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7 Reality Stars Who Got a Dose of Real Reality When They Broke the Law

Abby Lee Miller, Apollo Nida, Celebrities, Countess Luann de Lesseps, Joe Guidice, Kim Richards, Mendeeces Harris

Most of us accept the fact that reality tv is far from reality but even though we know that, admittedly, sometimes reality TV has even the most discerning of us wondering whether or not these reality stars actually are the way they seem on television. That is especially true when they’re badly behaving. What’s real and what’s scripted on these shows? Table flipping? Screaming? Making bad drunk choices? For the 7 reality stars discussed below, there’s no question because they have the criminal records to prove that their bad behavior: no script in sight.

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Jersey Shore

We’ve got ourselves a situation (sorry, sometimes we can’t help ourselves)! Well, at least this Jersey Shore star created a pretty bad situation. The 35-year-old and his brother Marc were convicted of tax evasion after they pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns and tax evasion back in January 2018. The Situation was attempting to squirrel away his money into secret accounts with the aid of his brother. In October 2018, Sorrentino was sentenced to 8 months in prison, two years of supervised release, 500 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay $123,913 in restitution (which he has paid) and a $10,000 fine. His brother did not fare as well–he was sentenced to 2 years in prison with supervised release for a year once that ends, an undetermined amount of restitution, and a $75,000 fine. Sibling jealousy might be at its highest for the Sorentino bros.

Abby Lee Miller, Dance Moms

The former Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller was charged in October 2015 with trying to conceal over $750,000 worth of income in secret accounts after she had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The dance coach ended up pleading guilty to charges of bankruptcy fraud in June 2016 and was ordered to serve one year in prison. She began serving her sentence in July 2017 but in March 2018 was released into a halfway house. Did she get special treatment because she’s a reality star? Not really. This type of reduction in sentence is very typical.

Mendeeces Harris, Love & Hip Hop

The reality television star was sent to jail in 2015 after pleading guilty to drug trafficking. He was ordered to serve an 8 year sentence and pay a restitution of $170,000. Reportedly he was part of a ring that transported drugs from New York City to Rochester County in New York. All in he was alleged to have trafficked more than $2.5 million worth of illegal substances in a 7 year span. In early 2018, his lawyers appealed the sentence arguing, among other things, that there was a change in sentencing guidelines and, as such, Harris’ sentence should be reconsidered. A federal appeals court wasn’t having any of that and denied the request to even review the matter.

Apollo Nida, Real Housewives of Atlanta

Nida is the ex-husband of RHOA co-star Phaedra Parks. He was arrested for identity theft and bank fraud in January of 2014. Apparently, Nida created fake companies and set up fake bank accounts using stolen identities. He used those accounts to steal more than $2.3 million! Nida was facing a sentence of 30 years, but in exchange for his cooperation the sentencing recommendation was reduced to eight years and that was what was ordered.

Teresa and Joe Giudice, Real Housewives of New Jersey

Joe Giudice, Teresa Giudice’s husband was sentenced to 41 months in prison and Teresa was sentenced to 15 months after the flashy couple was convicted of tax fraud in March 2014 (click here to read more detailed Proof coverage on that). Their illegal behavior brought in extra cash to the tune of $5 million. The judge, recognizing that the Giudice family would be better off if at least one parent was home to care for their four daughters, ordered that the sentences could be served consecutively. Teresa was released right before Christmas 2015. Joe is still in prison and, in a rather shocking turn, a judge has ordered that he will be deported back to Italy once he has served his time.

Kim Richards, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Kim Richard was arrested back in April 2015 after behaving badly at the Beverly Hills Hotel allegedly due to the overconsumption of alcohol. The RHOBH star was drunk at the hotel and asked to leave, at which point she locked herself in the bathroom and had to be forcibly removed. At some point she also kicked a police officer. She was later arrested again for shoplifting at Target in August 2015. She served a combined sentence after pleading no contest (same as a guilty plea really) to resisting arrest and shoplifting–both misdemeanors. She was banned from Target, sentenced to three years’ probation, and ordered to serve 30 days of community labor and mandated to complete 52 weeks of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Adding insult to entitlement (oops, we mean injury) Richards almost found herself facing jail time in 2017 because she didn’t complete the court ordered community service within the designated time frame. Lucky for her she was granted extra time and completed the required hours.

