Ballet, Fame and Scandal: When 2 Icons Got Busted in San Francisco

In July 1967, during the height of the Summer of Love, San Francisco became center stage for a scandal involving two of the most revered figures in the world of ballet: Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn.

Known for their extraordinary chemistry on stage, the pair found themselves thrust in with the hoi polloi—defendants in a marijuana possession case that drew international headlines.

Both were touring with the British Royal Ballet, appearing in Romeo and Juliet at the War Memorial Opera House. It was a major cultural event, drawing thousands of fans eager to see both dancers, but especially Nureyev, whose charisma and startling good looks, in addition to his defection from the Soviet Union a few years earlier, made him a global celebrity.

Following a performance on July 22,1967, and after dinner at the exclusive Trader Vic’s, Nureyev and Fonteyn headed to an apartment in the Haight-Ashbury,  attended by about a dozen others. Around midnight, the SFPD’s narcotics division, acting on a tip, raided the residence. This was the late ‘60s, and possession of marijuana was a major offense, and rock stars, especially in London, were getting arrested right and left. According to the police reports, both dancers were in an upstairs bedroom when the raid commenced and high-tailed it to the roof. After the cops found a stash of weed, they headed to the roof, where they discovered Fonteyn in a white mink coat, crouched in a small culvert, and Nureyev across the way, lying prone on the roof floor, hoping to avoid detection.

Nureyev and Fonteyn booked

It was a major catch and the cops were elated. They took the duo to the police station where they were processed in the morning. Witnesses described Nureyev as cool and defiant, chain-smoking and answering questions in a mix of French and English. Fonteyn reportedly joked with officers and maintained an air of dignified stoicism. They were released on bail within a few hours, their bond posted by an anonymous patron of the arts.

Needless to say the press went bonkers. The bust made the front-pages in The San Francisco Chronicle, The Examiner, and quickly spread to London, Paris, and New York. Headlines like Ballet Stars in Pot Bust and Nureyev Pirouettes into Trouble were splashed across tabloids.

The press goes crazy

It was a media frenzy, albeit short-lived-because within two weeks prosecutors quietly dropped the charges, citing insufficient evidence—a conclusion, most likely reached after pressure from British cultural officials and philanthropic individuals, who needed their star attractions scandal-free. Neither dancer commented publicly afterward and their performances continued to sell out for the remainder of the tour. Indeed, the arrest only served to heighten Nureyev’s allure, making him an even greater icon.