Infamous Celebrity Lawsuits and the States That Won’t Forget Them

From tricky copyright claims to national scandals, celebrities often end up in hot water that sometimes lands them in court. Unable to shy away from the flashing cameras and the trending #isoverparty tweets, particularly juicy legal battles have become one of America’s favorite subjects for hot gossip.

In the heat of the public eye, updates from celebrity court proceedings are frequently posted online throughout each case, leaving gossip-hungry Americans to endlessly search for shocking rulings and memorable testimonies.

Putting some infamous instances to the test, a recent study uncovered which lawsuit was the most-searched in each state during the time when the ‘suits were live. Weiss & Paarz used Google Trends for the study, beginning with cases that occurred in 2004.

#3 Travis Scott Astroworld Tragedy (2021) 3 States: AR, NM, TX

The third-most searched case among the states is a serious one. In early November, 2021, rapper Travis Scott hosted a music festival in Houston, Texas, that turned deadly. Reports of poor planning and overcrowding attempted to explain the 10 deaths and thousands of injuries that occurred at Astroworld. Soon after the event, several lawsuits hit Travis Scott and affiliates of the festival. Reportedly, however, Scott settled with the families of the victims privately.

Hopefully, the attention on this case has led and will continue to lead to safer concert and festival conditions for the future.

#2 Lori Loughlin College Admissions Scandal (2020) States: AL, CT, IN, MA, MN, NJ, OR, SC, WI

The Lori Loughlin college admission controversy, revealed in 2020, caught the second-highest number of the states’ attention. Essentially, Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, meddled with their daughters’ college admissions processes to help them secure enrollment at the University of Southern California. They did this by inaccurately depicting their daughters as rowing recruits and paying other people to help them pull it off. Eventually, the FBI got involved in the investigation and the couple was revealed to have a part in the misconduct. Although, they were not the only parents that faced charges as a result of the inquiry.

Loughlin, who played Rebecca on the legendary television show, Full House, and Giannulli pleaded guilty to fraud charges. Both of them served time in prison. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that several states were hooked on this crime.

#1 Jennifer Lawrence and Google (2014) States: AZ, CA, CO, FL, HI, IA, KY, MI, NV, NY, OH, OK, SD, WA

The highest number of states were obsessed with Jennifer Lawrence v. Google in 2014, when leaked nude photos of Lawrence and several other celebrities populated across the search engine. JLaw’s legal team threatened Google with a $100 million lawsuit over copyright infringement, citing that they had filed several unmet requests to Google to take down the images. Google responded to the lawsuit, claiming they had since taken action against accounts and websites that used the leaked photos. With no further action taken by JLaw’s legal team, it is safe to assume that Google’s actions adequately satisfied their demands.

While the case never made it to court, it seems that the states were captivated by the subject or, potentially, just captivated by the images in question. Either way, this case will live on as one of the most popular celebrity legal cases in recent history.

Leaked photos and sham college admissions, celebrities continue to entertain the masses with their legally questionable drama. Unfortunately for them, Google never forgets. Unless, of course, they are slapped with a $100 million lawsuit.

Until the next scandal, JLaw reigns as the supreme legal queen.