Nico Tortorella was arrested at high school graduation

Nico Tortorella never got to move the tassel over during their graduation, but that didn’t stop them on their way to success. Tortorella, 31, told fans during Her Campus’ “I’m Still Graduating” virtual ceremony on Friday that they were arrested ahead of their high school graduation in Wilmette, Ill., in a bizarre twist of fate. …

Nico Tortorella never got to move the tassel over during their graduation, but that didn’t stop them on their way to success.

Tortorella, 31, told fans during Her Campus’ “I’m Still Graduating” virtual ceremony on Friday that they were arrested ahead of their high school graduation in Wilmette, Ill., in a bizarre twist of fate.

“I got arrested at my graduation,” the “Younger” star said in a prerecorded message for the ceremony. They took a long pause before continuing, “I’m sure that’s not how anyone expected me to start this speech. Not the graduators. Not the Her Conference. Not my mom. Not me. But we’re living in some trying times, y’all, so we might as well discuss some trying times.”

Tortorella went on to explain that they had a glass of wine with their parents ahead of the ceremony.

“I may or may not have shotgunned a beer as well, but that’s besides the point,” they quipped, adding, “This ceremony, we were required to wear white tuxedos, okay? And so clearly I accessorized with an appropriate flat brim hat, high-top Converse. Maybe I was smoking a cigarette on the way in, but again, not important.”

On their way in, they were stopped by a police officer and asked to take a breathalyzer test, which was ironically administered by Tortorella’s cousin, who had just started working as an EMT.

“I blew 0.1. I was a minor,” they laughed. “Zero tolerance policy. Arrested. By my cousin. At my high school graduation.”

Tortorella, who dropped out of college during their sophomore year, said there was one commencement ceremony that they did remember — eighth grade. They recalled the Green Day song, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” being an integral part of the festivities, and coincidentally that message applies today as well.

“It’s something unpredictable,” they said, quoting the 1997 tune, “this world we are living in right now. This time is something. Unpredictable. Nobody, yes apparently except for Green Day, could have foreseen this happening. Here we are. And in the end, it’s right.

“There are no coincidences in this world. I believe there’s a lesson in this. There’s medicine in this. Find it. You got this. We got this. Congratulations. And for what it’s worth, at least you won’t get arrested at this year’s graduation.”

Celebs including Frankie Grande, Marcia Gay Harden, Austin Mahone, Jesse McCartney and Teyana Taylor will also salute graduating seniors during the program on Friday.