Celebrities impact the way we live our life through their influence in the media. Whether people hate, worship or don’t care about celebrities, they are still aware of celebrity influence. But, their opinion on a certain celebrity could be based on past decisions the celebrity made. Celebrities aren’t held to the same standards as average people. Their fame and fortune may influence the way they are held accountable for their actions. This raises the question of why and how they can truly get away with their harmful actions? Does modern culture and society even care?
Khloé Kardashian—known for her family show Keeping Up with the Kardashians—was charged with a DUI on March 4, 2007. Kardashian was arrested, had time behind bars for less than a day, and then got bailed out by her family. Once she was in court, she was charged with 30 days of community service and had to attend a DUI program. She ended up missing two classes, earning her 30 days in prison. Her sentence was dismissed due to the belief that her DUI was caused by her having a lot going on at home. Celebrities’ fame and fortune increase the privilege they may have in a courtroom.
The famous 1990s band, Nirvana, was sued for “child porn” on their 1991 “Nevermind” album cover. In 2021, Spencer Elden stated that the decision to reinstate the lawsuit “acknowledges that each republication of a sexualized image of a child injures that person’s reputation.” This album cover is widely thought of as one of the most exceptional ones in music history, although it is no longer considered child pornography. The lawsuit was dismissed after violating the 10-year limitation period.
Former rapper and record producer Sean Combs (P-Diddy), was charged with sexual violations toward young women within two decades of his success. The three women remained anonymous throughout court charges. He was also known to have “freak-off” parties, which have video evidence. The prosecutors had nine “freak-off” videos in their possession. These were used against Combs to send him to prison on September 16, 2024. He is set to stay in a New York prison throughout 2025 until his bail is withdrawn. Combs’s fame doesn’t diminish his abusive behavior, but his charges may be less detrimental because of his status.
On April 6, 2024, country singer Morgan Wallen threw a chair off the bar in Nashville, Tennessee. This resulted in Wallen getting arrested and being charged with three felonies of reckless endangerment, two charges regarded by the officers that were nearly hit by the chair, and another charge for being a general threat to the public. He pled guilty to two misdemeanor reckless endangerment charges rather than felony reckless endangerment. He stated he did this due to being drunk and reckless. He told the public he wasn’t proud of his behavior and managed to still have his albums top the charts.
November 5, 2021, rapper Travis Scott, held his “ASTROWORLD” concert in Houston, Texas. 50,000 people attended even though there wasn’t enough room. The crowd swarmed closer and closer to Scott on stage, which caused ten fatalities and hundreds injured. Scott was not pressed with charges because there was no significant criminal activity. Even though Scott hosted this concert, and he and his team knew how much room there was in the venue, his status let him off the hook for these tragedies.
45th and 47th President of the USA, Donald Trump, has been pressed with multiple charges—the most significant charges being him telling his supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021 when Joe Biden first started in the office, his hush money scandal in the early 2000s, and 86 other felonies or tax frauds that may be invaluable or Trump being pledged not-guilty. Americans across the US debate the ethics of having a criminal as president, while others believe he has been elected for the safety and well-being of the country. Claims brought against Trump didn’t affect his eligibility to be thought of as a “good” president in the eyes of some Americans, mostly because of his status.
Celebrities may be eased off the hook when it comes to being publicly charged with crimes, yet it shows the difference of the justice system they have compared to the justice system for the average person. Which displays how their fame and fortune can give them more opportunity of things going their way. Celebrities and the power they may have over the average person presents the justice they may face in the courtroom because of their money and their public identity. Overall, celebrities are historically known to have leverage in the courtroom due to the money and power they have over society.
