Celebrities are let off too easily

[Black Arrow Officer]

One thing that makes my blood boil and my veins bulge is how celebrities are constantly let off the hook for serious crimes. They learn that they are legally untouchable and then use their status to get away with literally anything. I'm honestly worried about the state of our society when our "idols" engage in horrifying behaviors that are completely forgotten "cuz dere famus".

Michael Vick-Tortured and killed many dogs in horrible ways in his dog fighting ring. Sentenced to 3 years in prison, let off the hook on account of "good behavior", signed promotional deals and is now making more money than ever.

Mick Jagger-Got into a fight with a photographer that led to assault charges which were inexplicably dropped with no time served.

R Kelly-Made a sex tape featuring a minor, penetrated his 14 year old niece, charged with 21 offenses of sex with a minor, let off completely free.

Robert Downey Jr.-Charged with an endless string of drug abuse crimes, let off lightly for all except one.

Kobe Bryant-Raped a hotel employee, civil suit settled for a pathetic sum of money.

50 Cent-A police search of his home unearthed bricks of heroin, ten ounces of coke, and a starter gun, sentenced to 9 years in jail but let out after 6 months.

Joshua Jackson-Involved in an altercation with a security guard at a hockey game with a blood alcohol content of 0.14. Forced to attend an alcohol education program and do 24 hours of community service.

Amy Winehouse-Charged with assault on 3 separate occasions, forced to pay £185.

Now all of these cases including the dozens more PISS ME THE FUCK OFF. These are the people who children are looking up to, and when celebrities can skip around the law where a "regular" person would have his ass hauled to prison, it really sends a horrible message to kids, and society as a whole. That's why the only form of justice I believe in for celebrities anymore is death. That's why I had a slight amount of schadenfreude when Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston died. If the justice system and their own moral compass isn't going to teach them that snorting pounds of cocaine, assaulting photographers and beating their wives is fucked up, the Grim Reaper can. That sounds morbid, but I just can't get over how these subhuman scumbags are allowed to do whatever the fuck they want with no consequences. It's a travesty.

Look at how gung-ho happy persecutors are with 15 year olds who have weed. They'll be locked in juvenile detention programs until they're 18, and then it's prison. But celebrities who engage in FUCKING MANSLAUGHTER? They won't even have to set foot in a courthouse. This is a sad, sad time for the justice system. Persecutors need to FORCE these fucking loser celebrities to go to fucking prison and do their fucking time for their fucking crimes against society.

/endrant

 

[requisitename]

I actually agree. Except for the "whoohoo they died" part.

While I realize that those who find themselves in the position of "celebrity" never asked for kids to emulate them, in our society, they do. Whether they want that or not, they have it, and as such, should at least try not to be raging criminals in front of the kiddies.

On the other hand, I think our society needs a little realignment of priorities when people worth millions of dollars (or more) are given free shit everywhere they go just for being famous. Well, that and the fact that people think that celebrities are inherently any more informed on *any* subject than the average person. Some of them may be on some subjects, but it's ridiculous to believe/follow what they say on every single matter simply because they.. what? Throw a football/basketball/baseball well? Look good in a swimsuit/with their shirt unbuttoned?

*sighs* Now you've gone and made me rant, too.

 

[Gustof26]

They do add to the culture of the world as a whole. This of course doesn't mean they should be given higher privileged then another human being. What it does mean is that they have a large effect then an average person. This is what allows for such things to happen, I'm not saying it's right, I'm simply saying that's the reason why I believe they get away with it.

 

[Risingblade]

I blame the public and their bad tastes in people to worship

 

[4173]

Yep, drug possession and punching a guy = rape and dog murder



I bet a few celebrities have gotten out of a ticket with an autograph. I hope they got burned alive. JUSTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Blind Sight]

Yes, cause all those drug offenses are clearly on the same scale as rape. Therefore, death is a wonderful punishment for them. Especially snorting cocaine, I mean, doing something to your own body that I disapprove of? You should fucking die. Sorry, but you come off as petty and malicious.

I do agree that celebrities have gotten off the hook for far too many things, especially violent crimes, but that's a trend based off of a larger issue with justice systems in the Western world (which I could go on for quite awhile about but that would just be a wall of text). Institutional reform is definitely needed. Regardless, some petty satisfaction over them dying reflects more poorly on you then them.

 

[Vault101]

or when they die of drug related reasons....