Countess Luann de Lesseps, The Real Housewives of New York City

This RHONY star was arrested after kicking an officer on Christmas Eve 2017. She was charged with resisting arrest, battery of an officer, and disorderly intoxication. The video of her arrest is all over the internet and it is very damaging. The Countess can even be heard threatening the cops,” I will kill you,” she repeats. Yes, we know, the holidays are hard. She subsequently released a statement saying, “I want to offer my sincere apologies to anyone I might have offended with my behavior. This was my first time in Palm Beach since my wedding and being there brought up long-buried emotions. I am committed to a transformative and hopeful 2018.” She rejected a plea deal in February 2018, but ultimately a deal was made that kept de Lesseps out of jail. She was sentenced to one-year probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service, attend two AA meetings per week, not possess or consume alcohol or illegal drugs and attend a Victim Impact Class organized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), as well as write a letter of apology to one of the officers.

 

Ryan Phillippe in the Middle of a Domestic Violence Mess

Celeb News, Celebrities, Ryan Phillippe

Ryan Phillipe is one of those celebrities who normally flies under the radar. He has been on shows like Damages, Secrets and Lies, and most recently Shooter, but generally keeps a low profile. All that has changed recently as the 43-year-old is facing allegations of domestic abuse.

Elsie Hewitt, a 21-year-old Playboy model and Phillippe’s ex-girlfriend, filed a $1 million lawsuit against Phillippe on September 18th, 2017. Among her claims, she alleges that Phillippe physically abused her on July 4th, 2017 which resulted in her being treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and obtaining an emergency protective order against Phillippe. The TRO (temporary restraining order) expired on July 12th and was not made permanent. Nevertheless, Hewitt claims that on July 3rd, 2017, Phillippe left a party because he felt he had been “ignored” by her and that when she went to Phillippe’s house to retrieve her belongings, he became physical with her. Hewitt alleges Phillippe threw her down the stairs.

Following the news of the lawsuit, Phillippe released a very direct, clear statement via Twitter: “I am saddened and disgusted by the false allegations being circulated about me,” he wrote. “At the time these allegations were initially made, I fully cooperated with law enforcement and a thorough investigation was conducted.”  Phillippe goes on to say “As a man, raised by a woman, in a household where women’s rights, feminism and advocacy were very much at the forefront, I am sickened that my name can be found in any article where domestic violence of any kind is being alleged.” Phillippe acknowledges that media attention has become a part of his life since stepping into the spotlight 25 years ago, and that usually he simply moves on from rumors, but “this time is different.”

“Domestic violence is a very real and tragic issue faced by many women the world over and should never be used to vengefully slander or as a ploy to monetary gain.” In case he wasn’t clear enough, Phillippe states: “This is wrong. This is not who I am. Every one of my accuser’s allegations are false.”

Indeed, law enforcement officials confirmed that the case has been closed and Philippe would not be facing any criminal charges. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office made this clear in a statement: “The City Attorney’s Office has deferred this matter following an investigation by the LAPD. After a thorough review, the matter was set for a City Attorney office hearing, during which both parties were present, detailed the incident, were advised on the law and given guidance as to how to avoid similar incidents in the future. No further action has been scheduled following our office hearing.”

But domestic violence isn’t all that Hewitt is claiming. In court documents Hewitt says she saw Phillippe, “repeatedly abusing a panoply of legal and illegal drugs” and that he allegedly “increasingly combined these drugs with excessive alcohol consumption and often exhibited symptoms attendant of poly drug and alcohol abuse, including mood swings and bouts of anger.”

