We repeat: Please do not call the police as a joke.
TMZ reports that influencer and viral sensation Madison Beer has been the subject of over 15 "swatting calls" since the new year. Law enforcement sources tell the outlet that "a male caller" from Germany has been dialing up the LAPD and claiming Beer is a danger to herself.
The most recent incident came over President's Day weekend.
Police have reportedly been in touch with Beer, who claims she has no leads on who the German caller might be. According to the outlet, the case remains under investigation.
This is not Beer's first dustup with the police. Amid the uprisings in summer 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, she tweeted that she had been tear gassed in Santa Monica: "LEAVE SANTA MONICA NOW IF YOU CAN I WAS JUST TEAR GASSED THEY ARE ARRESTING EVERYONE AND TEAR GASSING ALL CROWDS."
\u201cLEAVE SANTA MONICA NOW IF YOU CAN I WAS JUST TEAR GASSED THEY ARE ARRESTING EVERYONE AND TEAR GASSING ALL CROWDS\u201d— madison beer (@madison beer) 1590964323
When later asked by a fan if she was alright, Beer shared an update: "you guys are awesome. i am safe and well, thank you for the concern. i hope everyone who was out there is safe as well. remember the curfews that are in order 🖤"
Likewise, this is not the first prank call to the cops this year in Tinseltown.
Just last week, Billie Eilish's house was swarmed by law enforcement after a caller claimed she was in need of a wellness check. As TMZ reported at the time: "We're told when the cops got to the home, they made contact with members of Billie's team and determined everything was A-OK." Prior to the prank call, Eilish’s house was also at the center of numerous trespassing attempts, for which the cops were called five times.
"Swatting" is the act of calling the police on someone under false pretenses, usually to inflict harm. The practice has recently increased in popularity on Twitch. In response, multiple states and cities have enforced "anti-swatting" protocols. In Seattle, Twitch users are able to inform law enforcement of such instances. Kentucky, meanwhile, passed a law in 2022 that made swatting a Class D felony.
In January 2021, then-17-year-old TikTok and YouTube star JoJo Siwa was swatted after coming out. She said in a livestream at the time: "All of a sudden there was a whole bunch of police that were telling us to come outside the house and we didn't know why. We went outside hands up... and then the police were saying that somebody had called and made a claim and then all of a sudden paparazzi came from around the corner."
Photo via Getty/ Jon Kopaloff