Christina Aguilera mug shot photo controversy

Last night E! published the mug shot of Christina Aguilera taken after her March 1st arrest for public intoxication with the headline, “The Christina Aguilera Mug Shot the Cops Didn’t Want You to See.” As it turns out, E! wasn’t kidding and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is furious, claiming the photo was “surreptitiously stolen” by the news agency!

That claim is backed up by E!, who seemed to taunt police when they posted the image by stating, “L.A. Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said that Aguilera’s picture is not going to be released to the public because authorities do not plan to press charges…but sometimes a camera is just in the right place at the right time.”

Whitmore issued a statement to RumorFix.com in which he claims, “[E!] ran over and took a shot even though they said they weren’t going to run it and they did. [The mug shot is] not being released. E! did something that was inexcusable. They said they weren’t going to do something and they did it.”

E! has since countered with their own statement telling the site, “The footage, which included a picture of Christina Aguilera, was shot at a public press conference this morning where the media was invited to cover her arrest. It was shot in full accordance with the law and proper reporting procedures.”

By the way, Christina was drunk and riding (not driving) in a car when she was picked up by authorities, who are not pressing charges on the misdemeanor offense.

This here is exponential silliness y’all! Love it!

(Did I mention Burlesque was released on DVD and Blu-ray yesterday?)