Jeremy O. Harris, the celebrated playwright and actor renowned for his masterpiece "Slave Play" and co-writer of A24's "Zola," has been released from detention in Japan on drug smuggling allegations, as confirmed by his representative to the New York Times. The 36-year-old was set free on December 8th, after three weeks in custody, without any formal charges, following a quiet cancellation of his appearance at the Red Sea Festival.
Harris was due to star in his independent road movie "Erupcja," co-starring Charli XCX, but his participation was abruptly dropped. He was taken into custody on November 16th at Naha Airport after customs officers allegedly found 780 milligrams of a crystal substance containing MDMA in his tote bag. (A recreational dose of pure MDMA, or ecstasy, typically ranges from 75 to 125 milligrams.)
Despite prosecutors in Okinawa taking up a case against Harris for customs violations, he was released without any 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.
