Blake Jenner, 'Glee' Star, Arrested on Concerning Charge
Glee alum Blake Jenner has been arrested and is facing DUI charges. Police in the Burbank, California, area stopped the 29-year-old actor around 11:30 PM after he failed to stop at a red light, officers told TMZ.
Police suspected Jenner was intoxicated during the traffic stop, so they had him undergo field sobriety tests. Law enforcement found Jenner's blood alcohol content to be over the legal limit after a safety check, according to police records. He was subsequently arrested and booked for misdemeanor DUI. Burbank Police told PEOPLE Jenner was released the same day with a citation and will have to appear before a judge in the near future.
Aside from his role as Ryder Lynn in Ryan Murphy's TV series Glee, the actor also co-starred in Netflix's miniseries What/If with Renee Zellweger. Jenner's ex-wife, Supergirl actress Melissa Benoist, whom he married in 2015, revealed via Instagram in 2019 that she had been the victim of domestic violence.
A statement Jenner posted on his Instagram account in 2020 confirmed an alleged case of physical abuse from "late 2019." The six-page note detailed his toxic dynamic with his former partner without mentioning Benoist's name. Regarding the incident, Jenner apologized to her, saying, "I'm sorry."
In the six-page apology note, he brought up a phone incident, in which he threw the "phone aimlessly and hit my former partner in the face. I froze in a state of shock and horror as my then-partner screamed in anguish, her eye immediately swollen shut from the impact of the phone. It's a moment that I will regret for the rest of my life."
In therapy, Jenner claimed he realized his behavior resulted from toxic masculinity and that he had abused his partner physically and psychologically. However, he also claims that Benoist abused him.
"The mental and emotional abuse began at the start of our relationship. I was made to pass on numerous jobs and opportunities because of jealousy of prospective female costars," he wrote.
"I was discouraged from and threatened not to develop relationships with and take photos with female costars at professional events… I was made to feel guilty for working as I received calls from my former partner while I was away, threatening to self-harm out of depression and a deep-seated fear of abandonment."
"There are many things that I wish I could have done differently; and while I wish it did not take the pain that was suffered throughout the course of our relationship, I will never regress to making the same mistakes ever again," Jenner pledged at the time.
"I will never stop doing the work necessary to better myself in all areas of my life. I wish you and your family nothing but good health, joy and love."