Judge Sends Chad Johnson to Jail After Butt Slap
NFL star and former Dancing with the Stars contestant Chad Johnson was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail by a Florida judge in connection with a domestic battery case.
Johnson, 35, was seeking a plea deal without jail time and the judge was set to approve the agreement before getting irked at his courtroom behavior.
When the judge asked Johnson if he was satisfied with the performance of his lawyer, he gave his male attorney a light swat on the buttocks. The gesture caused widespread laughter in the courtroom, but the judge was not amused.
"I don't know that you're taking this whole thing seriously," Broward County Circuit Judge Kathleen McHugh said to Johnson. "I just saw you slap your attorney on the backside. Is there something funny about this?" McHugh added, before throwing out the plea deal.
Johnson reacted to the jail sentence via Twitter. "Love me through the good and the bad because I'm gone love you regardless... See you in 30..." he wrote.
Johnson was charged last year with one count of misdemeanor domestic battery after getting in an argument with his ex-wife, Basketball Wives star Evelyn Lozada.