When Hugh Grant was arrested for being caught with a sex worker [Throwback]

It was exactly 25 years ago in 1995 when British actor Hugh Grant was caught with a sex worker. The actor who was riding high on the success of his last few hits was in Los Angeles for promoting a film. However, things soon spiralled for the worse and the actor found himself in the middle of police, bad press, and a possibility of spending six months in jail for 'lewd conduct'.

While promoting his Hollywood film, 'Nine Months', Hugh decided to visit Los Angeles' infamous Sunset Strip. This is where he met Divine Brown aka Estella Marie Thompson, a local sex worker. Reportedly, Hugh agreed to pay her $60 in return for oral sex.

This is a time when the actor was in a relationship with British actor and model, Elizabeth Hurley. Hurley was quick to take matters into her hands and release a statement on behalf of Hugh stating, "Last night I did something completely insane. I have hurt people I love and embarrassed people I work with. For both things, I am more sorry than I can ever possibly say."

However, the press was more interested in knowing Estella Marie's side of the story, who was reportedly paid $100,000 to reveal the details of the night. She divulged that Hugh had said to her, "I always wanted to sleep with a black woman. That's my fantasy."

Hugh was pardoned from custodial sentence but had to pay a fine of $1,000 and attend a mandatory AIDS education programme. The 'Notting Hill' actor later appeared at Tonight's Show with Jay Leno where he spoke about how the incident affected his relationship with Liz Hurley.

"I've done an abominable thing, and she's been amazing about it, and contrary to what I read in the paper today, she's been very supportive, and we're going to try to work it out.'' Years later in 2019, Hugh shared his mugshots from the incident after being trolled online. He captioned the picture as, "To my dear trolls. Hope this is helpful. Now you have more time to spend with mummy."