Gretchen Wilson‘s airplane arrest drama is officially behind her, thanks to a charitable donation, and the country singer is looking forward to people no longer discussing her personal biz.
The “Redneck Woman” songstress, 45, returned to Connecticut for the second time in the past few weeks for a court date to resolve her Aug. 21 arrest for creating a disturbance on a flight to Bradley International Airport, which is outside Hartford. The appearance was short and sweet because the Breach of Peace case was settled with the Grammy winner’s making a $500 donation to the criminal injuries compensation, a court charity, reports the local New Britain, Conn., station. The charge will officially be dismissed in 13 months, as long as she stays out of trouble in that jurisdiction. Should be easy — she lives far from there, in Lebanon, Tenn., and was in the Nutmeg State only to perform a private concert at Mohegan Sun casino.
Wilson, whose mug shot went viral because her eyes were completely closed, was a good sport, stopping to speak with reporters outside the court in Enfield, Conn., but, in trademark fashion, she didn’t pull any punches with what she had to say.
“This has been incredibly, um, trying for me in many ways,” said Wilson, who was wearing a black suit for her date with justice. “Coming to Connecticut for the second time was much better than coming for the first time.”
She continued, “I’m a person — just like everybody else — and we’ve all had bad days. It’s just that celebrities are kind of targeted when they have one.” And she said people need to move on to more important things now — ’cause there’s nothing to see here. “Right now, I think everybody should really be concerned about the hurricane,” referring to Florence, which is tearing up the North Carolina coast, “and all of the people who are in the way of that.”
After Wilson shared the outcome of her court appearance with her Twitter following, she found herself clapping back at someone who told her to “get your drinking under control.” The person referenced a previous run-in at the Nashville’s Losers Bar and Grill “when you wanted to fight me.” Wilson replied, “Losers. Hahaha,” which seemed to be a dig at the person posting the comment.
Losers! Hahahaha!
— Gretchen Wilson (@gw27) September 14, 2018
When Wilson was arrested, it was initially for a “minor disturbance,” a Connecticut State Police spokesperson told Yahoo at the time. However, while interviewing her on the jetway, she became belligerent “toward officers and caused a ‘disturbance,” which led to her arrest. While American Airlines would say only that two passengers were in an altercation on the flight, TMZ reported that Wilson had a bathroom-related confrontation with another passenger. She apparently took too long in the loo, leading to a shoving match with someone, and she then continued to make threatening gestures during the flight.
Wilson being taken away in handcuffs:
VIDEO: Eyewitness Dr. Jeffrey Arons shared this video with Ch. 3 of country singer Gretchen Wilson being arrested at Bradley Airport: https://t.co/xX35TRbkeK pic.twitter.com/1WkVGgjkfU
— WFSB Channel 3 (@WFSBnews) August 22, 2018
A few days after her arrest, Wilson described herself as “saddened by the whole thing.” She told Taste of Country, “I can say that I’m [embarrassed] … I’m embarrassed that the situation got to where it was, but no, not personally.” She said she was more annoyed with the media coverage. “I’m reading all of these headlines and am like, ‘Oh gosh, it’s so wrong. It’s all so wrong!’
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
