You might hope that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, but when it comes to legal justice, there is one group that seems to get off easier than the rest of us. Celebrities may technically be subject to the same rules as civilians, but when they break them, the consequences seem far less severe. When a famous person gets arrested, they go through the same booking system that everyone else does - hence, the public collection of infamous celebrity mugshots. The difference comes in court, where it seems wealthy stars can commit crimes and walk away with minimal consequences. In instances when regular people would likely face lost licenses, huge fines, and jail time, celebs seem to get rehab, community service, and anger management courses. Some famous people who’ve committed serious crimes, like taking the lives of others, have either served largely reduced sentences with special privileges or have done no jail time at all. Here’s a list of celebrities who got off easy for a variety of crimes.
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On January 23, 2014, Justin Bieber was detained by Miami Beach Police for DUI, resisting arrest, and drag racing. But thanks to a lenient plea agreement, he was required to take anger management classes and make a charitable donation. In June 2014, Bieber broke the law once again. He was found guilty of assault and careless driving in Canada, but was only fined $600 (US dollars) and the assault charge was dismissed.
In 2002, a tape surfaced showing singer R. Kelly having intimate relations with an underage girl. He was charged with 14 counts of child pornography, but was acquitted by a jury. Kelly’s defense team convinced the jury that the girl’s identity was inconclusive despite being identified by various prosecution witnesses. In February 2019, Kelly again found himself in hot water over his alleged misconduct with minors. Prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois, charged Kelly with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and additional charges soon followed from federal prosecutors in New York and Chicago, as well as a Minnesota prosecutor. He is currently awaiting trial without bond in a federal facility in downtown Chicago.
In 1984, Motley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil drove drunk and smashed into a car carrying two people. The passenger in Neil's car, the drummer for the band Hanoi Rocks, perished and the occupants in the other vehicle were left with critical injuries and brain damage. Judge Edward Hinz Jr. sentenced Neil to 30 days behind bars, 5 years probabtion, $2.6 million in restitution to the victims, and 200 hours of community service. He served 18 days behind bars.
Matthew Broderick was vacationing in Northern Ireland with then-girlfriend Jennifer Grey in 1987 when his BMW collided head-on with another vehicle, instantly taking the lives of a mother and daughter. Broderick was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and faced five years behind bars, but he was later convicted of a lesser charge - careless driving - and fined $175.
When he was 16, Mark Wahlberg was charged with assault and attempted murder for two separate crimes that he committed on the same day. He left one man unconscious, while his other victim went blind in one eye. Wahlberg pleaded guilty to assault and was convicted of two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, marijuana possession, and criminal contempt. Sentenced to three months behind bars, he served 45 days.
In 2011, Gibson pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of domestic battery allegedly committed against his then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva in 2010. He was sentenced to three years probation, a year-long domestic violence counseling program, community service, and various fines. In 2006, Gibson was arrested for drunk driving. As the officer cited him for speeding with an open container of alcohol, Gibson started ranting racial slurs at the officer. As it was his second DUI, Gibson was sentenced to three years probabion, one year of alcohol abuse treatment, a fine, and 90 days probation on his license. In 2009, a judge ruled that his conviction should be expunged.
Billionaire Samuel Curtis Johnson II, of the SC Johnson household products empire, was given four months behind bars (serving only 60 days) and a $6,000 fine for pleading guilty to child molestation charges regarding his teenage stepdaughter. He was not required to register as a sex offender. Prosecutors stated that they had to seek lesser charges because they could not get the necessary cooperation or documents from the victim.
Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail in July 2010 for violating the terms of her probation, but was released after 13 days due to overcrowding. While she was behin bars, she received preferential treatment, such as having visitors after hours and ordering special food.
Snoop Dogg was tried for the 1993 slaying of Philip Woldermariam, a member of a rival gang. A bodyguard fired at Woldermariam from a moving vehicle that Snoop was driving. Both Snoop and the bodyguard were acquitted of first- and second-degree murder charges and there was a mistrial on voluntary manslaughter charges.
