Tragic Details About Hannah Montana Star Mitchel Musso

On March 24, the "Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special" dropped on Disney+. The day before, it premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and fans were surely delighted to see the old cast back in action on the red carpet, from Miley Cyrus to Moisés Arias to Jason Earles. But not everyone was in attendance: Mitchel Musso, who played Oliver Oken on the series but is unrecognizable today, was conspicuously absent. 

As one of the best friends of Miley Stewart (Cyrus) and Lilly Truscott (Emily Osment), Oliver was a major supporting character on "Hannah Montana." Musso didn't provide a reason for his absence, but he did post a lengthy tribute to the show on his Instagram: "Thank you for believing in a goofy kid from Texas who wore some questionable outfits with a haircut like that. To all of you, thank you for welcoming me into your homes and hearts 20 years ago and still allowing me to be here today."

Musso had a lot more than "Hannah Montana" on his resume back in the day. He also had a voiceover role on "Phineas and Ferb" and major parts on "Pair of Kings" and "PrankStars." He was practically Disney Channel royalty, so where did he go? Many of the "Hannah Montana" cast members have gone on to have great careers in the entertainment industry, but Musso's career has been plagued by multiple run-ins with the law. 

2011 was a great year for Mitchel Musso — until it wasn't. "Hannah Montana" was in its final season, but despite Oliver having a reduced role, Musso wasn't short on work. He voiced Jeremy Johnson on "Phineas and Ferb," and he was the host of the new Disney Channel prank series, "PrankStars." Disney was going all in on Musso, and if he played his cards right, he could have catapulted himself into a stellar career. But it all came crashing to a halt on October 17, 2011.

Early that morning, Musso was pulled over in Burbank, California on suspicion of drunk driving, which was determined to be positive when he blew over the legal 0.08 limit. It didn't help matters that he was 20 years old at the time, under the legal drinking age. Without any previous criminal record, Musso was let out of jail after a brief stay, but the damage was done. 

Of all the celebrity scandals of the 2010s, this one's a relative blip on the radar. But since Musso was working for Disney at the time, the company likely didn't want to have anyone associated with even a minor scandal on the air. Shortly after his brief stint in jail, Musso was written out of the third season of "Pair of Kings" despite his character, King Brady, being one of the protagonists. Adam Hicks took his place as King Boz, a long-lost triplet brother to Brady and Boomer (Doc Shaw). His prank show, "PrankStars," was canceled after only four episodes aired (with two remaining). He still voiced Jeremy on "Phineas and Ferb," but you couldn't find his face anywhere on the Disney Channel.

Miley Stewart wasn't the only one with musical talent on "Hannah Montana." Her friends were great singers, too, as Mitchel Musso proved on episodes like "Judge Me Tender," where Oliver performs on a musical competition series. Of course, Musso had plenty of experience singing before this, as he appears on the "Disneymania 6" and "Disneymania 7" albums, where various Disney artists from Demi Lovato to the Cheetah Girls put their own spin on classic Disney songs. He also appeared on various other soundtracks, even performing the opening theme song to "Pair of Kings."

Walt Disney Records released his self-titled album, "Mitchel Musso," in 2009. All Music gave the album a rating of 5.1/10, noting, "Ultimately, Mitchel Musso is pretty good — he's not as charismatic as some of Disney's bigger stars, but he's not as obnoxious as some of them are, either." It could have been the promising first step to a solid music career, but following his 2011 arrest, Musso took a long time getting back into the recording booth. 

Since his first album was released via Walt Disney Records, the label probably didn't want to make another one following his arrest. After taking a step back from the limelight, Musso returned to music with his 2022 album, "Ghost." The lead single, "Drank," found Musso reflecting on his past troubles. He told Music Mayhem, "It's about understanding that no one's perfect in this life. And it's about acceptance, embracing your imperfections and overcoming the fear of, 'You're not perfect.'"

Mitchel Musso also told Music Mayhem that he wanted to get back up on stage and perform in front of live audiences. But a year after "Ghost" came out, Musso found himself in legal trouble again. On August 26, 2023, the cops were called on Musso after he stole a bag of chips from a Texas hotel. The cops arrived to find Musso acting belligerently, and discovered he had a slew of warrants to his name (for traffic violations). He was charged with public intoxication and theft, but was let go on $1,000 bail. 

In November of that year, the charges against him were dropped, and Musso released a cheeky public statement (via USA Today) poking fun at how all this started over some chips: "To put the Ruffles controversy to rest, let me state unequivocally that my relationship with those delicious potato crisps is strictly lawful." His statement also included details of an upcoming album as well as future television and film projects. 

As of this writing, the only film project Musso's attached to is a comedy called "Mister Fun" that was announced in August 2025. Musso has mostly stayed out of the public eye for the past 15 years, but if he wants to mount a comeback, "Hannah Montana" fans would probably love to see him again.