Jeremy O. Harris, the playwright and actor best known for Slave Play and as co-writer of A24’s Zola, has been released from detention in Japan on drug smuggling allegations, his rep confirmed to the New York Times.
He was released on Dec. 8, a spokesman of the Tomishiro Police Station in Okinawa’s Tomigusuku City, told the NYT, after three weeks in custody.
He was released without charges, his rep confirmed to the outlet, adding that Harris will stay in Japan, writing and researching for an upcoming project.
The Hollywood Reporter also reached out to Harris’ rep.
His participation at the Red Sea Festival was quietly dropped; Harris was due to appear for his indie road movie Erupcja, co-starring Charli XCX.
Harris, 36, was taken into custody on Nov. 16 at Naha Airport after customs officers allegedly found 780 milligrams of a crystal substance containing MDMA in his tote bag, officials said (a recreational dose of pure MDMA, or ecstasy, is typically in the range of 75 to 125 milligrams).
Despite prosecutors in Okinawa having taken up a case against Harris for customs violations, he was released without formal charges. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Harris rose to prominence with Slave Play, which became the most Tony-nominated play in Broadway history. Beyond theater, he has worked as a co-producer on HBO’s Euphoria and as a supervising producer on Olivier Assayas’ Irma Vep.
Japan enforces some of the strictest narcotics laws in the developed world, prosecuting even small possession cases and often detaining suspects for extended periods without bail.
Harris’ arrest echoes past cases involving foreign entertainers in Japan, including Grammy-winning DJ David Morales, who was detained in 2018 on similar charges, and, most famously, Paul McCartney, whose 1980 marijuana arrest led to a lengthy entry ban from the country.