In some cases, people think that these stars should not be arrested in the first place, while in other cases, they think that the punishment that these celebs receive is way too hard.
AceShowbiz -It’s not uncommon for celebrities to get caught in trouble with the law, with a lot of them eventually living behind the bars. While people usually support police’s decision to arrest these stars, there are cases where people think that these celebs shouldn’t be arrested in the first place, or that their punishment is way too harsh.
Most recently, such cases befell A$AP Rocky. The rapper got arrested in Stockholm, Sweden after he was caught fighting a pair of men, whom Rocky claimed were following him and his team as well as harassing women, in the country. The circumstances of the arrest and detainment have caused some controversies as it was reported that Rocky was arrested “immediately” upon his arrival to a police station, even though he arrived voluntarily to discuss the incident.
It’s also said that the American embassy in Stockholm was not notified of an American citizen’s arrest, which is a break with the protocol, and that a rep from the embassy had been barred from speaking with Rocky. Meanwhile, A$AP Ferg claimed that Rocky is “in solitary confinement with no visit or phone call privileges.” On Thursday, July 25, the rapper was charged with assault.
This angered a lot of people, including fellow celebrities such as Tyler, the Creator and T.I. who have vowed to boycott Sweden until Rocky is released. Justin Bieber, Post Malone and Meek Mill have also called for Rocky’s release. A petition to free the “Praise the Lord” rapper has been signed by more than 300,000 people.
This isn’t the first time when a celebrity’s arrest does not sit well with many people. We have compiled several other celebrities who face similar situation as Rocky. Check it out below!
1. Louis Tomlinson
Many people, especially his fans, were angered by the arrest. “Tell me why Louis got arrested for defending himself but the paparazzi that invaded his privacy and harassed him didn’t?” one said. Steve Aoki also came to his defense as saying, “U can still do your job without having to put your camera literally in someone’s face.”
2. Brian Banks
Brian Banks‘ story was a little different than other stars. Back in 2002, when he was still 16 years old, the athlete was arrested and charged after classmate Wanetta Gibson falsely accused him of dragging her into a stairway at Polytechnic High School and raping her. Even though he maintained his innocence, he was told on the day of the jury selection that “I had no chance in trial because I was a big, black teenager and the jury would be an all-white jury and they would automatically assume me as guilty because of that.”
He ended up spending five years in prison and registered as a sex offender for life. Fortunately for him, the California Innocence Project helped him record a confession from Wanetta, who said that she had fabricated her story, so that he could be released from sex-offender status. Even though the case has been cleared, people were still outraged by his story, with many pointing out that his case was another reason why the legal system in the United States needed to change as it continued to disadvantage people of color.
3. Loon
Former hip-hop star Loon, who previously collaborated with Sean “P. Diddy” Combs on “I Need a Girl Part 2”, was arrested in 2011 for a minor role in a drug trafficking ploy based in North Carolina. Even though he maintained his innocence, he declined to go to trial because he saw no other option. He was sentenced to 14 years in a federal prison with no hope of parole.
4. JT
Last year, JT of hip-hop duo City Girls turned herself into authorities for fraudulent credit card charges and was sentenced to 24 months behind bars at Miami’s Federal Detention Center. Many thought that her punishment was too hard and her legal team had been focusing to get her out of prison early. People were supportive of the idea and even started trending the hashtag #FreeJT on social media, with several celebrities promoting it.
Among them was Drake, who showed his support by getting a number of dancers in his music video for mega hit “In My Feelings” to wear jackets, tops and denim shorts that had all been emblazoned with the words “Free JT” and images of the female emcee. Trina was also one who wore the T-shirt in support of JT, who is now set to be released from prison soon.
5. Joe Giudice
Back in 2014, both Joe and Teresa Giudice pleaded guilty to several counts of bankruptcy fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and failing to pay taxes. While Teresa was released nearly a year after that, her husband had to stay behind as he was sentenced to serve 41 months behind bars. He was finally released in March of this year, but his suffering didn’t end there as he was taken into ICE custody after a judge ordered him to be deported to his native Italy.
However, his family and many other people didn’t think that he should be deported due to the arrest, prompting his daughter Gia to launch a petition to stop him from being sent back to his native country. Claiming that he had rectified his mistake through “serving time and by financially satisfying all that was owed,” she wrote, “I beg you to sign our petition to give my father a second chance at being part of our lives and giving back to the community we live in once again.” As of now, nearly 100,000 people have signed the petition.
6. Orlando Bowen
Orlando Bowen was another victim of police brutality. In March 2004, he was waiting for his friends in a parking lot in Mississauga when he was approached by two police officers, who beat him and planted drugs on him. He was then arrested and charged with assaulting police and possession of cocaine, which were something that he clearly didn’t do. Bowen was finally acquitted in 2005 after one of the officers was arrested for cocaine trafficking.
Despite going back to be a free man, his football career was over because of a concussion he suffered during the incident. His case unsurprisingly made many people angry, with some pointing out that Orlando had every rights not to forgive the officers who attacked him and sue them. While Orlando did sue the officers, he forgave them in the end.
7. 21 Savage
Earlier this year, 21 Savage became the talk of the town following news of his arrest for overstaying his visa after migrating to the United States with family members from the U.K. in 2005. He was also threatened with deportation at the time. However, his rep stated that the arrest is “based on incorrect information about prior criminal charges and [ICE is] now refusing to release him on bond of any amount, despite the fact that he has a pending U-Visa application (as the victim of a crime) with USCIS and that he has relief from removal available to him.”
This prompted the Black Lives Matter organization to launch a petition calling for his release as the group believed that Savage’s arrest was a part of a broader trend against black immigrants in America. The petition gained support from a lot of celebrities as well as other civil rights organizations, including Undocublack, Color of Change and Define American. Savage himself was finally released on bond on February 12 after 9 days.
8. Jussie Smollett
Jussie Smollett got everyone talking earlier this year after he was attacked by two masked men, who were said to be Donald Trump supporters. However, as the investigation continued, police started suspecting that the “Empire” star filed a false police report. In February, he was arrested after authorities found evidence to suggest he staged his attack. He was charged with disorderly conduct/filing a false police report.
His arrest became a huge debate on social media, with many people still voicing their support for the actor. Among them were some of his fellow celebrities. Tyler Perry wrote, “I have personally spoken to Jussie, and he is adamant that he’s telling the truth. Also, everyone that I know who knows him says that he is not the kind of person who would make up such a horrible and awful thing.” Meanwhile, Ava DuVernay suggested that the police were the one lying as saying, “I can’t blindly believe Chicago PD. The department that covered up shooting Laquan McDonald over a dozen times? That operated an off-site torture facility? That one? I’ll wait.”
9. Meek Mill
When talking about a star whose arrest sparks controversy, Meek Mill is definitely someone who should not be left out. The rapper was arrested in 2008 on drug and gun charges, and his subsequent conviction earned him an eight month prison sentence, plus five years of probation. But various low-level violations prolonged his probationary sentence and in 2017, he was hit with another two to four years in prison of non-violent offenses.
His case soon became a point of focus for criminal justice reform advocates, with many people and celebrities promoting FreeMeekMill social media campaign. Jay-Z was the one who heavily promoted this campaign, and when Meek was finally released in April 2018, they joined forces to launch a criminal justice reform organization called Reform Alliance.
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