A New York City jury found Sean “Diddy” Combs guilty of prostitution-related offenses but acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering charges. This case adds to a list of high-profile celebrity criminal trials that have captured public attention.
In 1995, O.J. Simpson, a former football star and actor, was famously acquitted of murder in the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Despite being found liable in a civil trial two years later and ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victims’ families, Simpson passed away in 2024 at the age of 76 due to prostate cancer.
Michael Jackson faced accusations in 2005 of molesting a 13-year-old at his Neverland Ranch, but he was acquitted. The King of Pop also faced allegations of providing alcohol to the boy and conspiring to hold him and his family captive. Jackson passed away in 2009 at the age of 50 from an overdose of propofol.
R. Kelly, a Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence for RICO and sex trafficking convictions. The court found that Kelly had used his fame to sexually abuse girls and young women over a span of 25 years. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review his 20-year sentence related to child sex charges in Chicago.
Bill Cosby was convicted of sexual assault in 2018 but had his conviction overturned in 2021 by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The court ruled that the district attorney was bound by a previous agreement not to charge Cosby. The “Cosby Show” star was the first celebrity convicted in the #MeToo era.
Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charge in the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” was dismissed mid-trial last year. Baldwin later sued for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations, claiming evidence was withheld.
A$AP Rocky was acquitted of assault charges in February in Los Angeles. The hip-hop star rejected a plea deal and chose not to testify at trial.
Harvey Weinstein, an Oscar-winning movie producer, was convicted of rape in 2022 in Los Angeles, receiving a 16-year prison sentence. Weinstein is appealing the conviction and faced additional charges in a New York City retrial, with his case being a significant moment for the #MeToo movement.
Martha Stewart, a prominent figure in homemaking and media, was found guilty in 2004 of deceiving the federal government regarding a stock sale in 2001. She served a five-month prison sentence but managed to recover her brand’s standing after her release. In a surprising turn of events in 2023, at 81 years old, Stewart was selected as a cover model for Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition.
Kevin Spacey, an acclaimed actor, was acquitted by a London jury in 2023 of sexual assault charges brought forth by four men dating back two decades. Spacey had consistently denied the accusations, attributing the impact on his acting career to the emergence of the #MeToo movement in the U.S. In a recent interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, Spacey revealed that he faced significant financial challenges, largely due to outstanding legal fees amounting to millions of dollars.
