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A judge placed Lil Nas X into a mental health treatment program on Monday, April 6th, to avoid a conviction in the musician’s felony police battery case in Los Angeles.
The creator of “Old Town Road,” born Montero Hill, 26, will have to stay in treatment for bipolar disorder, obey the law, not possess any weapons, or threaten violence for two years, California Judge Alan Schneider ordered, as reported by Rolling Stone. If Hill sticks with the program, three charges of police battery and a resisting arrest charge will be dropped.
“When treated, he is much better off, and society is much better off,” the judge said, adding that Hill “appears to be doing very well.”
The case is tied to an August 2025 incident when Los Angeles Police Department officers were called on a report of Hill walking nearly naked along Ventura Avenue in the Studio City neighborhood at about 5:30 a.m., according to prosecutors. Hill assaulted three police officers as they tried to take him into custody, the LA County district attorney said. Hill was facing up to five years in prison if convicted.
After his arrest, Hill was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and voluntarily entered a mental health treatment program that lasted two months, per the Rolling Stone report. He continues to receive mental health therapy.
“I’m thankful. Just very thankful,” Hill told Rolling Stone after the hearing. “It could have been much worse.”
The rapper’s father, Robert Stafford, told the LA Times in September that his son was dealing with pressures of being in the music business, trying to take care of his family, and helping his mother, who was dealing with addiction but rejecting her son’s help at the time.
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