Joe Budden Explains How He Got His Lewdness Charge Dismissed

Joe Budden‘s legal battle regarding his alleged act of lewdness appears to be over, as the podcaster’s charge was dismissed following his recent appearance in court.

On the latest episode of the Joe Budden Podcast, the former rapper, who was recorded by a Ring camera attempting to enter a neighbor’s apartment while naked, gave a recap of the proceedings, which he says worked largely in his favor.

The 44-year-old, whose presence on-air had been scarce since news of the incident first surfaced on New Year’s Eve, explained how he was able to avoid culpability for his bizarre display.

According to Budden, the judge presiding over his case ruled that his actions, as seen on the Ring camera footage provided by the plaintiff weren’t in violation of the letter of the law in regard to stalking or lewdness.

“She was fair, reasonable, heard all the testimony, was attentive, [and] wasn’t on no bullsh*t,” the “Pump It Up” emcee told his audience and cohosts of the judge.

“Mr. Budden was not erect. He was not masturbating,” he recalled the judge telling the plaintiff while addressing the court. “The one time that he touched his penis, he appeared to be trying to cover himself. Mr. Budden was not trying to forcibly enter [your place],” she added.

The judge also noted that Budden wasn’t seen pleasuring himself on camera, thus exonatering him of the lewdness charge. It was determined that Budden appeared to be attempting to keep from urinating on himself in the clip, rather than anything sexual in nature.

While the lewdness and stalking charges against him were dismissed, the judge did leave Budden with a bit of advice, which he says he fully plans on heeding in the future.

“Mr. Budden, please take the necessary precautions to make sure that this never happens again,” the judge quipped following her ruling.

Budden’s disorderly lewdness and stalking charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on December 4, 2024 in the lyricist-turned-pundit’s apartment building in Edgewater, New Jersey.

However, news of the rapper being charged in relation to the seemingly unintentional mishap didn’t surface until Dec. 31, 2024, nearly one month later.

Budden’s embarrassing moment led to heckling from fans, as well as rappers such as Maino and Jim Jones, both of whom advised that Budden keep his clothes on moving forward.

Watch Joe Budden speak on the dismissal of his lewdness charge below.