From Hollywood directors to sports icons, some celebrities have managed to escape proper legal consequences despite their notorious actions. Join us as we examine famous figures whose verified misconduct led to public disgrace, but who somehow avoided appropriate justice through the legal system.
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00:00I'm a human being. I have faults, and I've done things that I deeply regret, but I also know that I have a really good heart.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at stars whose status was destroyed by verifiable crimes, but who got out of fair legal repercussions.
00:16What do you do in the caravan?
00:18Anybody that can let me on some.
00:21Floyd Mayweather Jr.
00:23At age 40, Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired from pro boxing with an undefeated record and championship win in five weight classes.
00:31Out of my career, I just want to say, none of them was really tough.
00:36And yet, his future as a public figure hangs on a disturbing past.
00:40Mayweather has been convicted five times for domestic violence toward four different women.
00:44Aside from a two-month stint in jail, all of his sentences were suspended.
00:48The criminal violence seemingly ended in 2012, but not the legal troubles.
00:52She was upset. She didn't want me to take the keys to the truck.
00:55So things got out of hand and blown.
00:59You know, they blow things up bigger.
01:03The unrepentant Mayweather nevertheless enjoys a lucrative career as a sports personality and promoter, who occasionally returns to the ring.
01:11This has sparked debate over the boxing industry's attitude about more scandalous violence, especially as Mayweather got off relatively easy in court.
01:18Come on, bro.
01:19Dude, that's how you do it.
01:22That's how you do it right there.
01:23That's the one and only.
01:25Floyd Mayweather.
01:26Vince Neil.
01:28Motley Crue is synonymous with excess on and off the stage.
01:31Frontman Vince Neil alone has had many legal troubles, partly due to substance use disorder.
01:36The most infamous incident was in 1984, when he had a car wreck while heavily intoxicated.
01:47One of his passengers, Hanoi Rock's drummer Razzle, did not survive.
01:51Neil was sentenced to 30 days in jail and paid considerable restitution to the injured parties in the car he hit.
01:57He was haunted by the tragedy, but has faced more DUI and assault charges during his decades-long struggle to maintain sobriety.
02:04Police are not releasing details of Neil's arrest.
02:06Bail was set at $2,000.
02:08Whether the fans should be as tolerant as they've been, legal discipline has gone only so far with the controversial rocker.
02:14People know you've done some crazy things.
02:16I know you've done some crazy things, but I'm sure there's something, maybe you've done it where you go, you know, you sit at night sometimes and you go, ah!
02:24You know, you ever-
02:25Got to move to Nashville, huh?
02:26Yeah!
02:27Brandi Norwood.
02:29Singer and actress Brandi Norwood was such a household name that most people knew her by just the first name.
02:34That and the vocal Bible.
02:35Still, her reputation couldn't withstand a tragic LA freeway accident in 2006.
02:43Norwood collided with another car at high speed, causing a pileup that killed 38-year-old Awatepa Budiyash.
02:50The at-fault driver faced no criminal charges, but settled several lawsuits out of court.
02:55It was a very, very hard time for me, but music pretty much saved the day and just family and friends just supporting me.
03:02The scandal was ostensibly a factor in Norwood's commercial and professional decline in the following years.
03:07She claims that this tragedy and the financial restitutions motivated her to become a better person.
03:12That doesn't seem to bring much comfort to Awatepa Budiyash's survivors and Norwood's downsized fan base.
03:17I just, I couldn't believe it.
03:19And I don't like to think about it because I don't think that's something I could ever get over.
03:25Carl Malone.
03:26No power forward has delivered like Carl, the mailman Malone.
03:30And not many basketball icons have survived the scandals he has.
03:33My whole thing is, you know, it should never have gotten to that point because, you know, we didn't finish the game like we wanted to.
03:40Malone was 20 years old when he dated teenager Gloria Bell, but never faced criminal charges.
03:45In 1998, a blood test for a paternity suit reported a 99% chance that Malone was the father of Bell's then 14-year-old son.
03:53He was already in trouble for belated public acknowledgement of the twins he fathered at age 17.
03:58Cheryl Ford and Demetris Bell went on to become star athletes.
04:02Meanwhile, the circumstances of their births continue to follow Malone through his accolades and allegations of sexual harassment.
04:08He has never been registered as a sex offender.
04:11Try to live life the way you want to be remembered.
04:16Robert Blake.
04:17The star of In Cold Blood and Beretta is also known for his own true crime story.
04:22Millionaires don't commit crimes.
04:24Things happen.
04:26In 2001, Bonnie Lee Bakley was murdered amid a bitter marriage to Robert Blake.
04:31A trial concluded that the retired actor didn't directly kill his wife,
04:34but two former stuntmen testified that he tried to hire them to do so.
04:38The jury dismissed one solicitation charge and were deadlocked on the other.
04:42A civil suit by Blakely's children later determined that Blake was liable for her death.
04:47In this place, it's real simple.
04:49It's not how you're doing.
