The Strangest Crimes Committed Against Celebs

Do you remember the '80s television series Fame? If so, you might recall Debbie Allen's famous line, the one heard at the beginning of each show. The actress played Lydia Grant, a dance teacher at a performing arts high school in New York City, who was kind but tough. "You want fame? Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying, in sweat," she said. Basically, Allen's character was saying that one doesn't get their name in lights without giving a major sacrifice. For her fictional dance students, that sacrifice was the physical pain of grueling workouts and practice, but for others seeking fame, their sacrifices have led to some dire consequences. 

Most famous people, particularly those in the entertainment space, sacrifice their privacy to some degree. Unfortunately, that loss of privacy has, in the cases we're about to discuss, made celebrities more vulnerable to criminals. You've heard about stars getting ripped off by crooked accountants and bad managers, but even losing millions to theft is nothing compared to the way in which these A-Listers have been victimized. So get ready, because these real-life stories of strange crimes committed against celebs are more interesting than anything you've ever seen them get into on the big screen. 

The year was 2017 and Kevin Hart's career was soaring. He had a number of successful films and stand-up comedy specials under his belt, and his highly anticipated movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was about to hit theaters at the end of that year. But life comes at you fast, as the saying goes, and often problems are just waiting to disrupt some good fortune. Hart seemingly tried to get out ahead of one such disruption, because in 2017 he apologized on Instagram to his wife, Eniko Parrish, and their child for making a "bad error" in judgment. But he didn't reveal what he did. 

The comedian did say, however, that someone was threatening to extort him for money. It was later revealed that Hart cheated on Parrish with a woman named Montia Sabbag. There were even reports that Sabbag was the person extorting Hart, but that wasn't the case. In actuality, it was his now-former friend, J.T. Jackson who was allegedly behind it all, and in May 2018, he was charged with two felony counts of attempted extortion and extortion by threatening letter. But those charges were eventually dropped, as TMZ reported. Jackson, who's also an actor, was friends with Hart for 15 years and after news of his alleged actions surfaced, Hart tweeted, "Mind blown ... Hurt ... at a loss for words and simply in complete disbelief at the moment. WOW." 

On Feb. 24, 2021, in Hollywood, Calif., Lady Gaga's dog walker, a man named Ryan Fischer, was shot in the chest while out walking the singer's three beloved French bulldogs. Thankfully, Fischer survived, but two of the dogs, Koji and Gustav, were stolen by thieves who peeled off into the night in a white sedan. A third dog being walked by Fischer ran away, but was later retrieved by Gaga's bodyguard. "I continue to love you Ryan Fischer, you risked your life to fight for our family. You're forever a hero," wrote Gaga on Instagram two days later.

As TMZ reported, Gaga — who was shooting a film in Rome during the attack — offered a $500,000 reward for her dogs' safe return with "no questions asked," but Koji and Gustav were recovered a couple of days later unharmed. According to the Associated Press, a woman said to be "uninvolved and unassociated" in the theft, brought the pooches to the LAPD's Olympic Community Police Station in Los Angeles. Then, on March 1, 2021, Fischer detailed what happened to him and thanked his supporters.

"The gratitude for all the love I feel from around this planet is immense and intense," he wrote on Instagram, adding, "I felt your healing support! ... I am humbled and grateful that attention and focus from the police were enough to get Koji and Gustav back to safety, and I know they are committed to bringing these criminals and attempted murderers to justice."

On Dec. 8, 1963, the late Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped by two men in Lake Tahoe, Calif. Of course, Frank Jr. was the son of legendary crooner Frank Sinatra, and one of the kidnappers, Barry Keenan, went to high school with Frank's daughter, Nancy Sinatra. Keenan linked up with accomplice Joe Amsler for the dastardly plan, which was ultimately foiled from the inside. But let's start from the beginning. 

Frank Jr., just 19 years old at the time, was just starting his singing career and played a show at Lake Tahoe's Harrah's Club Lodge, according to the FBI. Keenan and Amsler burst in on the young singer while he was lounging in his dressing room, at which point they blindfolded him and sped off with him in their car. It was eventually learned the kidnappers wanted $240,000 in ransom money for the famous son, which the FBI told Frank Sr. to pay, so they could work on catching the men, who were holed up with Frank Jr. in a Los Angeles suburb. But while Keenan and Amsler retrieved the ransom, a reportedly "nervous" third accomplice, John Irwin, let Frank Jr. go. Irwin then told his brother about the crime, who phoned FBI agents in San Diego. Keenan and Amsler were arrested and given life sentences. Irwin got 75 years, however, after various sentence reductions, the Los Angeles Times reported "each was released in less than five years." 

Car theft is a far too common problem in the United States. In fact, the Insurance Information Institute shows there were 873,080 auto thefts in the U.S. in 2020, a 9.2 increase from the previous year. Of course, people didn't start swiping vehicles in 2020, and one person who knows that is Sylvester Stallone, who reportedly had his 1950 Mercury stolen from his garage in 1994. The car was the same one the actor drove in his film Cobra and more than likely, Stallone gave up hope of ever getting it back. 

But shockingly, he spotted the $250,000 vehicle more than a decade later on an auction website and tried to retrieve it. The owner of the company, however, who provides film sets with cars, refused to give it back. So Stallone — who never accused the company of outright stealing the Mercury — filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles in 2009, demanding its return with a $3 million payment, as reported by TMZ. That's because he accused the company of using his name and likeness "to promote the auction." 

Stallone eventually came out victorious in 2011, when TMZ reported that he and the company reached a settlement and the vehicle would be returned to him. But it's not known if he was given money in addition to the car.

What is it with Harry Styles and his shoes? While speaking to Nick Grimshaw on Harry at the BBC, (via AP), the singer said he was once mobbed by fans as a member of One Direction, and before he knew it, he was missing a key element to his outfit. "We got off the train in Paris and I was walking and I ended up feeling like my feet weren't touching the floor," he said, adding, "I was floating along and then I got in the car and was like 'I haven't got any shoes on.' That's why I started wearing boots."

While being mobbed and shoe-jacked is certainly odd and frightening in its own way, Styles was also once the victim of a decidedly scarier crime. Speaking with Howard Stern in March 2020, the "Watermelon Sugar" singer recounted the story of being robbed at knifepoint on Valentine's Day in 2018 by a group of men in the Hampstead area of London. The assailants demanded cash and the singer's phone, and while they tried to coerce him to "unlock" the device, Styles fled into the street, desperately attempting to flag down passing cars for help. When none stopped, he "sprinted" away, which proved quite difficult, because, as he put it, he was wearing "corduroy flares and shoes."

Thankfully, the robbers didn't pursue him, but it's tough to overstate how problematic footwear seems to have been for this singing sensation.