Celebrities v the Law
Updated: Jun 10, 2023
Once again, 2015 was a busy year for celebrities and the law. Here’s a recap of some of the encounters celebrities had with the law in 2015…
January
Source: Perez Hilton
Chris Brown’s probation was revoked after he failed to gain permission to leave Los Angeles County.
Law 1: Celebrity 0
February
Source: Tumblr
Vanilla Ice made a plea deal to complete 1000 hours of community service and pay a $1,033 fine, after being charged with stealing $1 million worth goods from his neighbour’s home.
Law 2: Celebrity 0
Lindsay Lohan was ordered to complete an additional 125 hours of community service concerning her 2012 car crash. Lindsay Lohan is now off probation for the first time in seven years.
Law 3: Celebrity 0
March
Source: Rebloggy
Investigation was made into whether Harper Lee was capable of consenting to the publishing of her book Go Set A Watchman, after it was suggested that the 88 year old may have been manipulated into publishing the novel without her consent. US police ultimately dismissed the investigation.
Law 3: Celebrity 1
April
Source: Tumblr
Back in April, Nelly was arrested for possession of cannabis and methamphetamine.
Law 4: Celebrity 1
Enrique Iglesius was charged with obstruction and driving with a suspended licence. After being pulled over by police, it was reported that Enrique did a switcheroo and jumped from the driver’s seat into the back of his car, while his passenger hopped into the driver’s seat.
Law 5: Celebrity 1
May
Source: Tumblr
Johnny Depp allegedly breached Australian quarantine legislation by importing his Yorkshire Terriers, Pistol and Boo into Australia on his private jet without declaring them. Barnaby Joyce also threatened to euthanise Pistol and Boo if Depp failed to remove his furry friends from Australia.
Law 5: Celebrity 1
June
Source: Youtube
DMX was imprisoned after a warrant was issued for his arrest after failing to pay child support.
Law 6: Celebrity 1
P Diddy was charged with assaulting a man with a kettlebell at his son’s football game. Luckily for him, the charges were subsequently dropped.
Law 6: Celebrity 2
July
Source: Tumblr
Snoop Dogg was arrested in Sweden on the suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.
Law: 7 Celebrity: 2
Bernard Tomic was arrested in Miami at his $10,000 per night hotel at 5am due to making too much noise at the drunken party.
Law: 8 Celebrity: 2
AC/DC drummer, Phil Rudd was arrested again in New Zealand after having already been sentenced to home detention after pleading guilty to threatening to kill his security guard.
Law: 9 Celebrity: 2
August
Source: Tumblr
Courtney Love was sued for defamation by her designer after Love accused her of theft on the Howard Stern Show. The dispute was settled and Love agreed to pay her designer $350,000.
Law: 10 Celebrity: 2
September
2015 has been a bad year for Chris Brown who was banned from entering Australia. His application for an Australian visa was denied on ‘character grounds.’*Cough* his conviction for assaulting Rihanna *Cough*. He has also been banned from entering Britain and Canada and his Australian tour has since been cancelled.
Law:11 Celebrity: 2
October
Source: Tumblr
Shia Labouf was arrested for being drunk in public and deciding to take his own advice and just do it, in this case, jay – walking in front of police.
Law: 12 Celebrity: 2
Lamar Odom was found passed out in a Nevada brothel after overdosing with cocaine. He is allegedly under investigation by police for unlawful use of an illicit substance.
Law: 13 Celebrity: 2
November
Source: Rebloggy
Taylor Swift was sued for breach of copyright by Jesse Brahman for allegedly using his lyrics ‘haters gonna hate, players gonna play’ from his song Haters Gone Hate in her song, Shake It Off. Taylor will now be hoping that her court case goes down in flames.
Law: 14 Celebrity: 2
NCIS’s Michael Weatherly was charged with drink driving after being caught speeding. He was locked up over night and may face prison if convicted.
Law: 15 Celebrity: 2
December
Source: Tumblr
Charlie Sheen alleged that his ex – fiancé Brett Rossi extorted him of millions of dollars after discovering his diagnosis with HIV. To complicate matters further, Rossi is reportedly suing Sheen for assault, emotional distress and negligence.
Law: 16 Celebrity: 2
Bill Cosby was charged with aggravated indecent assault after allegedly drugged a woman and then sexually assaulted her in 2005. Cosby has been accused of sexually assaulting up to 50 women over decades, but, has been only been charged once.
Law: 16 Celebrity: 3
Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of murdering Reeva Steenkamp after the prosecution appealed his September 2014 manslaughter conviction. Pistorius is awaiting sentencing, and will face a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years imprisonment.
Law: 17 Celebrity: 3
So the law wins and the words of The Clash apply to celebrities as well every day people ourselves: ‘I fought the law and the law won.’
Enjoyed this post? Sign up for the Survive Law weekly newsletter for more.
Interesting angle on how celebrity cases so often turn on reputation rather than the actual facts — defamation suits especially seem to hinge on public perception as much as legal merit. It's the same kind of moral grey area that draws me to narrative horror; a boy's obsession spiraling into something monstrous feels like the fictional mirror of those stories. If you like endings that punish and reward choices, the guides at the-falsesun.com/walkthrough map all 20 routes.
Celebrity legal sagas always fascinate me — the endless appeals, PR battles, and clerkship insights make each case feel like a puzzle. Reading about how courts treat fame versus ordinary defendants really highlights the law’s strange rhythms. When I need a mental break from all that heavy legal commentary, I’ve been playing Poople Answer, which offers endless word ladder puzzles with no daily cap. It’s a nice way to reset between cases, and you can start anytime.
The "Celebrities v the Law" angle is always fascinating because fame seems to bend both public opinion and courtroom strategy. I appreciate how you break down cases without turning them into pure tabloid fodder—especially the clerkship perspective, which often gets ignored. It makes me think about how ordinary people also test their instincts against unfamiliar places and rules. If you enjoy that kind of challenge, try this world guesser game—it's a free way to drop into random street views and guess where you are.
The celebrity-versus-law angle never gets old, mainly because the gap between public persona and what actually shows up in filings is so wide. Public opinion shifts fast once real documents surface, no matter what the tabloids claimed first. I usually take a short break between reading briefs to reset my head, and lately that's meant a quick browser racer — the unblocked version of PolyTrack runs in a tab with no download, which is handy when I only have a few minutes. Then it's straight back to the docket. Any plans to cover the latest defamation appeal?
The running scoreboard is a clever framing, but it raises a question about what counts as a win for the law. When charges are dropped or investigations dismissed, like with P Diddy or Harper Lee, the celebrity gains a point, yet the legal system still expended resources. Does that really signal a loss for the law, or just a different kind of outcome? It makes me wonder how we should weigh dropped charges against convictions.
Further reading: https://collagemaker.org/