To no one’s surprise, Phillippe has hired a lawyer and in his “Look What You Made Me” moment has said he will not seek money damages against Hewitt for her malicious and defamatory claims.  Prompted by Taylor Swift? Maybe. As you might recall, Taylor famously won her counterclaim suit against radio disc jockey David Mueller, suing only for a single dollar (read more about T Swift’s victory **make read more link to https://proofwithjillstanley.com/taylor-swift-groping-case-goes-to-trial/. ) But maybe it’s just because Hewitt doesn’t have much money so even if Phillipe got a judgment he wouldn’t be able to collect on it.  Or maybe it is really that he just wants to make a point, to clear his name and is motivated solely by the desire to have Hewitt acknowledge that she has falsely accused him of physically abusing her. Not sure this is very likely but we do applaud Phillippe’s announcement that he will donate any money that he is awarded in the case to organizations that work to support victims of domestic violence.

What muddles this matter up even further is that some insiders have reported that it was Hewitt who attacked Phillippe, and that her injuries were a result of being removed from the premises and then falling and injuring herself. But then again, Hewitt reportedly has a witness, her friend who was with her at the time of the alleged altercation.

As with most domestic matters, it a tough to win game of he said/she said.

Hewitt’s lawyer, Keith Fink, is not playing any games here though. He, too has said of this case: “[Hewitt’s] not going to take a dime, I am not making a dime…”—the money will go to a domestic violence charity. Fink also gaffs at the suggestion that Hewitt is doing this for money and fame. He has said that his client is famous in her own right, while Phillippe was “just married to a famous person.” Ouch. But to be honest, did you immediately think of Reese the minute you first heard this story? We sure did.

Recall that Phillippe was married to mega star Reese Witherspoon back in the day. They separated in 2006 after seven years of marriage; their divorce was finalized in 2008. They have two children together, and seem to be doing a solid job of co-parenting Ava and Deacon. No doubt Reese has really blossomed post divorce with a string of great movies, tv shows and a super busy production company dedicated to providing quality roles to women in Hollywood. When this story broke, Reese was fresh off of Big Little Lies success which won huge at the Emmys this year. Also, Reese has been married since 2011 to Jim Toth. Phillippe has been in several relationships since his marriage to Reese ended. He dated Australian actress Abbie Cornish from 2007 to 2010, then model Alexis Knapp in the summer of 2010, with whom he shares a child with Knapp; 6-year-old Kailani. He dated law student Pauline Slagter starting in 2011. They were actually engaged, but eventually the couple broke it off in 2016.

As is life weren’t bad enough for Phillippe, in the midst of all of these allegations came another report stating that Slagter had gone to the Los Angeles Police Department back in March to file a harassment report. The exact complaint filed is an “Annoying or Harassing Electronics Communications Harassment Report.” According to Slagter, Phillippe was verbally abusive over text message after the pair had split up. Hearing allegations like this one is certainly trouble for Phillippe in this current claim.  If more information or other ex-girlfriends start speaking up, a tweet condemning domestic violence is not going to be enough for Phillippe.

 

 

Judge Likely to Deny Richard Simmons’ Transgender Defamation Claim

Celeb News, Celebrities

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has tentatively dismissed a lawsuit filed by Richard Simmons in May against American Media Inc., which publishes both The National Enquirer and Radar Online, in which the fitness icon contended the publications defamed him by reporting between June 2016 and March 2017 that he was transitioning from a man to a woman.

In a cover story that ran in The National Enquirer, the mag claimed that Simmons’ infamous disappearance from public view was due to being transgender. The publication called Simmons “the new Caitlyn Jenner,” claiming Simmons was “now a woman” and going by the name Fiona. They also reported a secret boob job and castration surgery.

Judge Gregory Keosian denied the claim for a very interesting reason — he basically said that being transgender isn’t perceived as being bad. He wrote that being labeled transgender doesn’t automatically subject a person to “hatred, contempt, ridicule or obloquy,” so therefore it’s not defamation.

