15 Celebrities Who You’ll Be Shocked They Served Major Prison Time
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Try searching for “can celebrities go” and look at what appears on your computer’s search box. Amongst the most sought queries is whether our idols can go to jail.
Like any other individual, celebrities are not above the law and can also go behind bars. Some of them even end up dying while serving life-long sentences.
Over the years, many celebrities have brushed shoulders with the law. Is your favorite movie star, entrepreneur, sportsperson, or musician on our list? Let’s find out.
Bill Cosby
Arrested in September 2018, Cosby was to serve a three to ten-year sentence at SCI Phoenix. However, the comedian was released on 30 June 2021 after the overturning of his conviction. Based on an agreement with the Montgomery County district attorney at the time, Cosby would not go to jail provided he testified.
Cosby went behind bars after being found guilty of three counts of assault, drugging, and molestation. Within the 2010s, several entities severed ties with the infamous comedian, stripping him off some titles. Several women testified to have been Cosby’s sexual harassment victims.
OJ Simpson
The previous NFL star had one of the most publicized trials of the ’90s as he appeared in court to answer charges for allegedly murdering his wife, Nicole Simpsons, and her buddy, Ronald Goldman.
Although he didn’t spend time in jail due to his wife’s murder allegations, Simpsons wasn’t too lucky the next time he was on trial. The Browns and the Goldmans filed a civil lawsuit that he lost, prompting him to spend $33.5 million covering damages.
An armed robbery incident in 2007 was what got him to spend time in prison. In October the following year, he, together with an accomplice, Clarence Stewart, was charged guilty on 12 counts.
Simpsons got a nine to 33-year sentence served in Nevada’s Lovelock Correctional Center. He was set free in 2017.
Robert Downey Jr
Did you know that Downey got enlisted as one of the 100 most influential individuals in 2008? You might know him as Iron Man in the action-packed Marvel Universe. The entertainer was even the highest-paid actor in 2013 through ’15. Nevertheless, the ride wasn’t all smooth for him in his teen and early adulthood years.
In 1996, law enforcers unraveled a firearm, cocaine, and heroin in Downey’s vehicle. Downey had to attend drug treatment programs but forfeited a drug testing exercise promoting his arrest. He went to prison in 1999 and served for six months. He missed another drug test again later that year and spent three years at the California State Prison.
Despite having a permanent record on the charges, the actor got a pardon for the conviction in 2015.
Lauryn Hill
Winning eight Grammy awards, five MTV VMAs, four Guinness World Records, and a similar number of NAACP Image Awards is no easy fit. She entertained us with unforgettable hits while still with her group, the Fugees, and leading a momentous award-packed solo career in the early 2000s.
The International Revenue Service sued Hill in 2012 due to unpaid taxes. She accepted the three counts of tax evasion in the years 2005, 2006, and 2007. The singer agreed to pay back $1.5 million. She got sent to prison for three months in the following year and got a similar home confinement duration.
Mike Tyson
At only 20 after grabbing the world title in 1986, Tyson made history, becoming the youngest fighter to do so. In addition, he went on to run the show remaining unbeaten for four years before his mega loss to Buster Douglas. While his defeat had many talking, his 1992 arrest was the one that created the most controversy.
Although claiming it was consensual, Tyson got charged with raping Desiree Washington, an aspiring Miss Black America participant. The judge sentenced the boxer to six years in prison with four more on parole.
He spent a little less than three years in prison and didn’t hesitate to reenter the ring upon release. Within the following year, he had regained his heavyweight title.
Michelle Rodriguez
Since rising to fame in 2000, Rodriguez has starred in various top-selling movies, including Fast and Furious and Girlfight. Nonetheless, she has also had a few run-ins with the law.
In 2002, she got arrested for assaulting her roommate, although the charges got dropped as the roommate was unwilling to go against her.
The following year saw her going to court to face eight misconduct charges. These were due to driving while drunk, using a suspended license, and a hit and run incident. She went to jail for two days and had to attend a three-month drug counseling program, community service, and a three-year probation.
In 2005, she got arrested again for driving under the influence. Being a violation of her probation, she had to serve two months in jail plus community service and rehabilitation, each lasting 30 days.
She violated her probation again and was given a 180-day jail time sentence but only served 18 given the jail’s overcrowded state.
Lil Wayne
With over 160 visits to the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Lil Wayne cements his position as one of the most loved hip-hop artists. In 2020, the rapper released “I Do It,” which peaked at number 33, making him surpass Elvis Presley to become the second artist with the most top 40 hits after Drake.
In January 2008, Wayne got arrested with two other accomplices for having marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy on his tour bus. He was charged on several counts and set free on bond.
He got detained again in 2009 together with 11 other individuals as both his tour buses contained marijuana. The entertainer accepted charges on an attempted unlawful weapon possession.
While he was to receive his sentence in February 2010, the process got delayed twice because of Wayne’s dental surgery and second due to a courthouse fire.
In March the same year, he received a one-year sentence to serve in Rikers Island but got out after spending eight months behind bars.
