Lil Nas X reportedly stopped by Norwegian police after e-scooter error

Pop star Lil Nas X was among four Americans reportedly stopped by Norwegian police for mistakenly riding e-scooters through a major Oslo tunnel.

Authorities briefly closed the six-lane Festning Tunnel after the incident, but none of the riders were detained.

The tourists apparently got lost after following a GPS route into the tunnel on Monday evening.

"They apologised. We have escorted them out," police said. They did not confirm if Lil Nas X was among the party.

However, the rapper posted photographs of the incident on his Instagram story.

"About to go to jail in Norway," he captioned one, taken inside the tunnel itself.

In a later picture, he posed with two police officers, joking that he'd been let off because they were fans.

The tunnel's operations manager, Vidar Pedersen, later gave his account of the incident to Norway's Dagbladet newspaper.

He said police were called soon after the scooters were spotted entering the tunnel, and approached the riders after checking CCTV footage.

"At one point, they also crossed the road, then realised it wasn't such a good idea," Pedersen said.

"We then sent two police patrols, guided them out and onto the quay at the waterfront."

Lil Nas X, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, is in Norway to perform at Wednesday's Slottsffell festival.

He recently appeared at Glastonbury, taking second billing on the Pyramid Stage to Elton John.

The rapper, who became an overnight sensation with the song Old Town Road in 2019, appeared at Elton's request, after the star called him "a hurricane of fresh air".

He rose to the occasion with a visually-stunning, sexually-charged set that incorporated dozens of rock and samples, from Michael Jackson's Bad to Nirvana's Something In The Way, alongside his own hits, including That's What I Want, Industry Baby and Montero (Call Me By Your Name).

Alongside multiple costume changes, the star was surrounded by dozens of dancers, as well as a giant metal snake and a huge furry horse... but no e-scooters.

The 24-year-old is not the first tourist to get stuck in one of Norway's complex and busy tunnel system.

In 2019, a man who said he followed a route given by Google Maps entered the nearly 10-mile long Opera Tunnel complex. He was not charged or detained.