Travelling overseas can sometimes lead to a few unexpected adventures.

Yet, for one Aussie singer, a trip to star-studded Hollywood turned into a real-life thriller.


In a story that sounds like a blockbuster movie, Guy Sebastian opened up about the terrifying ordeal he faced while living in the United States back in 2011.

In an interview on NOVA FM's Smallzy's Surgery, he shared the whole saga, which happened while enjoying his career abroad.

At the time, Guy was just 29 and making the most of his international music career.

He had rented Olympic athlete Ian Thorpe's rustic two-bedroom home in Hollywood Hills.


However, what should have been a dream stay quickly turned into a nightmare.

Guy had parked his car, bought on eBay in the home's driveway.

'I parked my car there, literally in the driveway, and I came back, and it was gone,' Guy recalled during the interview.


It turns out a run-of-the-mill thief did not steal the car.

Instead, it had been towed away by a dodgy company exploiting a legal loophole.

In Los Angeles, California, an impounded car unclaimed within three months can be sold legally.

The catch? They don't tell the owner where they sold the vehicle.

'Police told me a tow company had taken the car. So I'm going from tow company to tow company over three or four weeks,' Guy added.

'Eventually, I went to the police for the third time after I'd been to 20 or 30 tow companies. I said it's a needle in a haystack. So they marked it as stolen, which alerted the tow company.'

'I went to pick it up, and they charged me US$4,000 (A$6,200). It's a scam that they do,' he added.


After reclaiming his vehicle, Guy called the police to let them know it was no longer missing.

After being left on hold for 45 minutes, he decided to drive to a nearby car wash while he waited.

That's when things took a dramatic turn.

'One police car pulls up in the next wash bay. I'm still on the phone to the sheriff, and I see another one pull up,' Guy recounted.

'Next minute, there's eight or nine cops with their guns drawn, screaming, "Shut up and get on the ground!"'

Unbeknownst to him, the vehicle was still listed as 'stolen' in the police system.

Listen to Guy Sebastian's story here:

The officers ordered him out of the vehicle, threw his phone, and pressed a gun to his forehead while pinning him to the wet concrete.

'It was full on. I could feel the metal of the gun,' Guy remembered.

Despite his attempts to explain, the police would not listen until they checked his paperwork and realised it was all a misunderstanding.

Guy was eventually released, but not before experiencing a level of force that left him shaken.

'They're pretty trigger-happy over there,' he reflected.

While Guy can laugh about the incident now, his story was a sobering reminder of how quickly things could spiral out of control overseas.
Have you ever had a travel disaster or a run-in with the law while abroad? What do you think of Guy Sebastian's experience? Share your stories and thoughts about his story in the comments section below!