Celebrities who get away with Crimes
In class, we spent a lot of time discussing OJ Simpson, and many people were frustrated
that his celebrity status allowed him to get away with alleged murder.
Celebrities getting out of punishments for a crime that any regular civilian would have to be held to.
that his celebrity status allowed him to get away with alleged murder.
Celebrities getting out of punishments for a crime that any regular civilian would have to be held to.
For example, Justin Bieber was accused of drag racing and DUI, with a medley of illegal substances in
his blood. He was never convicted of drug or alcohol charges or was never forced to attend rehab.
His only punishment was a charitable donation and anger management classes. A normal punishment
for DUI is a fine and possible jail time. Drag racing, another fine and 6 months in jail.
Drug use is usually probation and counseling. As you can see, Bieber got off extremely easy on this case.
his blood. He was never convicted of drug or alcohol charges or was never forced to attend rehab.
His only punishment was a charitable donation and anger management classes. A normal punishment
for DUI is a fine and possible jail time. Drag racing, another fine and 6 months in jail.
Drug use is usually probation and counseling. As you can see, Bieber got off extremely easy on this case.
In another case, R. Kelly was accused of child pornography. There were videos of a man resembling him
on property that resembled one he owned at the time, performing sexual acts with 14-year-old girls.
Multiple police reports have been filed against Kelly alleged sex acts with underage girls, which have
been mostly ignored by the public. There have been over 40 witnesses and testimonies identifying Kelly
in that video, and as having sex with underage girls. Additionally, there are reports that he would pick up
girls at his old high school, Kenwood Academy. Right as the young women in videos’ case was going to
trial, her family and her disappeared on a trip to Europe their neighbors were surprised they could afford,
and apparently, R. Kelly settled it out of court, exchanging money for silence. This could never have
happened to a regular person- with the mountains of evidence that R. Kelly is a child sex offender, it
could be only his riches and celebrity that protect him from prosecution.
on property that resembled one he owned at the time, performing sexual acts with 14-year-old girls.
Multiple police reports have been filed against Kelly alleged sex acts with underage girls, which have
been mostly ignored by the public. There have been over 40 witnesses and testimonies identifying Kelly
in that video, and as having sex with underage girls. Additionally, there are reports that he would pick up
girls at his old high school, Kenwood Academy. Right as the young women in videos’ case was going to
trial, her family and her disappeared on a trip to Europe their neighbors were surprised they could afford,
and apparently, R. Kelly settled it out of court, exchanging money for silence. This could never have
happened to a regular person- with the mountains of evidence that R. Kelly is a child sex offender, it
could be only his riches and celebrity that protect him from prosecution.
As you can see, celebrities can commit a crime from drug or traffic all the way to child sex offenses
and murder, as we’ve seen through many celebrities. I find it unfair that celebrities can use their money
and public favor to gain kind of an immunity to the law.
and murder, as we’ve seen through many celebrities. I find it unfair that celebrities can use their money
and public favor to gain kind of an immunity to the law.
I completely agree that it is unfair how celebrities not only can avoid repercussions of a crime they committed, but how they are still loved by their fans. I think we put celebrities on a "pedestal" overruling who they are as a person due to their fame. Justin Bieber is continuously idolized by his fans and his crimes were merely "brushed off" by the public. Another example is rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, who's real name is Daniel Hernandez. He has engaged with sexual acts with a minor, racketeering, armed robbery, and drug trafficking, yet has managed to avoid posted court dates. To this day, he is still famous and working on new tracks for his "fans". How can his "followers" continue to dismiss behavior like this for his "music"? At the end of the day, celebrities are just people behind their mask of fame. So why is it so hard for society to see them as people? If it wasn't for their fame no one would bat an eye at convicting them.
ReplyDeleteIn the justice system I think that wealthy people already have the upper hand because they can afford the best lawyers and use their money to buy their freedom. When someone is a celebrity this is even more so true because no one wants to go against a famous person and be the bad person who brought them down. With OJ's case, it was hard to get public support against him because it was much easier to believe that it was a robbery gone wrong, than a loving father and amazing football player that killed his wife.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree as well, i think that it's unfair how they don't get punishment for the illegal things they can do while if it was a normal civilian doing that they would do so much worse. Society needs to see that celebrities are regular people too and just because they have fame it doesn't mean that they should be treated any differently than if any other civilian would. For example, Chris Brown brutally hit his former girlfriend Rihanna and left her whole face bruised. He got some jail time and was on probation and in anger management classes but even after all that though he did have some hate everything he did just got "brushed off" .
ReplyDeleteAoibhin, I totally agree with this post.I feel that the judicial system for many reasons allows for people with money to escape their punishments. Through lawyers and being able to pay bail, celebrities and rich people get away with heavy crimes In the 2008 financial crisis I am pretty sure that no high level executives were incarcerated for the mass corruption and bond shorting that went on. Instead the working class people were the ones to pay while investors and executives walked away with the cash.
ReplyDeleteMoney is the biggest factor that contributes to this unfair matter. Money is status and social acceptance. The more money you have, the better person you are perceived to be by others with money so within the legal system those with lots of money are treated with more leniency, especially those in politics or in the judiciary. With all these examples you've listed I decided to look up what exactly does happen to these stars when and if they enter a jail facility? We see celebrities getting jail time for 2 hours which gets caught on tape so that people think they got the same treatment. But they get to stay in different areas of the jail to be alone. They are also protection from all the dangers that a normal inmate would be exposed to and they get to go home to their multi-million dollar mansions after the press goes away because they have the money to buy their way out of sticky situations. I agree that this is completely unfair.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this post. Just because a celebrity has more money and fame than normal people does not mean that they should be getting a different treatment when it comes to punishments because at the end they are still humans as well. I feel that celebrities need to start being treated more like the general community when it comes to cases and such, and that they should not have an advantage just because they have more fame and money
ReplyDeleteI believe that the special privileges reaped by celebrities is part of the public's fault. The public places these celebrities on a pedestal, and in turn, the celebrities become enabled by their newfound fame. I do not believe that money is the biggest problem in these cases. I believe the public influence that their fame brings them is the largest problem. Oftentimes, juries do not want to see their favorite celebrity be put in jail. Also, the judges do not want to be responsible for being the person who put the public's favorite celebrity in jail or sentencing a harsh punishment. With these two factors combined, a celebrity's fame buys a lot of leniency towardsfor him or her.
ReplyDelete