Already on probation in 2008 for a controlled substances offense, Charlie Sheen OD'd again and his probation was extended. Then, on Christmas Day 2009, Sheen was arrested for assaulting his wife and charged with felony menacing, second-degree assault, and criminal mischief. His lawyer arranged for his previous charges to be dismissed as part of a plea bargain, and Sheen was sentenced to 30 days in a rehabilitation facility, 30 days of probation, and 36 hours of anger management.
In 1995, British actor Hugh Grant was arrested in Los Angeles with escort Divine Brown after soliciting her for unlwaful services. Later, Grant didn’t have to appear in court and was not jailed. He was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and attend an AIDS education program.
At the age of 19, Curtis Jackson, also known as 50 Cent, was sentenced to three to nine years behind bars for selling controlled substances. However, the judge allowed him to spend six months at boot camp, where he earned his GED.
Paris Hilton has been arrested several times for crimes like driving under the influence, possession of controlled substances, and (twice) leaving the scene of an accident. That is considered a misdemeanor in California, and is punishable by a maximum of six months behind bars and a $1,000 fine. Paris was sentenced to one year probabion, community service, and a fine. The only time she served was 23 days of a 45-day sentence for a probation violation in 2007.
In 2001, actress Rebecca Gayheart fatally hit 9-year-old Jorge Cruz Jr. with her car. She pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to three years probation, a one-year suspension of her license, a $2,800 fine, 750 hours of community service, and a requirement to make a public service announcement.
In 2012, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. served two months of a three-month sentence for a misdemeanor domestic battery charge after attacking his ex-girlfriend, Josie Harris. He received 30 days off of his sentence due to good behavior and work time per Nevada law. However, a judge allowed him to put off going to jail so he could fight Miguel Cotto on May 5, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Mayweather won the fight and reportedly received $32 million.
Billionaire Ty Warner, the founder of Beanie Babies, avoided paying at least $5.5 million in taxes for 12 years by hiding $106 million in offshore Swiss accounts. His punishment for one count of tax evasion was to pay $16 million in back taxes and interest, a $52.5 million penalty, two years of probation, and 500 hours of community service.
Brandy Norwood was involved in a car accident in 2006 when her Range Rover hit a Toyota and ended the lives of a mother and her child on a freeway. It was concluded that there was insufficient evidence for a jury to find Norwood guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, she was never arrested or charged. However, the family of the victims sued for $50 million and a settlement was eventually reached out of court.
One of the most famous celebrity crime stories occurred in 1969 when 36-year-old future senator Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. He was able to escape the car, but his passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, perished. Kennedy claimed that he dove repeatedly that night, along with his cousin and an aide, to try and reach Kopechne to no avail. They returned to their cottage afterward and did not report the accident until the next morning after the overturned car had already been discovered by fishermen. Due to a lack of evidence of illegal activity on Kennedy's part, he received a two-month suspended sentence and a temporary driving ban for leaving the scene.
On November 20, 2003, Michael Jackson was booked on multiple counts of alleged child molestation. In June 2005, after a highly publicized three-month trial in which lurid and personal testimony about Jackson’s life and relationships with young boys was revealed, he was acquitted of all charges.
Robert Blake was accused of slaying his 44-year-old wife Bonnie Lee Bakley on May 4, 2001, after the couple had dinner. Blake claims he walked Bakley to their car but went back to the restaurant to retrieve a side arm he had left there. He said he found Bakley shot in the head when he returned. After a three-month-long trial in 2005, a jury acquitted Blake of the crime. Eight months after the trial ended, Blake was found guilty in a civil trial of intentionally causing Bakley's demise and was ordered to play Bakley's children $30 million.
Boxing promoter Don King ended the lives of two people in separate incidents. In 1954, King fired at a man when he caught him breaking into one of his gambling houses. A jury ruled the deed as "justifiable homicide" and no charges were filed. In 1966, King was convicted of second-degree murder when he took the life of someone who owed him $600. However, the judge reduced his conviction to "non-negligent manslaughter," giving him a four-year sentence. He later received a full pardon from the Ohio governor at the time.
