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“Do Celebrities Get Away with More Crimes Than Non-celebrities”

                 “Driessens has defined a celebrity as "The site of a surplus of contemporary society's

charisma by its very nature; it involves people with special qualities" (2007, pp. 272-273). As

indicated by this definition, celebrities are individuals who got acclaim on account of their

unique ability, e.g., artists and performers. They have affected individuals through their

charismatic acting, and in response, the individuals are adopting the habits (speaking style,

hairstyle, actions) of their favorite celebrity. This impact has charmed individuals so much that

they began treating them generously. Celebrities are dealt with as honor, so if they commit any

offense, they are forgiven easily. Although some celebrities have been fully executed and some

have no criminal records and have been benevolent to society, but on a larger scale, celebrities

convicted of any offense are given lenient treatment, or the punishment is not enough to deserve.

Celebrities are getting away with more crimes than non-celebrities because of the easily escaping

with the crime, the bottomless measure of money, and the endless list of contacts they have to

give them lead in the crime rate over standard individuals.

                 Celebrities are not given the punishment; they deserve it is because of the power they

have gained. According to Yvonne Jewkes, the tag of celebrity makes them so powerful that they

become "untouchable" (58). Crimes committed by Celebrities do not have the same bad impact

on society, as if it has done by any ordinary individual. In reality, it has the most impact, the

youth of our society are adopting these behaviors quickly, and ultimately crimes are

proliferating. If a case against a celebrity ends up in court, there are special laws for them either

to take anger management classes, an hour jail, a community service, or charge fines that have

little are no effect on their wealth and life. Like Justin Bieber, arrested on January 23, 2014, by

Miami Beach police for DUI, resisting arrest, and drag racing, he was told to take only anger
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management classes and make a charitable donation (CNN). In an interview with ABC News,

Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said: "the legal system treats celebrities differently from

average folks." This argument is further strengthened by the (New York Post November 18,

2013) "Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Robert Mandelbaum — the same jurist who threw the

book at Alec Baldwin's nobody nemesis, Genevieve Sabourin, the lady whose greatest sin was

loving the Bloviator a tad too obsessively — once gave every break imaginable to a famous,

violent criminal: Supermodel Naomi Campbell." Whenever an ordinary individual commits a

crime for the second time, he is scrutinized more harshly and punished more than before, but

celebrities are being treated in the same way. How many times Justin Bieber, Amanda Bynes,

Mil Gibson are arrested for DUI and driving without a license, and how much they got charged.

These are the elements that lead celebrities to commit more offenses than non-celebrities.

Furthermore, Justice has become a commodity. The one who has more money will get

it more. Celebrities are the ones who have this opportunity. They can hire a good lawyer, or they

give bribes and get off easily with a crime.  On the other hand, ordinary people do not have that

opportunity. As per US law, there are fifteen years of prison for a convict of sexual assault;

celebrities are often seen indulging in sexual assault, how many of these have spent fifteen years

in jail? How many years Kobe Bryant (convicted of sexual assault in 2003) and Roethlisberger

(raped a casino hostess in 2008)spent in jail? Not a single year, because they paid money for it.

Usually, settlements are done between the accuser and convicts. These settlements are mostly

carried out by using the power of money. Meanwhile, paying few dollars for a bribe or

settlement cannot affect a billionaire's wealth. Monetary punishments are not a deterrence to

celebrities. Despite stopping, they act as a catalyst, and give them more fame. According to the
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daily beast, Martin Sheen is at the top of most arrested celebrities, and he has been arrested sixty-

six times (octubar27, 2010). He has confessed his crimes, but still, he is roaming free.

In addition to the above, another factor that led celebrities to commit more crimes than

non-celebrity is their fame. It usually happens with everyone that if our friend or someone we

know is in trouble, we help him. When celebrities get into trouble, they have no fear, there is

always someone who can rescue them while putting things under the carpet. In case a case is

filed against a celebrity most probably it is referred to jury and, in that case,, there is high

probability that the jury will consist of some fans and will favor the celebrity. If we presume all

these factors are absent then, why are celebrities treated so leniently? Why is Lindsay Lohan

being sent to rehab instead of jail? (New York Times, March 13, 2013). Why is Charlie Sheen

being released for merely dollar 8500 bails for being accused of second-degree assault and

menacing? (CNN, December 25, 2009). The kind of favor the celebrities gain from their fans and

friends makes them more energized to do offenses. On the contrary, ordinary people lack such a

strong backup and are always fearful of the law and try to abide by it.

            Meanwhile, there are cases in which celebrity criminals have been treated according to

the law. These cases are so severe that there was no other way. For example, Peter Sutcliff, a

murderer of thirteen women and convict of attempting seven others, is awarded life

imprisonment in 1981 (mail online, February 8, 2015). Myra Hindley, another convict of torture

and murderer of three children in 1966 ( Jewkes 58) till her death in 2002, was in imprisonment.

We can also argue that sometimes the allegation against a celebrity are made by any rival to

defame one but it is not true all the time. It is common that initially celebrities are much kind and

benevolent but later in their career they get arrogant. This might be because of the arrogance they
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get from their success. It does not mean that every celebrity is bad, Jami Gertz have donated ten

million for charity work and are never convicted of any offense. Rolling down, we cannot

generalize that all the celebrities commit crimes, but celebrities have more tendency towards

crime.

Summing up, it can be deducted that celebrities have higher crime rates than non-

celebrities due to their popularity. Celebrities are given trials whenever they want. For example,

when Justin Bieber resisted on arrest the police let him go. In another moment, according to a

CNN report on January 14, 2014, when he was charged with drunken driving, driving without a

license, and for the street race, he was released from jail an hour after pleading in front of a

Miami judge through a video link. Moreover, there is much corruption in our legal system, which

also aids these celebrities to commit offenses. It is further augmented by the easy sentencing that

the offenders face. On the other hand, if we take an ordinary individual s/he has to go through all

the consequences which are deemed necessary by the law, which deters a common man. Above

all, the law is the only thing that can stop crimes if it is appropriately implemented. There should

not be two faces of law, everyone is equal in front of it, and everyone has the right to enjoy

Justice.”
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References:

ABC News, N.P. 17 September 2013, Web accessed on January 3, 2021

Jewkes, Yvonne, “Charlie Sheen Arrested in Domestic Dispute, Policy say”, CNN, 26 Dec, 2009

<http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/25/charlie.sheen.arrested/index.html#:~:text=A

ctor%20Charlie%20Sheen%20stars%20in,Two%20and%20a%20Half%20Men.

%22&text=(CNN)%20%2D%2D%20Actor%20Charlie%20Sheen,related%20charges%2C

%20Aspen%20police%20said.> accessed on January 03, 2021

The Daily Beast, “The most arrested celebritie”, 27 November 2010 <

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-most-arrested-celebrities> , accessed on January 03 2021

New York Post, “Proof that celebrities get special treatment in court”, 18 November 2013 <

https://nypost.com/2013/11/18/entitled-celebs-get-special-treatment-in-court/> accessed on

January 3, 2021

Driessens, Olivier (2013) “celebrity capital: redefining celebrity using field” Jstor

<https://www.jstor.org/stable/24717521> , accessed on January 3, 2021

Mail Online, “Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe Calls Ian Huntley a 'child Killing B*****d' in an

Extraordinary Bust-up in Jail” 26 February 2017 < https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-

4260878/Peter-Sutcliffe-prison-bust-Ian-Huntley.html> , accessed on January 3, 2021