He did acknowledge that not everyone embraces transgender people, writing, “While, as a practical matter, the characteristic may be held in contempt by a portion of the population, the court will not validate those prejudices by legally recognizing them.”

He pointed out that race is not subject to defamation, and speculated that being labeled transgender could be seen the same way.
An attorney for American Media, Kelli Sager, argued, “There is nothing inherently bad about being transgender” and therefore the defamation suit “isn’t actionable.”

Attorneys for Simmons vehemently disagree with Sager’s assertion. Rodney Smolla said, “There are giant segments of society in this country who endorse the kind of prejudice and hatred and shunning of transgender persons in a way that is dramatically different than the way we treat race in this country.”

A final ruling in the case will be issued shortly. But where has Simmons been? He has been in the news after having essentially disappeared from public view in 2014. Many have wondered why the fitness guru would shun the public after a long career of embracing publicity. Earlier this year, he was the subject of a podcast called “Missing Richard Simmons” in which a former student attempted to discover what he’d been up to since essentially going underground.

But Simmons says there’s absolutely nothing for anyone to be concerned about. He and those close to him have made repeated statements that he’s just fine and merely wants to be left alone. His older brother, Lenny, echoed that on the podcast, “He’s doing what he wants to do, which is kick back and have a quiet life. … For some reason, he wants to be quiet, which is the complete opposite of how he normally is. I don’t understand it, but I have to respect it.”

Celebrity News | kardashians

Kardashian’s DASH Store Continues to Face Problems

Celebrities, Celebs, Crimes, Dash, Kardashian, Melrose

The last few months have been tough ones in terms of the law for the Kardashians and their legal dramas continue as the LA outpost of their clothing store, Dash, was vandalized in the early hours of March 16, 2017. A vandal spray painted the front of the West Hollywood location. He/she (at the time of this writing the suspect has not yet been identified) certainly wanted to get noticed– bright red paint was the color of choice to mar the store front. Dash employees acted quickly and the act of vandalism was promptly cleaned up. The storefront was not significantly damaged (If it were, insurance would have kicked in but then Dash would not be looking quite so lovely quite so quickly as insurance companies are not known for their speedy response time to claims!)

This isn’t the first time, the Dash West Hollywood on Melrose has had issues with vandals. Last June a man threw a molotov cocktail into the store’s window. Luckily, the shop was closed at the time so no one was injured. The fiery “bomb” did shatter the store window but not much else was damaged. That’s good news because a sweatshirt at Dash will set a shopper back a cool hundred (though again, insurance would kick in to cover damaged merchandise).

Dash’s original store in Calabasas (the SoCal town where the Kardashians live) was the target of a spray paint “event” back in 2009 and though the message was sweet, it’s still vandalism–a fan tagged, “We love you Kim,” on the store’s window. It happened another time at the Calabasas location and also at the Miami store.

Dash doesn’t  seem to be having much luck, despite the enormous fame of the owners. The Kardashian sisters closed the Dash NYC location this past December (which, by the way, we at PROOF have been in several times and really liked!) and the Las Vegas location has been shuttered for more than two years. We know most things these sisters touch turns to gold but maybe retail just isn’t for them?

At PROOF we love celebrity news as much as you do.  So if you want more, celebrity news about A-Listers (and others!), we welcome you to explore the rest of the site.

 

Death on Deadpool Set Could Have Been Avoided?

Celeb News, Celebrities, John Bernecker

Two nearly back-to-back deaths of Hollywood stunt performers on the Vancouver set of ‘Deadpool 2’ and the Georgia set of “The Walking Dead” have rattled Hollywood and caused some to wonder if they could have been avoided.

On August 15, 40-year-old motorcycle racer Joi “SJ” Harris died while performing a stunt for ‘Deadpool 2,’ her very first film as a stuntwoman. Witnesses said that while Harris, an African-American pioneer in her field, was riding, her motorcycle went airborne and hit a building.

