Today's Evil Beet Gossip

Josh Hutcherson Might Be in Trouble

A photo of Josh Hutcherson

Not only might precious Josh Hutcherson be in trouble, but he might be facing actual jail time. For real.

But what could he have done? He’s just a darling little actor, minding his business and starring in awesome movies. There’s no way he could have done anything worthy of jail time, right? This is probably all just a big misunderstanding, and police thought that Josh was breaking a law when he was really changing the world. That’s got to be it.

No, it’s not. It turns out that Josh is really in trouble for the crime of being 19 years old and wanting to booze it up.

From TMZ:

19-year-old “Hunger Games” star Josh Hutcherson took a not-so-cheap shot at a Ralph’s Grocery store — he posed as over 21 and got the check out clerk to sell him an expensive bottle of whiskey.

We got this pic of Josh leaving the Ralph’s in Sherman Oaks on April 18 with a bottle of Macallan whisky in hand — which, by the way, goes for $170.

A source tells TMZ … Josh used a fake ID to score the bottle.

It’s interesting … a few weeks ago we got Josh on camera, grousing, “I think the age to go to war is 18 … so I think the drinking age should be 18 as well.”

A spokesperson for Ralphs tells TMZ, “We strictly enforce all laws relating to the sale of alcohol to minors.  We will investigate these allegations and take any steps necessary.”

Josh could be prosecuted and the maximum punishment is 6 months in jail, although in reality he’d spend no time behind bars.  Authorities could also go after Ralph’s for selling to a minor.

We reached out to Josh’s rep.  So far, no comment.

Did any of you guys ever have a fake ID? I didn’t. I wasn’t that interested in booze until I was 21 anyway, and even if I had been interested, my nerves never would have been able to take that kind of activity. I’ve always had this irrational fear of going to jail that made doing anything illegal really unpleasant. I did drink a couple of times before I turned 21, and I can remember thinking “oh God, everyone knows. Everyone knows and the cops are on their way.” One time a police officer came by and knocked on my door, and I flipped out, hard. I saw her when I peeped through the window, and while I was putting pants on, I was coming up with a quick list of everything I’ve ever done that she was going to arrest me for, and when it turned out that she just had the wrong house, I spent the rest of the afternoon certain that she’d come back. So no, I never had a fake ID. If I had, I’d probably have had a stroke as well.

But as long as we’re making time for real talk, I’ll go ahead and say that Josh Hutcherson is never going to go to jail over this. I’m sure all of you knew that too, but it’s nice to hear, isn’t it? What if they had to recast his role in Catching Fire because he had to hang out in jail over a lousy bottle of whiskey? That would be the worst, wouldn’t it?

13 CommentsLeave a comment

  • meh *shrug* it’s typical 19 year old behavior just sucks someone decided to take a photo also,an $170 bottle of whiskey is pretty damn classy…

  • I had several fake ID’s before I turned 21. It’s a rite of passage for most. I hardly find it a newsworthy or criminal story.

  • I feel bad for the fans because you want to still be his fan but at the same time you don’t want to support this illegal situation.

    • He is 19 for christ sake, he’s not even a teen anymore!

      His only wrong is being a celebrity and have a fake ID. He really just should asked someone over 21 to buy his booze…

      • Ok, so when people will have 113 (aka one-hundred thirTEEN), that will make them a teen again because it’s in the word?

        I’m canadian, at 18 you’re an adult. Young adult, but still an adult. You really think 19 years old is “teen”? This is really the limit.

  • oh no, my baby! Okay guys, he’s older enough to do whatever he wants. There’s a lot of murderer out there and they’re gonna arrest him just because a freaking bottle? like, what.
    Anyways, he has my complete support, even in the bad times.

  • I kinda feel this is a bit wrong. At your country you go to war (possibly die) by the age of 18 but you can’t buy booze?

    Is it right to kill but not to drink?

  • In America you’re considered an adult at 18. I believe in responsible drinking good and irresponsible drinking bad no matter what age, the only reason why the legal limit of 21 is enforced is because TOO MANY 18-20 year olds drink irresponsibly. Because of this all the older generation adults vote for the law to be 21. I bet if all young adults were more active in politics and voting the future would be more different, i mean would there really be a difference if we lower the legal age to 20? and then over the next 5-10 years to 19 after that over a slow process?

  • You can drink in NZ at 18. It’s going to be raised before i get there, to 20, but still…he can’t not be casted in the second film, they would lose so much of their fanbase. i wouldn’t go see it if i though some other guy way being Peeta, kissing Katniss, being the star. My friends are all behind me on this :D he won’t go to jail, surely…