “Let me see how I can make my bond real quick ’cause they don’t take cash. I got cash in my pocket, but they don’t seem to take this. I ain’t no handcuffs put on me yet. They ain’t search me yet. We working on the buddy system out here and I like it.”

T.I.
T.I. attends International Trap Night With Nasty C & T.I. at Trap Music Museum on May 3, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia (Picture: Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

The rapper went on to detail how he didn’t realise he was being stopped by the police, as he didn’t recognise the van the policeman was driving, and they were beckoning him to stop for questioning in a different language.

“He was in a white van,” he said. “I didn’t know he was police. He looked like a furniture delivery … I didn’t know he was. So then he pulled and I kept going, kept pushing like he wasn’t talking to me because I didn’t know what he was saying.

“Then he on the side and he said, ‘Stop!’ I understood that. Then I could see it said police in a different language, so I was like, ‘OK, this must be the police.’ I pulled over. I stopped, I slowed down at least and I guess I didn’t stop fast enough for him, so he pulled up and tried to cut me off.”

He then revealed that, when stopping for the police, the van pushed against his bike handlebars and broke off its rearview mirror, leading to his arrest.

Elsewhere, T.I. has used Lil Nas X to make a bizarre defence of DaBaby, who has come under fire for a homophobic rant he delivered during a performance at Miami’s Rolling Loud Festival.

In a video posted on social media, T.I. equated DaBaby’s comments during his set with Lil Nas X‘s openness about his sexuality in his music.

“For instance, the Lil Nas X shit. The performances and video, man I got a lot of respect for bruh because he had the courage to live his truth, but that shit ain’t for me… Just can’t look at it… And I don’t want my children seeing it, either,” he said.