Some have questioned whether Harris had the experience necessary to safely perform stunts for motion pictures. “She was a highly-qualified motorcyclist racer but not an experienced stunt person,” veteran stunt coordinator Conrad Palmisano told The Hollywood Reporter. He explained that stunt riding is very different from racing, and that she typically rode a smaller motorcycle than the one she was riding at the time of the accident.

Stuntman Steve Kelso told the Reporter, “I can’t tell you how much different it is doing stunts with motorcycles than just riding where the aim is to go really, really fast. I’m a professional race car driver, but it’s just day and night. There’s no comparison. The two don’t really mix. Being a professional motorcycle rider is only half the job, the other half is knowing all the parameters and the art of making movies.”

Kelso said that veteran stunt performers know when to safely bail on a stunt when it becomes dangerous. “She appears to have been a capable rider, but it just turned into a terrible, terrible accident,” he said.

Likewise, the July 12 death of stuntman John Bernecker on the set of “The Walking Dead” is being described as an accident. But in that case, the 33-year-old had almost ten years of experience and 90+ credits before the accident that caused his death.

Bernecker was supposed to perform a choreographed fall from a 25-foot balcony onto a layer of boxes with padding, but missed his target by inches. He reportedly tried to abort the jump by attempting to grab a railing, but failed. He was airlifted to a hospital but died of his injuries.

At the time of the accident, Bernecker was reportedly performing a scene with actor Austin Amelio, who plays Dwight on the series. Bernecker’s girlfriend, stuntwoman Jennifer Crocker, reportedly questioned why Bernecker was performing the stunt in the presence of Amelio, a non-stunt person.

In another high profile, but much less severe, stunt injury, Tom Cruise, who is known for performing his own stunts, broke his ankle on August 13 while filming a stunt for ‘Mission Impossible 6’ in London. In that case, the film’s director Christopher McQuarrie said that Cruise was always safe, but had performed the stunt at a slightly wrong angle, which resulted in the injured ankle.

Did these productions protect their performers properly? Did the performers follow safety procedures? Was the proper insurance in place in appropriate amounts? As is the case whenever an injury or death occurs on set, investigations are underway and liability will be determined. Because of all the parties involved in film and TV production, this is no easy task, and several parties may be ultimately to be at fault. Though shooting has continued on these projects, the investigative work must be done and a fault determination made as with any other workplace injury. In fact, as highly regarded NY workers’ compensation lawyer, Adam Rosen, points out, “serious injury at work is a real risk and can happen to anyone in any occupation. That is why it is imperative that all companies, including those involved in film production, carry workers’ compensation insurance. So that recovery can be sought from the proper party, once a claim is made for a workplace injury, the incident must be fully investigated and fault determined. This holds true whether the injury occurs on a movie set or a construction site.”

We at PROOF don’t think anything is likely to come of the Cruise incident but the other two? We are very interested in seeing what those investigations reveal–those deaths may just have been preventable.

 

 

 

 

Celebrities and Pet Custody | Celebrity News | PROOF With Jill Stanley

When Celebs Split, Who Gets Custody of the Family Pet?

Amber Heard, Britney Spears, Celebrities, Celebrity News, Celebs, Celebs and Child Custody, Custody, Legal

Divorce is nasty business especially when it comes to division of assets, spousal support and child custody.  Another area rife with fighting? Custody of the family pet. The number of divorce cases in which pet custody is an issue is on the rise as is the intensity of the fighting over it.  Just as celebs are not immune from bitter child custody battles so too do they face fierce fights over family pets. And because celebrities have the money to hire tough lawyers and can afford protracted litigation often their pet custody battles are among the nastiest.

Legally speaking, most states consider pets property which means courts consider them as they would any asset and not at all akin to a child.  Thankfully though this is not always the case and recently we’ve seen judges in various jurisdictions looking at other factors.  In fact a New York case moved away from the chattel (legal jargon for property) view of pets and took a more holistic approach, asking what was the best interest of all—not of the pet, per se, but of all involved in the dispute. This is good news for the more than 80 million(yup!) American families that own a pet.

