JEEP PULLS AD AS ‘THE BOSS’ FACES DWI CHARGES

If you happened to catch last weekend’s Super Bowl LV, you may have witnessed Bruce Springsteen’s first commercial appearance thanks to the folks at Jeep. Titled “The Middle,” the ad had far less to do with actual automobiles than it did asking American’s to find some common ground in these obviously divided times. It appears that the commercial is facing a rather short lifespan on the airwaves however, thanks to a November DWI incident at Sandy Hook involving The Boss. Not ones to condone that sort of behavior, Jeep has put a hold on their high-profile ad-spot that premiered during The Big Game.

A National Park Service spokeswoman stated this week that Bruce Springsteen is facing charges of driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and consuming alcohol in a closed area due to an incident that took place at Sandy Hook in New Jersey on November 14. According to a report from NBC, the arresting officer saw Springsteen take one shot of tequila before the rock star hopped on his motorcycle and fired it up. The officer then approached Springsteen and informed him that alcohol is prohibited in the park, at which point the officer alleges that Springsteen smelled strongly of booze and was displaying signs of intoxication.

The Boss then informed the officer that he had taken two shots of tequila within the past twenty minutes, after fans gifted him the bottle as a thank you for taking photos with them. The officer in question states that Springsteen then failed two sobriety tests, including taking 45 steps instead of just 18 during the “walk the line” portion of the stop. After refusing to take an initial breathalyzer test, Springsteen was taken in custody and charged with DWI.

The Asbury Park Press reports that when The Boss did take a breathalyzer test, his blood-alcohol content measured in at .02, per their to sources. In the state of New Jersey, a BAC of .08 is legally the point at which you are deemed too intoxicated to operate a motor vehicle. It is unclear at this point how much time had passed before the test was administered.

“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on the details of a matter we have only read about and we cannot substantiate,” said Jeep in an official statement.

Owing to the fact that area of Sandy Hook where the arrest happened is federal land, Bruce Springsteen will have to face the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark for his trail. Until that takes place, we likely won’t know the full details of this DWI situation. Either way, Jeep’s decision to pull the Super Bowl ad is probably for the best. That said, a little bit of due diligence likely wouldn’t have hurt.