I kind of have a problem with that..like yeah Im sure they were great people but THIS IS WHY YOU DONT DO DRUGS..look what fucking happens, people dont know their limit, get addicted and "oh its such a sad tradgedy"

I mean ok..people do drugs, it just kind of makes it hard for me to sympathise when people die because of them

mabye drug addiction is an illness liek others....but it just seems like such a no brainer to the outside observer

or the fact that people actually care about celebritie lives, I mean if somone i a great actor or whatever then thats cool but its beyond me why anyone cares if they break up with somone or if they go into a drug fueled downward spiral

 

[Arakasi]

We do live in one fucked up society, that's for sure.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Michael Vick-Tortured and killed many dogs in horrible ways in his dog fighting ring. Sentenced to 3 years in prison, let off the hook on account of "good behavior", signed promotional deals and is now making more money than ever.

So is he still in the running for the Madden 2013 cover? I remember movie-bob doing an Overthinker episode about that (or was it Big Picture?) around the time of either 2010 or, 2011...maybe...and am just curious to see if he's in the running (for which I don't think he should be eligible)

I agree though. It's a horrible double standard but there isn't really anything that can be done about it as far as I can tell. Speaking of unspeakable atrocities committed by the rich and famous, what do you think the odds are of Shaq signing my copy of Shaq-Fu?

 

[ace_of_something]

It has less to do with their celebrity status and more to do with the obscene amount of wealth such status usually brings.

Michael Vick-Tortured and killed many dogs in horrible ways in his dog fighting ring. Sentenced to 3 years in prison, let off the hook on account of "good behavior", signed promotional deals and is now making more money than ever.

Mick Jagger-Got into a fight with a photographer that led to assault charges which were inexplicably dropped with no time served.

R Kelly-Made a sex tape featuring a minor, penetrated his 14 year old niece, charged with 21 offenses of sex with a minor, let off completely free.

Robert Downey Jr.-Charged with an endless string of drug abuse crimes, let off lightly for all except one.

Kobe Bryant-Raped a hotel employee, civil suit settled for a pathetic sum of money.

50 Cent-A police search of his home unearthed bricks of heroin, ten ounces of coke, and a starter gun, sentenced to 9 years in jail but let out after 6 months.

Joshua Jackson-Involved in an altercation with a security guard at a hockey game with a blood alcohol content of 0.14. Forced to attend an alcohol education program and do 24 hours of community service.

Amy Winehouse-Charged with assault on 3 separate occasions, forced to pay £185.
/endrant

As someone who works in the justice system none of these are THAT surprising.

M. Vick - as vile as the crime is animal cruelty charges are not that severe. Also the public has good behavior backwards. In reality EVERY prisoner starts with their end date being a certain % of what is on paper (depends on the state) and they ADD on days if you misbehave. It's mostly to keep them under control in a prison setting. You have to have something to take away or they just go nuts. I've actually be involved with cases of dog fighting. I don't believe Mr. Vick got anything less than those other men did.

Mick Jagger - I could be wrong here but, I think the guy who he hit dropped the charges. Which isn't uncommon. Though it is between two strangers so that might be star power at work there.

Rkelly well... he was found not guilty by a jury and idiotic police procedure (the search warrant didn't specify the area search, fruit of the poison tree). That one might be a legitimate 'got off because of fame' one.

Robert Downy Jr. - Despite what guys who wear 'legalize it' t-shirt tell people most people who receive drug possession charges of small amounts spent at most a month in jail. Unless it's a repeated offense. More often they go to [a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_court]Drug Court[/a] which gives treatment and has statistically shown to reduce recidivism.

Kobe Bryant - Less than half of all sexual assault cases make it to trial. Victims often shower or otherwise destroy evidence before reporting the crime or they refuse to testify (as was the case here). Often times it comes down to he said/she said. In america we err on the side of the accused, since the burden of evidence lies on the defense a lot of rapists, especially date rapists (again mr. bryant) get off scott free. It's actually impressive he had to pay anything.

50 Cent - wait? is that true? that's insane... unless... is he an undercover informant? That one is mind boggling, especially since he's had other charges in his past.

Joshua Jackson- first of all i'm not sure who this is. Either way, first time low grade assault (as in the other party was not seriously hurt) and public drunkness are usually the sort of thing you just get diversion for diversion is things like AA meetings or public speaking sentences.

