BEVERLY HILLS (REUTERS) — Clutching a bunch of red roses, singer Courtney Love pleaded not guilty Wednesday to drug possession charges stemming from her arrest last month after breaking windows outside her boyfriend’s house.
Looking disheveled in a baggy purple T-shirt, telling reporters the incident was a misunderstanding and advising women not to date married men, Love, 39, made a brief appearance at Beverly Hills Superior Court to enter a not-guilty plea to two counts of felony possession of prescription painkillers.
Love, a singer with the rock band Hole and widow of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, was told to report to probation services to assess her eligibility for a drug diversion program that would spare her going to jail.
After rambling exchanges with the judge and lawyers about previous commitments in London, New York and with “the Oscars,” she was released without bail until a further hearing Dec. 11.
Love was taken into custody Oct. 3 after she was caught breaking windows while standing outside a boyfriend’s Beverly Hills home in the middle of the night. Hours later, after being released on bail, she was taken to a local hospital suffering from what police called a “medical emergency.”
Love told reporters after Wednesday’s hearing she pleaded not guilty, “because I didn’t do anything. Someone left a pill at my house.”
Asked what advice she would give her fans, she said, “Don’t go out with married men, and be sure you get your name on the lease.” Love said she would be doing “some therapy” adding that she “sees a shrink every week.”