Mark Wahlberg
He may be a darling to many people now as he thrills us with his action in movies like “Transformers” and “Ted.” Forbes even ranked him the third highest-earning actor in 2020. However, Wahlberg admits he wasn’t the best version of himself during his teen years.
At 16 years, he molested a Vietnamese-American man, insulted him, and knocked him unconscious using a wooden stick. On the same day, he punched another Vietnamese-American man whom he thought he had blinded on the left eye, although this wasn’t the case.
The actor got arrested and charged with a murder attempt. He accepted felony attempt charges and was given two years in jail but only stayed there for 45 days. He tried to get a pardon for his crimes but later decided to forfeit, considering their racial nature.
Ryan Leaf
For NFL fanatics, you may know Ryan Leaf as one of the biggest draft busts. The quarterback had a triumphant college career earning him the second spot in the NFL draft. However, he only played for four seasons, with his career coming to a quick halt courtesy of poor play, work struggles, misdemeanor, among other issues.
He hasn’t been much better off the field, as he had run-ins with the law, including May 2020 for domestic battery.
The former NFL player began his legal struggles in 2010 after participating in theft. In April the same year, he accepted seven counts for fraudulently obtaining a controlled supply and another for a simulated controlled substance supply. He got a $20,000 fine for the crime and a decade’s probation.
In 2012, the ex-NFL player was arrested for drug and theft charges and got released in December 2014 after spending time in Montana prison.
Martha Stewart
When it comes to food preparation, Martha is super meticulous. The businesswoman has had quite some success beginning with her first TV show that aired until 2004.
After a six-week trial, Stewart was found guilty of conspiring in 2004. She had also given investigators wrong information and interfered with agency proceedings. The Chef served five months in FPC Alderson for the crimes and also underwent a two-year supervision period post-release.
Teresa Giudice
While amassing fame and money with her cookbooks and acting skills, “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” actor was also famous for her extravagant lifestyle.
In July 2013, Teresa and her husband, Joe, got charged for conspiring to commit mail, bank, and wire frauds plus misinforming the bank on a loan application and bankruptcy fraud. All counts came to 39.
Whereas Teresa got a 15-month jail sentence, her husband was to serve 41 months. Nevertheless, the judge permitted the couple to get incarcerated at different times so that their kids could have someone to look after them.
Teresa went to jail first and stayed for eleven months before her release, two days before Christmas, 2015.
James Brown
Considered Showbusiness’ “Hardest Working Man” and the “Godfather of Soul,” Brown has sealed his name as one of the best entertainers. While his talent is undeniable, the singer has also had his fair share of criminal offenses.
He first got convicted for robbery while 16 and had to serve three years for them. The second instance he went to jail was after his three 1988 arrests. These included one for assault, another for drugs and firearms, and another for the famous high-speed chase in which he drove on his car’s rims.
He got convicted for handling an unlicensed firearm and assaulting a law enforcer. While he got a six-year sentence, he was set free on parole two years later.
Jamie Waylett
If you are a Harry Potter freak, you likely remember Vincent Crabbe, a role played by Waylett. It is the actor’s only role with him starring in six of the eight parts of the film to date.
In 2009, Waylett got pulled over by police while driving with a friend. A search revealed a knife and marijuana within the vehicle. The ex-Harry Potter actor’s mother also had marijuana growing at her place.
He was charged in July the same year and pleaded guilty to allegations of planting the drug at his mother’s place. He got 120 community service hours for the drug charges.
In 2012, Waylett got sentenced to two years for participating in the 2011 England riots.
Wesley Snipes
At some point, Snipes was amongst the most in-demand actors. His first encounter with the law wasn’t his fault. He got arrested while driving a vehicle leased by his production company and said he got manhandled by the police due to racial profiling.
However, the second time he was getting arrested was for concrete reasons. He had a half-loaded firearm on him recovered after a motorcycle accident. He got two years of unsupervised probation plus a $2700-dollar fine.
Most probably, the reason for his career decline is his conviction for three misdemeanor counts for forfeiting on his taxes for three years. The actor got a three-year sentence in 2008 before getting moved to the New York Community Corrections Office for home confinement.
Phil Spector
For years, Phil Spector was a certified hitmaker, a music producer whose iconic tunes and distinct sounds topped the charts. He was a Grammy winner who got added to the Rock and Roll hall of fame. But after being out of the music limelight for quite some time, he was back on the screen being charged with murder.
In 2003, 40-year old Lana Clarkson was discovered dead within the artist’s Southern California home. Spector got convicted in 2009 of second-degree murder. The rock star was given 19 years to life in prison.
The singer died in January 2021 in Stockton Prison, aged 81. Taking to Instagram, his ex-wife, Ronnie Spector, commented that he was a superb producer though a poor husband.
Wrapping Up
Even for celebrities like Lindsey Lohan that only spent two weeks in jail, the experience is acutely distressing. In a 2014 interview, she said solitary confinement made her feel like she didn’t have to answer to anyone, but “two days would have been enough.”
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