Celebrity Scandals

On last Friday, August 17, Uncle Kracker was arrested for a second-degree forcible sex offense in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was held at the Wake County Jail. Uncle Kracker, or Matthew Shafer, is most famous for his former position as Kid Rock’s DJ, his hit “Follow Me” from the year 2000, and his famous duet with Kenny Chesney titled “When the Sun Goes Down”.

uncle-kracker.jpgShortly after he was released on $75,000 bail, Uncle Kracker made a statement to PEOPLE which suggests that he views the accusation from a women who was present at a club he also attended as nothing more than an attempt to ruin his reputation simply because he is famous. The statement reads, “It’s regrettable that someone would make this kind of allegation, not only because it’s not the kind of thing I’d do, as the father of three girls, it’s the kind of thing that I wouldn’t stand for. Anyone can say anything about anybody but it doesn’t make it true or correct. This is one of those cases. I’m saddened that anyone might think I’m capable of this sort of thing.” It is currently unknown whether the accusations of his 26-year old accuser are not credible, but as with any accusation of this nature, the accusations have been taken very seriously and will be investigated further by police. According to numerous reports, the woman approached an off-duty police officer stating that Uncle Kracker had committed a sexual act against her while she was inside the club. It is unknown what the exact offense he allegedly committed actually is because police have yet to release that specific information regarding the incident.

The accusing woman’s name was not released but the incident allegedly took place at the Ess Lounge, a nightclub where he had performed on the same night in downtown Raleigh, on Thursday night. However, Uncle Kracker was not arrested until hours later on early Friday morning, at approximately 4:45 a.m. according to TMZ.com, at the hotel he was staying in which was the Embassy Suites hotel. TMZ also reported that police officers had viewed Uncle Kracker as a flight risk because he had stated that he would fly immediately back to his home state of Michigan in order to escape the woman’s accusations and charges.

Anna Nicole Smith’s death was shrouded in mystery and reeked of a scandal, but it seems that now, things are beginning to straighten out for those who know her the best. Howard K. Stern, Anna’s lawyer and later, unofficial husband, has decided to spend as much time in the Bahamas as possible in order to be near the remains of Anna and her son Daniel who died only a few short months before his mother.

While many fans have drawn parallels between the lives of Anna Nicole and another famous blonde, Marilyn Monroe, Stern points out that Anna Nicole felt that way as well. Stern said that Daniel was Anna Nicole’s entire reason for living, which was the one thing she thought separated herself from Monroe, and thought would ultimately save her from an early death. Unfortunately, her plans failed after Daniel died and her reason for living was gone. Anna Nicole would die a short time later of complications which resulted from drug interactions.

The baby daughter named Danielynn who Anna Nicole gave birth to shortly before her own untimely death is now living with paternal father Larry Birkhead. The paternity battle between Birkhead and Stern was finally settled upon the use of a DNA test to establish true paternity. Despite losing the paternity case, Stern was congenial about Birkhead’s new role as father to baby Danielynn whom Stern had been treating as his own child.

It seems that there are only two scandals left in this story. The first is the still unanswered question of the money and who will get it. Anna Nicole was in litigation with the son of her billionaire ex-husband, whom she says promised her a hefty inheritance of millions of dollars after his death. A complex case, it will likely be several years before any significant gains are made in establishing the true heir to the money at stake in the inheritance battle.

The other controversial scandal relates to a South Carolina businessman named G. Ben Thompson who Stern states, broke into Anna Nicole’s home in the Bahamas on the day after her death. Thompson, a friend of Anna Nicole’s and some say legal owner of the house there, maintains that he was collecting objects for safe-keeping and the hearing date is set for August 28, 2007.

Despite all of the controversy which developed into a full-fledged media frenzy when the plan for O.J.’s latest book If I Did It was revealed, it seems that the book may actually find it’s way to your local bookshelves anyway. If I Did It is a chronicle of how O.J. says he would have murdered his ex-wife Nicole and Ron Goldman, if he had done it. It seems very tasteless to me, and in the eyes of most of the media coverage, it seems like it’s getting that rep as well. So what will be the draw, and why is it going to be published anyway?

Well, despite editor Judith Regan being fired by Harper Collins for supporting the initial release of the book, If I Did It, the controversial book has now found new support thanks to a court ruling that will award most of the proceeds to the family of Ron Goldman—the reason being that they have not been paid much of the 33.5 million they deserved from winning a wrongful death case against Simpson. According to rumors circulating now, the family of Goldman will be adding notations to O.J.’s original text and the book will be published through Beaufort Books, a small publishing company based in New York.

Though the Goldman family support of the book’s release, since they will have ultimate control over it, there are some who are not so happy about the change. Denise Brown, the sister of the murdered Nicole Brown, believes that the book is in poor-taste and supports a full boycott of the book, despite the fact that the proceeds will be going to the Goldman’s. She accuses them of profiting from the “blood money” of their son Ron and of the death of Nicole as well. On the other side of the fence, the Goldman’s and Beaufort Books are confident that the book will not glorify the musings of an accused murderer, but hope that their special additions to the text will help readers honor the memories of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. It will also be one of the most effective ways to begin to be compensated for the huge amount of money they are still owed by O.J. Simpson

The book is currently scheduled for release on the 3rd of October, though many bookstores are still deciding whether to carry the controversial book.