Amy Winehouse - I don't know enough about UK assault laws to hazard a guess

I worked in vice squad for 3 years. Never once, Ever did I see a '15 year old' or even an adult locked away for 3 years for 'some weed.' If by some you mean like several kilos of it then yes 2-5 years. Though I live in a state with particularly harsh drug laws so maybe... we don't sentence people as hard as where you live? wait a minute...

Sometimes a prosecutor doesn't have much to work with. There are a lot of laws about what is and isn't admissible. Some people have teams of lawyers when the DA's Assistant is all on his lonesome stretched thin between too many other cases.

The system is far more complex and intricate than people give it credit.

In the end... I still agree some celebrities do seem like the get special treatment repeat offender Lindsey Lohan comes to mind.

 

[Nouw]

I blame the public and their bad tastes in people to worship

Personally I don't think the public should worship anyone.

 

[ArkhamJester]

I blame Cthulhu.

 

[Instinct Blues]

One thing that makes my blood boil and my veins bulge is how celebrities are constantly let off the hook for serious crimes. They learn that they are legally untouchable and then use their status to get away with literally anything. I'm honestly worried about the state of our society when our "idols" engage in horrifying behaviors that are completely forgotten "cuz dere famus".

Michael Vick-Tortured and killed many dogs in horrible ways in his dog fighting ring. Sentenced to 3 years in prison, let off the hook on account of "good behavior", signed promotional deals and is now making more money than ever.

Mick Jagger-Got into a fight with a photographer that led to assault charges which were inexplicably dropped with no time served.

R Kelly-Made a sex tape featuring a minor, penetrated his 14 year old niece, charged with 21 offenses of sex with a minor, let off completely free.

Robert Downey Jr.-Charged with an endless string of drug abuse crimes, let off lightly for all except one.

Kobe Bryant-Raped a hotel employee, civil suit settled for a pathetic sum of money.

50 Cent-A police search of his home unearthed bricks of heroin, ten ounces of coke, and a starter gun, sentenced to 9 years in jail but let out after 6 months.

Joshua Jackson-Involved in an altercation with a security guard at a hockey game with a blood alcohol content of 0.14. Forced to attend an alcohol education program and do 24 hours of community service.

Amy Winehouse-Charged with assault on 3 separate occasions, forced to pay £185.

Now all of these cases including the dozens more PISS ME THE FUCK OFF. These are the people who children are looking up to, and when celebrities can skip around the law where a "regular" person would have his ass hauled to prison, it really sends a horrible message to kids, and society as a whole. That's why the only form of justice I believe in for celebrities anymore is death. That's why I had a slight amount of schadenfreude when Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston died. If the justice system and their own moral compass isn't going to teach them that snorting pounds of cocaine, assaulting photographers and beating their wives is fucked up, the Grim Reaper can. That sounds morbid, but I just can't get over how these subhuman scumbags are allowed to do whatever the fuck they want with no consequences. It's a travesty.

Look at how gung-ho happy persecutors are with 15 year olds who have weed. They'll be locked in juvenile detention programs until they're 18, and then it's prison. But celebrities who engage in FUCKING MANSLAUGHTER? They won't even have to set foot in a courthouse. This is a sad, sad time for the justice system. Persecutors need to FORCE these fucking loser celebrities to go to fucking prison and do their fucking time for their fucking crimes against society.

/endrant

You forgot about Chris Brown who savagely beat Rihanna.

Anyways I'm pretty sure you took it to the extreme here. Celebrities can not get away with murder first of all. Also I get that what Michael Vick did was fucked up, but dogs are not people. Also he did his time, turned over a new leaf, now he speaks to kids about animal rights, etc. He's turned himself around it's not like he just got let off the hook.

Not trying to defend celebrities, but they shouldn't be punished harder just because they are celebrities. Charges get dropped all the time, people get away with murder (Casey Anthony),etc. It doesn't just happen to celebrities the only reason you hear it about celebrities all the time is because they are fucking celebrities and for some reason people care about what they do. I will never understand it just like I will never understand "reality" TV shows. You don't have a problem with celebrities you have a problem with the people who let them off the hook because they are celebrities.

 

[Magnicon]

*snip*
/endrant

The problem might be that some of your information is incredibly inaccurate and/or not telling the whole story, as well as the fact that random nobodies get off for horrible stuff all the time.

It only seems like celebs got it easy if you are ignorant on how often it happens to everyone.

What pisses me off is people who hate on celebs based on ignorance and jealousy.

