Former MTV ‘Making the Band’ Star Arrested for Sex Trafficking
A former member of MTV and Diddy's popular early aughts show Making the Band was reportedly arrested on charges of sex trafficking.
TMZ broke the news that Chopper, an alum of the show, was taken in earlier this month. He appeared on Making the Band 2 in 2002 as a member of Da Band. He was credited as Rodney "Chopper" Hill, according to IMDb.
The former reality TV star was reportedly arrested after interacting with an undercover officer. TMZ reported that Chopper made contact and attempted to bring them on to join his "stable."
While in contact with the Nevada-based agent, Chopper allegedly spoke about his lavish lifestyle. They spoke on the phone, and the musician attempted to get the officer on his "team" after conducting an interview.
Chopper reportedly said that Las Vegas was not a safe area to conduct such business and tried to get the agent to fly out to North Carolina. When the officer expressed hesitancy, he reportedly tried to force the situation. In the process, he allegedly requested a fee for his services.
TMZ reported that the celebrity's social media presence was also used against him. Chopper reportedly made several posts that referenced trafficking.
Chopper posted a flurry of memes and photos on Instagram April 14 and has not posted since. Earlier this month, he appeared to share multiple posts on a near daily basis.
XXL reached out to Chopper's team for comment on the situation. They also contacted the Las Vegas Police Department. Neither appeared to have responded at the time of publication.
Da Band has one album, 2003's Too Hot For T.V., available to stream on Spotify. XXL noted that Chopper pursued a solo career as well. His last solo album Man on Mars was released in 2018 under the artist name Chopper City.
He appeared to be teasing new content under the artist name Chopper Young City on Instagram in late 2021 and early 2022.