The King of Tubi Got Pulled Over on I-75

He calls himself the King of Tubi, and nobody in independent Black cinema argues with the title.

Kaamel Hasaun — known to many as Diezel — went from rapping in Detroit to building one of the most prolific independent film catalogs in the streaming era. Through his company, Diezel Power Filmz, he has written, directed, produced, and starred in more than twenty films, most of them living on Tubi, the free streaming platform where independent Black filmmakers found an audience Hollywood never gave them.

His breakout run included titles like Undying Love, his first film, Price of Love, McGraw Ave, and the Black Men Don't Cheat trilogy — a series that became a word-of-mouth staple for Tubi viewers. He did it without a studio, without a major distributor, and without permission. He shot in Detroit, cast Detroit, and told Detroit stories. In interviews, he has been blunt about the grind: forty or fifty small roles before his first lead, years of being overlooked, and then the slow realization that he did not need Hollywood's door to open when he could build his own house.

That house has a name, and it is on Tubi's front shelf.

So when news broke that the King of Tubi had been arrested, it traveled fast.

According to LEX 18 in Lexington, Kentucky, Hasaun was arrested early Sunday morning after a traffic stop on Interstate 75 in Laurel County, Kentucky. The charge: driving under the influence. A mugshot circulated with the report — the same face Tubi viewers know from a dozen movie posters, now photographed under fluorescent jail lighting.

The details beyond that are still thin. What time the stop happened, what led the trooper to pull him over, whether a breath or blood test was administered — none of that has been made public yet. What is known is the charge itself, and that as of the report, he was in custody in Laurel County.

It is worth saying plainly: an arrest is not a conviction. A DUI charge means the state believes it has probable cause. The rest — the tests, the court dates, the plea or trial — plays out in a courtroom, not in a comment section. Hasaun is presumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise.

But the arrest lands differently because of who he is and what he represents.

Hasaun's story is the kind people root for. He started in music, pivoted to film, and figured out the business side faster than most people with film degrees. He talks openly about ownership — owning his masters, owning his films, owning his company. In a recent long-form interview, he described the moment he understood that creative control was the whole game: nobody could shelve his movie if he owned the shelf. Tubi became that shelf. For a generation of independent Black filmmakers locked out of the traditional system, the King of Tubi is proof the side door works.

That is why the mugshot stings. Not because a DUI charge is the worst thing a public figure can face — it is not — but because the people who watched him build something from nothing feel like they know him. Tubi's audience is loyal in a way Netflix's is not. These are viewers who found his movies at 1 a.m., told their cousins about them, and watched the whole catalog. When the king falls, even a little, the kingdom feels it.

There is also the timing. Hasaun has been on a media run lately — podcast appearances, interviews about Detroit's film scene, talk of new projects. He has positioned himself as an elder statesman of the independent grind, the guy who made it and came back to show others the blueprint. An arrest like this does not erase any of that, but it complicates the narrative, at least for a news cycle or two.

What happens next is procedural. A DUI arrest in Kentucky typically means booking, a bond hearing, and an arraignment where the formal charge is read and a plea is entered. If convicted, penalties in Kentucky for a first offense can include fines, license suspension, and possible jail time — though first offenses often resolve with lesser penalties, especially with no accident or injuries involved. There is no indication anyone was hurt in this incident. It was a traffic stop, not a crash.

That matters. The worst version of this story — the one where someone gets hurt — did not happen. What happened is a man got pulled over on a highway in the early morning hours and ended up in handcuffs. It is the kind of story that plays out thousands of times a weekend across America. It only makes headlines when the driver has a crown.

Hasaun has not issued a public statement as of this writing. His representatives have not commented. The case will move through the Laurel County court system, and the details — the stop, the test results, the plea — will become public record in time.

For now, the King of Tubi's latest release is not a movie. It is a mugshot. And the same audience that made him royalty will be watching to see what he does next.

Charges are allegations. Kaamel Hasaun is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.