Musician Wyclef Jean has revealed how he was put in handcuffs after being mistaken for an armed robber.

The Grammy-winner shared a video on his Twitter page hours after being detained by police in Los Angeles.

The 18-second clip shows the former Fugees star confused about why he is being detained.

"I'm in LA right now, coming from the studio with T-Baby, ya'll see the police have handcuffs on me," he is heard saying.

"They just took off my Haitian bandana. That's what's going on right now with Wyclef in LA right now," he explains.


"The LAPD have me in cuffs for absolutely nothing."

LAPD another case of mistaken identity. Black man with red bandana robbed a gas station as I was in the studio working but im in handcuffs? pic.twitter.com/vjRfJUkooA — Wyclef Jean (@wyclef) March 21, 2017

Police later confirmed they had detained the 47-year-old rapper while searching for an armed robbery suspect.

A West Hollywood patrol unit thought his car matched the description.

"LAPD another case of mistaken identity. Black man with red bandana robbed a gas station as I was in the studio working but I'm in handcuffs?" he tweeted.

"They proceeded to ignore me," he explained in a later tweet.

"I was treated like a criminal until other police showed up and pointed out they had wrong person."

Wyclef Jean is a Haiti-born musician and actor who rose to fame in the mid-90s alongside Lauryn Hill in the Fugees.

He is a known advocate for humanitarian causes and even filed to run for president in the 2010 Haitian elections.

"I was asked by the police to put my hands up. Then I was told do not move. I was instantly hand cuffed before being asked to identify myself," he wrote on Twitter.

"As some one who has law enforcers in my family, I was appalled by this behavior of the LAPD."

The officers who stopped the musician are understood to be from LA County Sheriff's Department, rather than LAPD itself.