Many celebrities have found themselves
in the hot seat with law-enforcement due to physical
altercations with their significant others. Although it has
always been this way (they are only human),
recent studies suggest that it has become more prevalent
and the celebrities themselves seen content with having
their dirty laundry aired. The celebrity cases presented
each month are a mix of old news and recent, young and
old, from movie stars to sports stars. Therefore, I give you
this month’s
Celebrity
Hot Seat
·
In June of
1997, actor Charlie Sheen
pleaded
no
contest to physically abusing his former girlfriend
the
December before and received a one year suspended
sentence and two years probation. Sheen must also
pay $2,800 in fines and restitution attend
counseling
sessions and perform 300 hours community service.
He is forbidden from contacting his ex-girlfriend.
·
WWE
professional wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve
Austin,
whose real name is Steve Williams, turned
himself into police on charges of assaulting his wife,
fellow WWE performer Debra Williams. In June 2002,
Williams called police to the couple’s home in San
Antonio and police saw a large noticeable welt beneath
her right eye, reports Entertainment
Weekly.
Austin was not at the house when the police
arrived and he was not arrested. In August 2002, he turned himself in, posted
$5,000 bond, and was released pending future legal
action.
·
Eminem, 26, is
a critically acclaimed and extremely popular rap
musician who has courted controversy throughout his
highly successful career. Marshall
Mathers’ LP was the second-best-selling album of 2000,
behind ‘N Sync’s No Strings Attached. Mathers’ LP sold
7.9 million copies in the U.S. alone. Wife abuse, murder,
rape, and other forms of violence against women and
gay people are consistent themes throughout the
music of Eminem, who is easily the most popular white
rapper ever.
On both his albums, he performs songs about
murdering his wife, Kim. Last year,
Eminem filed for divorce from his wife, who tried to
commit suicide.
They then reportedly reconciled. He has written
lyrics in which he fantasizes about raping his mother,
who is suing him for these and other inflammatory lyrics
about her.
Eminem was also arrested for attacking a
bartender with a gun; he said he believed the bartender
had flirted with his wife.