Superstar rapper Travis Scott playfully sells graphic T-shirts commemorating his brief arrest in Miami Beach for $35

In honor of the rapper’s brief detention in Miami Beach, the garment served to further illustrate the point that certain famous people’s run-ins with the law can actually benefit their careers.The legendary rapper Travis Scott had a wild night out in South Florida on Thursday, adding two more charges to his record and one more product to his website compared to where he started.

Mr. Scott, 33, a seasoned swag king with a history of brand deals, brought attention to what many would see as a humiliating moment when he began selling T-shirts bearing his mug shot, mere hours following his Miami Beach arrest. Some politicians and celebrities can turn legal trouble into a golden opportunity for their careers, according to the new merchandise.

Following reports of an altercation on a marina-berthed yacht just before 2 a.m. on Thursday, the rapper became a media darling. According to local news outlets, Mr. Scott was charged with trespassing and disorderly drunkenness. He was released on bond after paying a total of $650 for both offenses.

Mr. Scott, whose given name is Jacques Bermon Webster II, eventually confessed to having consumed alcoholic beverages. “It’s Miami,” he reportedly said, according to the police report.

By day’s end, that very statement and his mug shot—which had been changed from its original, somewhat more serious version to add a wide, Hollywood smile—had made way into a black T-shirt that was being sold for $35 on his website.The website states that the “Free the Rage Tee #2” will be shipped out in one week. Mr. Scott’s charitable organization, the Cactus Jack Foundation, will receive $5 from each sale. The T-shirt had already been removed from his online store by Friday afternoon.

Mr. Scott was no stranger to this. In 2017, at his show, he was arrested and accused of inciting a disturbance; for a short time, a shirt bearing his mug shot was for sale. He ultimately admitted to being involved in unruly behavior. At the moment, you can get a worn, rare version of the shirt on Grailed for $175.

As the audience started to push their way to the front of the stage during Mr. Scott’s performance at the 2021 Astroworld music festival in Houston, ten people were killed and hundreds more were injured. No criminal charges were brought against Mr. Scott, the festival’s founder, for his involvement in the event.

Emails made to a representative of Mr. Scott on Friday went unanswered for the time being. (“Due to a misunderstanding.”) In an earlier statement, Mr. Scott’s attorney had mocked his client’s brief imprisonment.

Famous people, and occasionally their admirers, follow a certain script when it comes to making money off of their arrests and court appearances. They use the potentially humiliating proof of their encounters with the police to make products that may be used for eating, drinking, or wearing.

The first mug shot of a sitting U.S. president was released last year following former president Donald J. Trump’s fourth indictment, creating a marketing opportunity. It didn’t take long for the Trump team and its backers to plaster the image on a wide range of products, such as mugs, shot glasses, shirts, and buttons.

Next up is trial merchandise. Shirts and coffee mugs bearing the hashtag #FreeBritney appeared during the court proceedings around Britney Spears’ conservatorship. Last year, Gwyneth Paltrow was declared not guilty in her ski crash trial in Park City, Utah. As a result, many pieces of apparel contained the phrase “Gwynnocent” or the actress’s most memorable comment from the trial, which she used to describe her personal struggles: “Well, I lost half a day of skiing.”