They say you shouldn't meet your heros, but these stars prove almost any celeb could
totally ruin your day — and quite possibly — the rest of your life.
Roman Polanski
In 1977, Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski allegedly gave champagne and a Quaalude to
then-13-year-old Samantha Gailey.
Polanski later plead guilty to unlawful sex with a minor.
But before sentencing, he fled to Poland, avoiding extradition to the States, while
his victim — who now goes by Samantha Geimer — battled the spotlight for decades.
While Geimer claims she's moved on, she says the worst offenders in the whole situation
were court officials, and the media.
In 2013, Geimer wrote in her book, The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski, "Would
you like the craziest thing that ever happened to you as a teenager broadcast and then dissected
over and over on television, in the blogosphere?
Right.
I didn't think so."
At least Polanski leans a bit older, these days.
Matthew Broderick
In Northern Ireland, in 1987, Matthew Broderick's car crashed head-on with another car, killing
two people: 30-year-old Anna Gallagher, and her mother, Margaret Doherty, who was 63.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Broderick spent a month in the hospital, but ultimately
walked away with a $175 fine for careless driving.
Fifteen years after the crash, The New York Post reported that Broderick was planning
to meet with the family of the victims.
Martin Doherty told the the Post, "[Broderick] didn't kill my mother and sister deliberately.
There were strong feelings at the time, but I have since forgiven him and feel no anger
toward him."
Nick Hogan
Iraq war veteran John Graziano suffered permanent brain damage after Hulk Hogan's son, Nick
(aka Nick Bollea), crashed his Toyota Supra into a tree while driving under the influence,
in Florida, in 2007.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Graziano, who was a passenger, suffered injuries that
left him in a "minimally conscious state."
Bollea served 166 days in jail.
In 2010, Bollea and Hulk Hogan reached a confidential financial settlement with Graziano's lawyers.
Attorney Kimberly Kohn said, "John is going to be provided appropriate care for the remainder
of his life."
O.J. Simpson
Though O.J. Simpson was acquitted in criminal court of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson
and Ronald Goldman, O.J. did lose a civil suit brought by the Goldman family, which
resulted in Simpson owing $33.5 million dollars.
After accruing interest, which pushed that total over $40 million, Goldman's sister,
Kim, told CNBC, "We've collected less than one percent of that."
The Goldmans did receive a relatively small portion of their award after a bankruptcy
judge gave them the rights to a book about the murders, If I Did It: Confessions of the
Killer.
Though O.J. claims he was not involved in the writing of the book, the New York Times
reported he was paid for it and even recounted a hypothetical narrative of the murder.
Guilty as not-charged.
The Jenny Jones Show
In 1995, Jonathan Schmitz met his secret admirer on The Jenny Jones Show — a man, named Scott
Amedure.
Schmitz then shot and killed Amedure three days after the taping of the episode, which
never aired.
Schmitz, who blamed The Jenny Jones Show in his 911 call, was sentenced to 25 to 50 years
in prison on second-degree murder charges, according to CNN.
The family of Amedure filed a wrongful death lawsuit against The Jenny Jones Show and was
awarded over $25 million in 1999.
The case was then thrown out in Michigan in 2003, and the family appealed to the Supreme
Court, but was denied in 2004.
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars' Val Chmerkovskiy was sued in early 2016 by a 16-year-old girl with
Down syndrome, for a meme that featured a younger photo of the girl, drinking soda,
with the caption, "Letting your kid become obese should be considered child abuse."
People reported the girl and her family are suing for "Defamation, emotional distress,
and invasion of privacy" seeking $6 million each from Chmerkovskiy and CBS.
When news of the lawsuit broke in January 2016, Chmerkovskiy responded with another
dismissive meme, which read, "Worry about your character, not your reputation.
Your character is who you are.
Your reputation is who people think you are."
Unless people think you are a fat girl with bad parents because a celebrity said so.
Mike Tyson
In the early 1990s, Mike Tyson was convicted of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old pageant
contestant in Indianapolis.
The New York Daily News reported "Tyson overpowered and raped her in his hotel room on July 19
during the Indiana Black Expo."
Tyson's defense was that he was known to be a womanizer, and she, quote,"must have known"
he wanted to have sex with her.
Tyson served three years in prison and settled a lawsuit by survivor Desiree Washington in
1995.
The LA Times profiled Washington as being emotionally scarred, noting that her parents
separated and sold her childhood home after pressures mounted during the Tyson trial.
Phil Spector
As one of the most influential figures in entertainment history, Phil Spector became
famous in the 1960s for creating the Wall of Sound and producing legendary pop music
acts.
But he became infamous for the death of 40-year-old actress Lana Clarkson in 2003.
Authorities found Clarkson dead at Spector's mansion in Alhambra, California, from a fatal
gunshot wound through the roof of her mouth.
In 2009 Spector was sentenced to the maximum 19 years-to-life for Clarkson's murder.
He is eligible for parole in 2028, when he will be 88 years old.
A prosecutor called Spector "a very dangerous man" who had "a history of playing Russian
roulette with women—six women.
Lana just happened to be the sixth."
Clarkson's mother said, "All of our plans together are destroyed.
Now, I can only visit her at the cemetery."
Vince Neil
In December 1984, Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil caused a car accident that claimed the
life of his friend Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley, and severely injured 20-year-old Daniel Smithers,
and 18-year-old Lisa Hogan, who were in a second car.
Neil, charged with vehicular manslaughter and DUI, served only a portion of his 30-day
sentence in 1985.
He paid just $3 million to the victims, saying later, "I bought my way out of jail."
Brandy Norwood
In 2006, Brandy Norwood was involved in a multiple-car wreck on the 405 freeway in Los
Angeles that killed a mother of two.
At the time, TMZ reported that Norwood blamed herself at the scene of the crash, saying,
"She got upset, talking about how it was all her fault … she didn't stop, kept saying
how she hit the lady."
Norwood settled civil suits related to the crash, including one with the family of the
victim, whose sons made a full physical recovery from the injuries they sustained in the crash.
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