American rapper Wiz Khalifa has been sentenced to nine months in prison by a Romanian court for smoking cannabis during a live performance.
The ruling stems from his appearance at the Beach, Please! festival in Costinesti in July 2024, where the artist, born Thomaz Cameron Jibril, admitted to lighting up a joint on stage.
An earlier fine of 3,600 Romanian lei (£619; $829) for drug possession was overturned on appeal, with judges citing the performance as sending “a message of normalisation of illegal conduct” and potentially encouraging drug use among young people.
The court further described the act as “ostentatious,” noting that it took place before a large audience primarily composed of young festival-goers.
Khalifa, who was sentenced in absentia, has recently been seen performing in California with Gunna and posting clips from home on Twitch and social media.
Authorities in Romania briefly detained him after the festival and reported he had been in possession of more than 18 grams of cannabis, part of which he consumed on stage.
Romanian criminologist Vlad Zaha told BBC News that it is highly unlikely the United States would extradite Khalifa to serve the sentence, citing his wealth, connections and the differing legal status of cannabis across the US.
Khalifa, known for hits including "Black and Yellow," "See You Again" and "Young, Wild & Free," also founded his own marijuana brand in 2016 and frequently posts images of cannabis use on social media.