Top 10 Biggest Celebrity Lawsuits of All Time

Since becoming a member of the royal family, Meghan Markle has been under the watchful eye of the British Press. In October 2019, she filed a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited, a British newspaper publisher, for publishing a handwritten, highly emotional letter between her and her estranged father. The duchess sued for copyright infringement and breach of privacy and after a three-year legal battle, she won, releasing a statement detailing her stance on the cruelty of the tabloid industry. 

It has been more than a whole decade of legal battles between Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears. In February 2008, Spears was involuntarily placed under a conservatorship by Judge Reva Goetz, with her father Jamie Spears as a conservator. Shortly after, Spears was twice taken to a hospital for involuntary psychiatric evaluations due to concerns around her mental health and substance abuse. In 2020, Britney’s fans began a movement called #FreeBritney, which attracted worldwide media attention as well as the release of a documentary regarding this situation. After a year of protests and rumors, Spears made her first public statement in June asking to terminate her conservatorship, revealing the depth of abuse and mistreatment she suffered. The conservatorship was officially terminated in November 2021. While many fans speculate that this is only a glimpse of the whole story and predict further legal battles, this case underlined the need for conservatorship and human rights reform in the United States.

Just a few months ago, every topic of conversation would include a mention of the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial. Depp’s ex-wife and fellow actor Amber Heard accused him of domestic abuse, which she detailed in a 2018 Washington Post essay. Depp denied all allegations and instead claimed that it was Heard who was violent towards him. As a result, he filed a suit against her for defamation, for which she filed a countersuit alleging the same. Clips of the trial went viral on social media, many of which mocked Heard’s responses and that of her legal team. Heard was found liable in all three matters of defamation raised and was ordered to pay her ex-husband $15 million, while Depp was found liable on one charge of defamation and ordered to pay Heard $2 million.

One of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century is Michael Jackson. Whilst he made numerous influential contributions to music, dance, and fashion; his lifestyle and behavior came under speculation when he was accused of sexually abusing a child in 1993. Although he denied the allegations and settled the lawsuit at the time, in 2005, he was yet again charged with another lawsuit under similar claims. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was found not guilty on all counts. To this day, many still speculate on the accuracy of this verdict.

As the highest-paid supermodel in the world, Kendall Jenner certainly has experienced her fair share of lawsuits. The most publicized was perhaps between her and U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee Gregory Messer for her false promotion of Fyre Festival, a 2017 music event that never even happened. Jenner, who was among several celebrities to post about it, was paid $275,000 to endorse the event. Messer, who was trying to recover money on behalf of many creditors, argued that Jenner not only failed to disclose to her followers that she was paid for the advertising but also led them to believe the festival would be filled with famous models on an "exotic private island with first-class culinary experiences and a luxury atmosphere." She eventually agreed to pay $90,000 to settle. 

History was made when in early October of 2017, the New York Times published an article that detailed numerous allegations of sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein, including claims by actresses Ashley Judd and Rosie McGown. Weinstein, known as one of the most powerful and influential men in Hollywood, was revealed to have paid off sexual harassment accusers. This article heavily contributed to the #MeToo movement and further added pressure to the authorities to commence a deep dive investigation on the producer. And the evidence which surfaced was unimaginable. Many other women also began exposing his horrific mistreatment towards them and, in February 2020, Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault, receiving 23 years in prison. 

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle and wellness company Goop was heavily criticized for selling items such as the "quartz vaginal eggs" that supposedly help with women’s sexual and mental health but were, in fact, just false advertisements. They were then taken to court in 2018 when a group of officials in California filed a lawsuit against them, citing that they made unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of some of their products. The prosecutors won the case and Goop paid nearly $150,000 as well as refunded any customers who purchased that product between January 12, 2017 and August 31, 2017.

Indisputably, the most televised court case of all time is The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson. O.J. Simpson, a formal NFL player, broadcaster, and actor, was placed on trial for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. It was revealed that the pair were stabbed to death outside Brown’s house in Los Angeles on the night of June 12, 1994. Since then, it has been characterized as the trial of the century because of how much international publicity it gained. On the day of the verdict, over 100 million people worldwide watched or listened as Simpson was found not guilty of both murders. This was truly one of the biggest lawsuits to go down in history. 

The iconic movie star in Mean Girls, Lindsay Lohan, filed a lawsuit against E-Trade in 2010, for using her name in one of their television ads without her permission. The commercial, which was played in the Super Bowl, featured a "milkaholic" baby named Lindsay. She felt that the company was mocking her drug and alcohol-related problems and sued them for $100 million. E-Trade responded exclaiming that Lohan is not the only Lindsay. After around six months, the lawsuit was withdrawn and the terms of the agreement remain confidential. 

In November 2021, Travis Scott’s music festival Astroworld ultimately ended with tragedy when 10 concertgoers passed away during the live performance as a result of compression asphyxia in the crowded arena. With 10 deaths and countless more injuries, there were more than 200 lawsuits filed against the singer by attendees and their family members. They claimed that Scott was aware of the situation when performing but chose to do nothing to stop it. In December, Scott requested to be dismissed from at least 11 of the lawsuits filed against him and sources close to Scott explained that the rapper was unaware of the tragedy only till hours after his performance.