Unless you were living under a rock in early August of 2006, you probably remember the huge amount of fall out and weeks of media discussion from Mel Gibson’s highly publicized erratic behavior and subsequent arrest for three offenses on July 28, 2006. First, Gibson was found traveling on Pacific Coast Highway significantly over the speed limit at approximately 2:30 am. When officers pulled him over, they found offense number two: an open container of Cazadores Tequila. Finally, a blood alcohol content test revealed that Gibson an alcohol level of 0.12%, far above the legal limit for driving which in California is 0.08%.

In today’s world, we’ve become so used to seeing celebrities reprimanded for drug use, sent to rehab, or even jail, but the behavior Mel Gibson displayed upon his arrest is one of the most surprising instances of celebrity bad behavior in the past several years (with the possibly exception of Lindsay Lohan’s drug-fueled car chase). While waiting in the police car, Gibson began to make Anti-Semitic remarks such as “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” to the Jewish arresting officer and later allegedly called a female officer “sugartits” as he was escorted by another officer.

It’s difficult to judge the sincerity of the several public apologies which were issued by Mel Gibson. If there hadn’t been so much media attention surrounding his behavior, would he have changed his ways? Will his career be hurt in the long-run for his offensive outbursts? These questions are hard to answer and only time will tell whether Mel Gibson can rebuild his reputation in the eyes of his fans, or if he will from now on regarded as a prejudiced drunk. Other celebrities have beat the odds and recovered, while some have tainted their reputations forever (think Tom Cruise’s prescription drug rant and Britney Spears’ hard-partying reputation).

Many famous names spoke out against Mel Gibson’s unacceptable behavior and pledged to keep him from working on productions with their studios or from accepting roles in his movies.

mel2.jpgThe final sentencing for Gibson’s DUI “incident” was: a 90-day license suspension, three years probation, mandatory one year Alcoholic’s Anonymous participation, mandatory rehab attendance, and a $1,300. Still seems pretty light compared to the jail time that Paris Hilton received for a much less serious offense: driving under a suspended license. What gives?

It seems that everything with Britney’s Meltdown crisis still hasn’t come to its end. Kevin Federline’s attorneys have now subpoenaed many of Britney’s employees to make statements regarding Britney’s behavior around her children. I’m sure most people will now agree that Britney’s children need to be with a more responsible parent. I’m not sure if Kevin Federline is the best answer, but let’s take a look at Britney’s recent downfall and repeated reports of erratic behavior.

1. The Umbrella and the Paparazzo’s Car- Probably the ultimate in Britney craziness. She looks like a psychopath.
2. The Head-Shaving- Pictures below. Words aren’t really needed.
3. The Clubs- It wouldn’t be so exciting if she wore underwear. I especially enjoy the occasion which provided us the pictures of Britney after she had changed into her assistant’s clothes… and her poor assistant had to wear Britney’s trashy get up.
4. The Awful Extensions- You’ve seen them. They look like bread twist ties attached to her head. You would think that with the number of people surrounding her at all times, someone would have the balls to tell her to spend a few bucks to get some decent extensions.
5. The Revenge of the Fashion Mags- This is probably the most insightful of all of the recent crazy-Britney actions. If you haven’t heard, Britney personally booked a photo shoot and interview with OK! Magazine that turned disastrous according to OK!. TMZ has called it a definite “melt down” and states that Britney was so completely out of it during the shoot that she thought the ceiling would cave in on her head and could barely keep her eyes from rolling back into her head. She ruined several pieces of the wardrobe for the shoot and left the premises without finishing the interview.
6. The Pool Hook Up- A 21-year old college student named Matt Encinias who was in Britney’s most recent music video has gone public with his story of hanging out and making out with Britney naked in a pool at L.A.’s Standard Hotel.
7. The Fender Bender- Last week, an unbuckled Britney ran her car into a parked car outside of a vitamin store in L.A. She may face hit-and-run charges since she didn’t file a report or contact the owner of the car.

It seems like the list can’t get much longer but it will be interesting to see what’s to come in the future. Hopefully, Britney will come to her senses and get the help she so obviously needs. Otherwise, who knows what will happen next?

Celebrities, by nature, are very high-profile individuals and with the ever-growing popularity of non-stop coverage of nearly all “A-list” celebrities that are “hot” at the moment, their profiles tend to grow larger all the time. Additionally, celebrities are known to make lots of money on the projects that they are involved in, endorsements deals, and their subsequent investments. All of this exposure about them and their financial profile makes celebrities prime targets for extortion.

Just recently, Tom Cruise and his wife Katie Holmes were the target of a celebrity extortion attempt by a 47 year old Arizona man. The man contact Cruise’s representatives claiming to possess private photographs of his wedding day to Holmes and was asking for a sum in excess of $1,000,000 for them. Cruise’s representative immediately went to the FBI and the man was arrested and detained with bail set at $100,000.

This is not the first time that celebrity extortion has taken place, nor will it be the last. In fact, there is no way to know how often it happens because it is very likely and really no doubt about the fact that many celebrities would rather pay an extortionist off before having their private moments become public, particularly if it showed them in a particularly negative light. In Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ case, it happened to simply be their wedding day. While it is certain that they would rather those photos not get into the public eye, they don’t depict the couple doing anything remotely shameful. Since a celebrity’s future earning potential and marketability hinders on their public image, there are many celebrities that would quickly decide to pay off an extortionist leech rather than allow their embarrassing moments go public.

Other public victims of celebrity extortion include, but are certainly not limited to Paris Hilton, Collin Farrell, Tommy Lee, Pamela Anderson, and Oprah Winfrey. Though the reason for the extortion changes with each celebrity that falls victim to extortionists the crime is always the same and is punishable in the same manner that conventional extortion is punishable.