 

[DoctorSun]

I blame the schools.
But seriously, I can't stand hearing about stuff like this on the news.
Makes my blood boil.

 

[Saltyk]

It has less to do with their celebrity status and more to do with the obscene amount of wealth such status usually brings.

Michael Vick-Tortured and killed many dogs in horrible ways in his dog fighting ring. Sentenced to 3 years in prison, let off the hook on account of "good behavior", signed promotional deals and is now making more money than ever.

Mick Jagger-Got into a fight with a photographer that led to assault charges which were inexplicably dropped with no time served.

R Kelly-Made a sex tape featuring a minor, penetrated his 14 year old niece, charged with 21 offenses of sex with a minor, let off completely free.

Robert Downey Jr.-Charged with an endless string of drug abuse crimes, let off lightly for all except one.

Kobe Bryant-Raped a hotel employee, civil suit settled for a pathetic sum of money.

50 Cent-A police search of his home unearthed bricks of heroin, ten ounces of coke, and a starter gun, sentenced to 9 years in jail but let out after 6 months.

Joshua Jackson-Involved in an altercation with a security guard at a hockey game with a blood alcohol content of 0.14. Forced to attend an alcohol education program and do 24 hours of community service.

Amy Winehouse-Charged with assault on 3 separate occasions, forced to pay £185.
/endrant

As someone who works in the justice system none of these are THAT surprising.

M. Vick - as vile as the crime is animal cruelty charges are not that severe. Also the public has good behavior backwards. In reality EVERY prisoner starts with their end date being a certain % of what is on paper (depends on the state) and they ADD on days if you misbehave. It's mostly to keep them under control in a prison setting. You have to have something to take away or they just go nuts. I've actually be involved with cases of dog fighting. I don't believe Mr. Vick got anything less than those other men did.

Mick Jagger - I could be wrong here but, I think the guy who he hit dropped the charges. Which isn't uncommon. Though it is between two strangers so that might be star power at work there.

Rkelly well... he was found not guilty by a jury and idiotic police procedure (the search warrant didn't specify the area search, fruit of the poison tree). That one might be a legitimate 'got off because of fame' one.

Robert Downy Jr. - Despite what guys who wear 'legalize it' t-shirt tell people most people who receive drug possession charges of small amounts spent at most a month in jail. Unless it's a repeated offense. More often they go to [a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_court]Drug Court[/a] which gives treatment and has statistically shown to reduce recidivism.

Kobe Bryant - Less than half of all sexual assault cases make it to trial. Victims often shower or otherwise destroy evidence before reporting the crime or they refuse to testify (as was the case here). Often times it comes down to he said/she said. In america we err on the side of the accused, since the burden of evidence lies on the defense a lot of rapists, especially date rapists (again mr. bryant) get off scott free. It's actually impressive he had to pay anything.

50 Cent - wait? is that true? that's insane... unless... is he an undercover informant? That one is mind boggling, especially since he's had other charges in his past.

Joshua Jackson- first of all i'm not sure who this is. Either way, first time low grade assault (as in the other party was not seriously hurt) and public drunkness are usually the sort of thing you just get diversion for diversion is things like AA meetings or public speaking sentences.

Amy Winehouse - I don't know enough about UK assault laws to hazard a guess

I worked in vice squad for 3 years. Never once, Ever did I see a '15 year old' or even an adult locked away for 3 years for 'some weed.' If by some you mean like several kilos of it then yes 2-5 years. Though I live in a state with particularly harsh drug laws so maybe... we don't sentence people as hard as where you live? wait a minute...

Sometimes a prosecutor doesn't have much to work with. There are a lot of laws about what is and isn't admissible. Some people have teams of lawyers when the DA's Assistant is all on his lonesome stretched thin between too many other cases.

The system is far more complex and intricate than people give it credit.

In the end... I still agree some celebrities do seem like the get special treatment repeat offender Lindsey Lohan comes to mind.

With your post, I actually feel better about a lot of those stories. Though, I do wonder about the 50 cent story. Maybe I don't pay them much attention, but I read the news all the time, and never heard a thing about that. Not even a quick blurb or editorial. It sounds suspect, but if true, is royally fucked up.

Still there are plenty of cases we could bring up. OJ Simpson, for example. Though, I think most people blame an idiot prosecution. One person even stated that the defense was terrible, but the prosecution was worse. I still think a bit of that was due to his celebrity.