Let’s take a look at some well known celebrity breakups in which custody of the pets was a pivotal issue.

Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas. When these two decided to end their almost twenty year marriage, Stella, their youngest child, was already eighteen years old so custody was no longer an issue (child custody is not legally relevant once a child is over eighteen). However, the couple had three dogs (two were adopted together from an animal rescue group) and Melanie wanted to keep all of them. Word on the street was that their $50 million divorce case was contentious in large part over custody of these pups. Melanie made it clear that she wanted to keep them and many believed she was the better pup parent. There is no official word about how things ended up but my guess is that Melanie got what she wanted. These two seem to still be pretty good friends and are often seen out and about supporting their children at various events. Had Antonio not relented on the dog issue, this would not likely be the case.

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp. Most of us are probably glad this very messy Hollywood divorce is finally over. I know I am. But what was worked out early and fairly amicably between these two was who got custody of Pistol and Boo, the dogs the couple adopted during their brief marriage (Amber also got custody of their horse, Arrow, but I’m not sure there was much of a fight over that). You might remember hearing about these dogs—they’ve been in the news before. They are the same dogs that Amber and Johnny brought into Australia without declaring them at customs or obtaining the proper paperwork for them. Though Amber pleaded guilty to providing a false immigration document to immigration officials, the pair got away easy.  As punishment, Amber and Johnny were allowed to make a public service announcement. Amber apologized for her conduct and praised Australia’s biosecurity laws; Johnny encouraged others to declare everything when they come into Australia. Lucky for them that they got away easy on this one as the dissolution of their marriage was anything but that.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. First let me say I am a big fan of both of these actors but I’m still very pissed that Kristen cheated on Robert (Team Edward!). He just did not deserve that!  And with a married guy? I feel as if Kristen is better than that and if she wanted to end things with Robert she could have done so much less painfully and publically. But, she was young and everyone makes mistakes. Maybe that’s why when she and Robert could not initially agree on who should get custody of their newly adopted dogs, Bernie and Bear, she ultimately relented. I’d like to think it was an act of remorse and contrition. And, I bet it was. She certainly didn’t want to cause more pain to her one time love.

Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams.  It’s great seeing Mandy Moore happy and starring in the hit television show, This Is Us because we know this young actress has been through a lot.  She and Ryan two were working through their divorce settlement after ending their six year marriage when talks apparently stalled over a number of issues, one very big one being who would get custody of their eight pets—six cats and two dogs. Mandy got to keep all of her fur babies but she did seek pet support payments from Ryan. With the success of her new show, doubt she needs it anymore.

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. Britney is back on top and has been for years now but for a while many of us were worried that she’d never be the Britney Spears whom we first met. We all know well about her emotional breakdown, the shaved head, the breaking of car windows, the run-ins with the law (Click here for more about Britney’s legal battles). When Kevin sought and won custody of their two children there was also an issue of who got the family pets. What’s interesting in this case is that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) got involved and wrote an open letter to Kevin, begging him to take the animals. Whether or not Britney got custody of the pets has never been publicly revealed but it was a very sad, difficult time for her and assuming she was capable of taking care of her dogs, there is no doubt they would have brought her comfort. On the other hand though, the pets would provide the same to the kids with the added benefit of stability. Judging by Britney’s commitment to her children (and her pets) over the past several years, it seems as if all has worked out.  But, as a vegan and animal lover myself, I’m not sure PETA really needed to get involved in this one.

Drew Barrymore and Tom Green. Drew Barrymore and comedian Tom Green were married for a short five months. In Tom’s words, the marriage was “a crazy, whirlwind of a time.” Certainly he didn’t make life any calmer when he decided to fight Drew for custody of their yellow lab, Flossie. You might remember it was Flossie’s barking that saved the couple’s lives when their home caught fire in 1998.

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