HOLLYWOOD - This lady will be singing the blues--behind bars.Motown diva Diana Ross pleaded no contest Monday to driving under the influence and was ordered by a Tucson, Arizona, judge to spend two days in jail, her lawyer, Stephen Paul Barnard, told Reuters.
Ross entered her plea by telephone in New York and will most likely serve her time in a jail near her Los Angeles home, Barnard said. "I think she is very pleased to have this behind her. She was willing to accept a plea along these lines a long time ago, " he added.
The 59-year-old singer was arrested in December 2002 for suspicion of drunken driving after someone called police to report a motorist driving on the wrong side of the road. Police found Ross outside a closed Tucson video store, asking for directions to a local resort. Officers on the scene said Ross' eyes were watery and bloodshot and that she smelled strongly of alcohol.
In May 2002, Ross checked herself into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Malibu, Calif., to "clear up some personal issues" before the start of a summer tour, Reuters reports, only to cancel the tour two months later after only a few shows.