Jeremy O. Harris, the Tony-nominated playwright and tastemaker best known for Slave Play and co-writer of A24’s Zola, has been detained in Japan for nearly three weeks following his arrest on drug-smuggling charges in Okinawa, according to local authorities and multiple international reports.
Harris, 36, was taken into custody on Nov. 16 at Naha Airport after customs officers allegedly found 780 miligrams of a crystal substance containing MDMA in his tote bag, officials said (a recreational dose of pure MDMA, or ecstasy, is typically in the range of 75 to 125 milligrams). Prosecutors in Okinawa have since received a criminal complaint from regional customs officials, moving the case toward formal charges. Authorities have not disclosed whether Harris has entered a plea or secured legal representation in Japan.
Until a few days ago, Harris had been expected to travel to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival to promote director Pete Ohs’ Erupcja, a surreal road movie in which he appears opposite pop star Charli XCX (Harris and XCX are also credited as co-writers and producers of the film). The festival did not comment on his absence, but Harris has been quietly dropped from the event’s programming.
A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Harris rose to prominence with Slave Play, which became the most Tony-nominated play in Broadway history. Beyond theater, he has worked as a co-producer on HBO’s Euphoria and as a supervising producer on Olivier Assayas’ Irma Vep.
Japan enforces some of the strictest narcotics laws in the developed world, prosecuting even small possession cases and often detaining suspects for extended periods without bail. Convictions can result in multi-year prison sentences, though Japan does not impose the death penalty for drug offenses, unlike some other Asian nations.
Harris’ arrest echoes past cases involving foreign entertainers in Japan, including Grammy-winning DJ David Morales, who was detained in 2018 on similar charges, and, most famously, Paul McCartney, whose 1980 marijuana arrest led to a lengthy entry ban from the country.
