Bruce Springsteen’s Super Bowl Jeep commercial pulled after news of singer’s DWI arrest

Brian in Mesa

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Bruce Springsteen’s Super Bowl Jeep commercial pulled after news of singer’s DWI arrest

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/02/10/bruce-springsteen-jeep-ad-removed/

Jeep said in a statement Wednesday that it pulled a controversial Super Bowl ad featuring Bruce Springsteen from the brand’s social channels, following news that the rocker was charged with drunken driving in his native state of New Jersey several months ago.

Springsteen, 71, was arrested in Gateway National Recreation Area and charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and consuming alcohol in a closed area, according to a statement from Daphne Yun, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service. The New York Times reported that the singer — whom Yun noted was “cooperative throughout the process” — will face federal charges because the arrest took place in Gateway National Recreation Area, a national park.

Jeep’s Super Bowl commercial, which has been removed from YouTube and Twitter, was widely panned after it aired Sunday, featuring Springsteen behind the wheel of an iconic Jeep model. “There’s a chapel in Kansas standing on the exact center of the Lower 48. It never closes,” the musician says in the commercial. “All are more than welcome to come meet here: in the middle.”

 

Cardinal Bob

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Living here in NJ, of course we have reporters doing a lot of digging on this. What has been uncovered makes this BEYOND a joke.

Apparently, Bruce was riding his motorcycle with a friend and was flagged down by fans who were hanging out on Sandy Hook. He stopped and was taking pictures with the fans when THEY offered him some Patron tequila from THIER bottle (note: not his alcohol). He did two shots with them in a span of roughly 20 mins, the 2nd of which a Park Ranger observed. Bruce explained to the Ranger what he was doing and told the Ranger he was going to get back on his bike & drive away. The Ranger said he appeared "glassy eyed" and was "swaying on his feet." He gave Bruce a breathalyzer, which Bruce initially refused to take, but then relented and did take, and Bruce blew a 0.02 - 25% OF THE LEGAL LIMIT IN NJ! Then Bruce was arrested WITHOUT EVER GETTING ON THE BIKE & RIDING!

According to unnamed friends of Bruce, he was riding with sunglasses on, and not goggles or a face shield, so that is part of why his eyed appeared "glassy" (wind in your face will do that to you as any rider can tell you), and he's 71 yrs old with bad knees and hip issues (years of jumping around on a stage like a madman will do that to knees & hips) and apparently ALWAYS appears to be unsteady on his feet.


So let's recap: Bruce was arrested for DUI when he was A) not driving, B) not even sitting on his motorcycle, and C) not legally drunk. And he was arrested for possession of alcohol in a state park, when the bottle of tequila wasn't even his, it belonged to the group of fans. I'm sure his lawyer will get all of this dismissed in court eventually. But in the meantime, Bruce gets his name dragged through the mud and his reputation takes a bug hit.


Disclaimer: Yes, I am a HUGE, HUGE Bruce fan. But facts are facts, and it's not as if he was sauced and driving around like a maniac endangering everyone else on the road.
 
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Brian in Mesa

Brian in Mesa

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Maybe it will get reduced to an alcohol violation. Alcohol has been banned in the park for at least the past two years because they had too many alcohol-related incidents prior to the ban. Bruce being a regular there would know about the ban. Doesn't matter who brought the alcohol - he admitted to (and was observed) consuming some in the park. Likely difficult to escape that charge.

As for his BAC, it isn't all that matters in a DUI arrest. He could have been tired or medicated. Impaired doesn't always mean above the legal limit.

The charge of reckless driving does seem a bit odd if he never actually drove, but voiced his intent to drive. You can get a DUI by getting on and starting your motorcycle - without driving - though (which he did according to most articles about the arrest). Same as being in a parked car with the keys in the ignition (or even readily accessible), I suppose.

It is good to hear that he wasn't actively driving around drunk as it seemed from first reports. It will be interesting to see what happens...


New details emerge in Bruce Springsteen DWI arrest

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/11/entertainment/springsteen-arrest-new-details/index.html
 

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