20th Century Fox
James Meyers of Concord, North Carolina, was arrested Tuesday morning for not returning a 2002 VHS rental of the infamously panned comedy "Freddy Got Fingered," written, directed, and starring Tom Green (originally released in 2001).
According to local station WSOC-TV, Meyers was driving his daughter to school on the Concord Parkway when he was pulled over for a broken tail-light.
The officer ran his license and found that there was a warrant for his arrest from 2002 for "failure to return rental property."
"The officer said... 'apparently you rented the movie "Freddy Got Fingered" and never returned it.' I thought he was joking," Meyers told WSOC-TV.
The officer allowed Meyers to drop his daughter off at school and go to work as long as he promised to turn himself in when he got off work.
Meyers did go to the police department Tuesday evening, and he was handcuffed and brought in front of the magistrate, where he was charged. The misdemeanor is punishable by a fine of up to $200.
The warrant was filed by J&J video in February of 2002. The rental store has since gone out of business.
Meyers is due back in court on April 27.
Tom Green caught wind of what happened and tweeted this on Tuesday:
I just saw this and I am struggling to believe it is real. https://t.co/GrTXoUj29X
- Tom Green (@tomgreenlive) March 24, 2016
Tom GreenWe chat to Tom Green about social media, koalas & the man who was arrested for not returning a VHS of 'Freddy Got Fingered'! #TheProjectTV
Posted by The Project on Thursday, March 24, 2016
"It's an example of how bureaucracy can get out of control," he said.
Why did Meyers have "Freddy Got Fingered" for 14 years? He admitted to the officer he only vaguely remembers renting it. Sounds about right for a movie that many consider one of the worst ever made.