Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
'Django Unchained' Actress And Her Boyfriend Charged With Having Sex In Car
Actress Daniele Watts handcuffed and being interrogated by an LAPD officer (photo via Brian Lucas' Instagram)
()
Django Unchained actress Daniele Watts and her boyfriend have just been charged with lewd conduct in public for allegedly having sex in their car. This comes on the heels of the couple accusing LAPD last month of racial profiling when authorities responded to reports of the couple getting frisky in public.
According to TMZ, LAPD decided to charge both of them after listening to police audio recordings of the detainment and speaking to witnesses who said Watts was straddling her boyfriend in the car and her breasts were exposed.
()
A photo of Daniele Watts in a car outside the CBS Studios (Photo via TMZ)
Watts was handcuffed on Sept. 11 in Studio City soon after LAPD responded to a 9-1-1 call that she was having sex with her boyfriend, raw food chef Brian Lucas, in a car with the passenger door wide open in broad daylight. Authorities detained Watts after she refused to show authorities her ID, but later let her go, saying that there was no evidence of any crime committed. Watts claimed that she and her boyfriend were merely kissing and that she was mistreated because she's black and Lucas is white. They both accused the LAPD officers who detained her of being racist and said the officers acted like Lucas was a john and Watts was his prostitute.
Support for LAist comes from
There were photos TMZ released last month that showed Watts straddling Lucas in the car, but the snapshots were too blurry to reveal much else. One witness last month told authorities that Lucas was "horizontally bongoing her boobs back and forth" before they cleaned themselves off with a tissue and threw it on the grass.
Last month local civil rights activists asked Watts apologize to the community and the LAPD for crying wolf in accusing the officers of racial profiling. However, Watts released a statement in response saying she wouldn't apologize.
Watts and Lucas could face up to six months in L.A. County jail.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Isolated showers can still hit the L.A. area until Friday as remnants from the tropical storm move out. -
First aspiring spectators must register online, then later in 2026 there will be a series of drawings. -
It's thanks to Tropical Storm Mario, so also be ready for heat and humidity, and possibly thunder and lightning. -
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5425437/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3897+0+0/resize/640x396!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
L.A. County investigators have launched a probe into allegations about Va Lecia Adams Kellum and people she hired at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority. -
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suspended a state law allowing duplexes, calling more housing unsafe. But in Altadena, L.A. County leaders say these projects could be key for rebuilding. -
This measure on the Nov. 4, 2025, California ballot is part of a larger battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/45c201e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3894+0+0/resize/786x486!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
Best of LAist