04:50Yeah.
04:51You're alive or you're dead.
04:52We may never know the whole truth about this terrible crime,
04:55but Blake's evident involvement was only met with a charge for damages.
04:58He was excluded from the Academy Awards In Memoriam montage after his death in 2023.
05:04I think she was a con artist, yes.
05:05I think she came to Hollywood to con her way into show business.
05:10Stephen Collins.
05:12Families everywhere fell in love with Reverend Eric Camden on the show Seventh Heaven.
05:17Right now, I think we should stay focused on the problem at hand.
05:20This made after Stephen Collins' horrific fall from grace all the more devastating.
05:24In 2014, a leaked marriage counseling tape featured Collins confessing to sexual abuse of three minors.
05:30Police could not pursue the case due to insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations.
05:35Still, Collins later admitted to the crimes in an interview with People.
05:38I admit to, apologize for, and take responsibility for what I did.
05:43His acting career died on the spot,
05:45and its legacy has been forever corrupted by a history of disturbing behavior.
05:48It's just a shame that the one-time America's dad was never properly prosecuted for what he did to at least three families.
05:55I would say, with all my heart, I am sorry.
06:00Deshaun Stevenson.
06:01Traveling six teams in 13 years,
06:03shooting guard Deshaun Stevenson was a recognizable name in the NBA.
06:07Take us back to when you won and how it felt.
06:10It felt crazy, you know, that run was great.
06:13But shortly after beginning his career,
06:14the then 20-year-old made headlines for charges of relations with a teenager.
06:19Stevenson had confessed to the victim's mother in a taped phone conversation.
06:23He pleaded no contest by proxy in court,
06:25and was ultimately given community service and a small fine.
06:28He would neither go to jail nor register as a sex offender.
06:31The scandal soon died down as the so-called next Michael Jordan continued to play for over a decade.
06:37Now the biggest controversy is that his scoring average didn't measure up to that title.
06:41How quickly people forget his light punishment after admitting to a serious crime.
06:46Don King.
06:48Some of the biggest names in boxing history owe a lot to Don King,
06:51and the promoter owes some of his success to organized crime.
06:54He ran a gambling den in the 1950s, which Hillary Brown robbed.
06:58King fatally shot Brown in the back, but the homicide was ruled justifiable.
07:02In 66, King stomped Sam Garrett to death over a debt.
07:06You know, where others have many, many fights in the ghetto,
07:09and nothing happens, I had a fight and the guy died.
07:11He served almost four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter, and was pardoned in 1983.
07:16King credits his self-education behind bars with motivating him to go legitimate.
07:20That gave me an enlightenment on life that don't get mad, get smart.
07:24Even then, his promotion career has long been blemished by fraud charges
07:28and harsh comments from former colleagues.
07:30That King flourished despite blood on his own hands speaks to his skills in manipulation.
07:35He's the leader that will lead us to the promised land.
07:38Jimmy Savile
07:39For five decades, the eccentric host Jimmy Savile was a British media icon and major philanthropist.
07:46He senses an evil presence.
07:48He senses an evil presence?
07:50Who could that be?
07:52His death in 2011 devastated a nation, but not like the revelations that came a year later.
07:57Multiple investigations found that Savile sexually abused up to 1,000 people of all ages throughout his career.
08:03Years' worth of rumors were swept under the rug, with some saying that Savile's misconduct was an open secret around the BBC.
08:10You used to be a wrestler, didn't you?
08:12I still am.
08:13Are you?
08:15I'm feared in every girl's school in this country.
08:17This historic scandal raised debates about the sort of culture and institution that would at best overlook this horror.
08:24Savile's accolades and legacy have since been extensively scrubbed,
08:26but besides never paying for his incalculable crimes, the prolific predator died revered.
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08:48Roman Polanski
08:49One of the cinema's most contentious figures is Roman Polanski.
08:55In 1977, the celebrated filmmaker pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting teenager Samantha Gailey.
09:02Rumors that the judge planned to disregard an already generous plea deal prompted Polanski to flee to Europe,
09:07never again to step on American soil.
09:09But in a move no one saw coming, Hollywood's most famous director fled the country.
09:15The fugitive's career was otherwise unaffected, producing many more popular and acclaimed films.
09:20This makes him a key subject in the debate over separating the art from the artist.
09:25The victim has since advocated to dismiss Polanski's charges,
09:28going so far as to call a lifetime of media scrutiny much more traumatizing.
09:32Whether it's counterproductive to make a public figure's crime such a public matter,
09:36other allegations against Polanski suggest that disgrace isn't enough.
09:40Polanski has written an apology to Samantha, now believes he should be left alone.
09:46Who are some other celebrities who may only get their day in the court of public opinion?
09:50Give your verdict in the comments.
09:52Are you a cannibal?
09:53No.
09:53You know what you have to do to be a cannibal?
09:55You have to have actually eaten someone.
09:57You have to have actually eaten someone.