Celebrities often seem larger than life, but even the most famous can get into big trouble. After all, no one is above the law.
When the stars we admire make mistakes, the public pays close attention—especially if it leads to prison time.
From Diddy to Joe Exotic from Tiger King, here are 18 well-known people who have been, or still are, in that spotlight.
1. Sean “Diddy” Combs
American rapper and producer Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested on September 16 and charged with federal racketeering and human trafficking. This came months after authorities searched his home and reportedly found over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.
Diddy has not been convicted or sentenced yet, but he is in jail waiting for his trial, which is scheduled for May 5.
2. Danny Masterson
Former That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson was convicted of raping two women, according to ABC News. In September 2023, a jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The women said the attacks happened between 2001 and 2003. A third charge was declared a mistrial and later dropped by prosecutors.
3. Amy Locane
Actress Amy Locane, known for starring alongside Johnny Depp in the 1990 movie Cry-Baby, was convicted of vehicular homicide in 2010.
She was driving with a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit when she crashed into another car, killing a 60-year-old woman and seriously injuring the woman’s husband, who was driving.
Locane, a mother of two, was released from prison in 2015. However, in 2020, her sentence was ruled too lenient, and she was re-sentenced to eight more years. She is eligible for parole in December 2024.
4. Joe Exotic
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The famous “Tiger King” was convicted of several crimes, including hiring someone to kill Carole Baskin, falsifying wildlife records, and breaking the Endangered Species Act. He killed five tigers and sold animals across state lines, according to the Pensacola News Journal.
In January 2020, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Two years later, his sentence was reduced to 21 years.
5. Roy Estrada
Roy Estrada, a bassist for Frank Zappa, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for molesting a young female family member under the age of 14, according to RTT News.
The Tarrant County district attorney’s office stated that the victim’s family didn’t know Estrada was already a convicted sex offender. As part of a plea deal, Estrada is not eligible for parole.
He won’t be released from prison until he is 93 years old.
6. Kris Wu
Kris Wu, once an ordinary kid from Vancouver, became one of China’s biggest pop stars before his downfall in 2021.
A court in Chaoyang, China, found him guilty of raping three women between November and December 2020.
He was sentenced to 13 years in prison and will be deported from China after serving his time.
7. Jen Shah
In January 2023, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.
The United States Attorney’s Office stated, “from at least 2012 until her arrest in March 2021, SHAH was an integral leader of a wide-ranging, nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme that victimized thousands of innocent people.”
8. Harvey Weinstein
Former film producer Harvey Weinstein is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison, according to NPR.
He was already serving a 23-year sentence in New York when, in 2023, he was sentenced again on charges of rape and sexual assault, adding 16 more years.
Weinstein spoke in court, denying the charges and saying, “I maintain that I’m innocent. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1. I never knew this woman, and the fact is she doesn’t know me. This is about money,” as reported by CNN.
9. Josh Duggar
In May 2022, Josh Duggar was sentenced to over 12 years in prison after being found in possession of child pornography. Ealier, he had been accused of molesting five girls when he was a teenager. Two of them were his sisters.
He is famous for his role in the reality show, 19 Kids and Counting.
10. Michael Jace
In 2014, Michael Andrew Jace shot and killed his wife in their Los Angeles home in front of their two kids. Two years later, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
The actor, known for playing a cop in the TV show The Shield, was upset when his wife wanted a divorce and kept convincing himself she was seeing someone else, according to CNN.
11. Austin Jones
Austin Jones is a YouTuber who was sent to prison for 10 years back in 2019. He admitted to asking six underage girls to send him sexually explicit videos to prove they were his biggest fans.
His YouTube and X accounts were deleted.
12. R. Kelly
Former singer and record producer R. Kelly was sentenced to 20 years in prison in early 2023 for producing child sexual abuse images and encouraging minors to have intimate relationships.
Nineteen years of his sentence will be served at the same time as his existing New York sentence for human trafficking and racketeering, meaning he will spend one extra year in prison.
13. Elizabeth Holmes
According to NPR, Holmes is the “most high-profile tech executive sentenced to prison time.” In January 2022, a jury in San Jose, California, found the 40-year-old guilty of fraud and conspiracy over false claims about her blood-testing company, Theranos.
She is scheduled to be released on August 16, 2032.
14. Jared Fogle
Jared Fogle, once a spokesperson for Subway restaurants, went from talking about sandwiches on TV to making them for his fellow prison inmates.
The 47-year-old was sentenced to over 15 years in prison for receiving and keeping child pornography, as well as having intimate relationships with minors, according to NPR.
15. Suge Knight
In January 2015, Marion “Suge” Knight, an American record executive, crashed his car into two men. His friend and co-founder of Heavyweight Records, Terry Carter, was killed, while filmmaker Cle Soan suffered fractures and head injuries.
Knight is now serving a 28-year prison sentence for voluntary manslaughter.
16. Tory Lanez
In July 2020, Tory Lanez was leaving a party at Kylie Jenner’s house in Los Angeles when he shot Megan Thee Stallion in the foot, according to NBC News.
The Canadian rapper was sent to North Kern State Prison in September of last year and will spend the next ten years there.
17. Shannon Richardson
American actress Shannon Richardson, who had small roles in shows like The Vampire Diaries and The Walking Dead, was accused of sending ricin-laced letters to politicians, including former President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
She was arrested on June 7, 2013, and sentenced to 18 years.
18. Julie and Todd Chrisley
Reality show stars Julie and Todd Chrisley are both serving prison sentences after being charged with 12 counts of bank fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy in 2019.
Todd was sentenced to 12 years in prison after a jury found him guilty in June 2022, while Julie was given a seven-year sentence.
