Most celebrities have been involved in litigations that go as far as personal battles and business wars. These litigations have sparked public discourse regarding matters such as abuse, negligence, intellectual property rights, and personal rights. Most of the cases are reaching a close; others are still at the nascent stage. Most of the issues bring forth questions related to accountability, ethics, and how celebrities are treated in public forums. From Travis Scott's Astroworld tragedy to Britney Spears's fight with her father, public interest in these court cases remains very high.
1) Prince Harry vs Mirror Group Newspapers
In December 2023, Prince Harry won a major victory in his claim against Mirror Group Newspapers, publishers of The Mirror and Sunday Mirror. The case was from 2021, regarding unlawful practices such as phone hacking and wiretapping between 1991 and 2011. The court ruled in favor of Harry, awarding him $180,000 for 15 proven instances of unlawful information gathering. His legal win was a landmark in media accountability as his lawyer puts it such a win is aimed at stopping the future misapplication by the press. The verdict also underscored the commitment to privacy, particularly where intrusion by the press happens regularly.
2) Scarlett Johansson vs Disney
Scarlett Johansson filed a suit against Disney in 2021 for allegedly breaching her Black Widow deal by releasing the movie day-and-date in theaters as well as on Disney+. According to her lawsuit, this dual release saw reduced box office earnings, taking from her profit-sharing agreement with the studio. The suit ended in a private settlement which remained confidential by September of the same year. With the settlement, Johansson exuded satisfaction with an expressed pride at work done with Disney and more collaborations yet to be seen.
3) Blac Chyna vs The Kardashians
In 2017, Blac Chyna sued the Kardashian family. She alleged that they were interfering with her reality show Rob & Chyna after she had broken up with Rob Kardashian. She brought defamation and contract interference charges against Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner for $108 million in damages. Her lawyer said that they deliberately derailed her prospects. In May 2022, a jury cleared the Kardashians for all charges with a claim of neither having defamed Chyna nor influenced E! Network to cancel her show.
4) Ed Sheeran vs Sam Chokri & Ross O’Donoghue
In 2022, Ed Sheeran was taken to court on a case of plagiarism for allegedly borrowing the "Oh I" hook of the song by grime artist Sam Chokri and producer Ross O'Donoghue in his record-breaking hit Shape of You. The latter claimed that the hook of his track was impressively similar. Yet at a 2022 trial, the judge ruled it in favor of Sheeran, stating that nothing proved that there was "deliberate or unconscious copying." The case yet again brought to light worries relating to intellectual property in music productions
5) Travis Scott vs Astroworld Victims
Travis Scott faced many lawsuits after the tragic 2021 Astroworld Festival which took nine lives and left many injured. The victims and the families blamed Travis Scott, saying that he was negligent and instigative, failing to stop his performance while the scene was getting out of control. A particularly tragic case was Shanazia Williamson, who sued in May 2022 claiming that the crowd surge killed her unborn child. To date, more than 1,500 lawsuits have been filed against Scott and the concert promoter Live Nation, including allegations of physical injuries and emotional distress as of September 2023.
6) Angelina Jolie vs Brad Pitt
In 2022, actor Brad Pitt filed a suit against his ex-wife Angelina Jolie over the selling of her share to the French vineyard in which they owned a shared stake. They had settled an agreement that neither should sell a stake without their mutual acceptance. She sold her to Stoli, the owner and leader of the Russian liquor firm, Yuri Shefler. Pitt filed the lawsuit against the sale as a violation of their agreement. On the other hand, Jolie countersued Pitt for $250 million in retaliation over their custody battle. In October 2023, Pitt's lawyers asked Shefler to provide additional documents that would prove Jolie and Shefler had planned in secret to exclude him from the negotiations.
7) Taylor Swift vs. David Mueller
DJ David Mueller allegedly groped Taylor Swift during a meet-and-greet in 2013, and the case went to court. Mueller had said that it was an accidental touching, but Swift testified that it was a deliberate and long grab. After he was fired, Mueller sued Swift for defamation. Swift countersued for $1 to set a precedent for other women in similar situations. Mueller's lawyer, however, argued that Mueller had lost his job due to his actions. The court delivered its ruling on August 2017 by siding with Swift; a strong message that is set to send in cases involving sexual harassment.
8) Amber Heard vs Johnny Depp
The 2022 highly publicized defamation and abuse trial between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp was both their lawsuits against each other. Depp sued Heard in a $50 million lawsuit filed over her 2018 Washington Post op-ed, claiming she referred to herself there as a victim of domestic abuse, though she had not named Depp during that time. She replied that he was abusive. Heard sued for $100 million after Depp's lawyer had called her accusations a "hoax." The six-week trial ended with the jury awarding $10.35 million in damages to Depp and awarding Heard $2 million. Both appealed the verdict.
9) Kelly Clarkson vs. Starstruck Management
The shocker: Kelly Clarkson has filed a lawsuit against her former management company, Starstruck Management Group, run by her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, and his father Narvel Blackstock. The suit started when Starstruck filed a lawsuit claiming that Clarkson owed it $1.4 million in unpaid fees. Clarkson has filed a counterclaim claiming there was no signed contract and neither Brandon nor Narvel is licensed to be managing her. She has accused them of duping her of millions by taking exorbitant fees for unlicensed services. Meanwhile, custody and spousal support arrangements are being worked out by Clarkson and Blackstock as their legal battle continues. For example, Blackstock recently appealed a ruling that ordered him to pay back over $2.6 million.
10) Goop vs. California
In 2018, Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop became embroiled in a lawsuit by the California Food, Drug, and Medical Device Task Force over alleged unsubstantiated health claims. Goop sold a vaginal jade egg, which claimed to strengthen bladder control as well as prevent uterine prolapse. There was not enough credible scientific evidence from authorities to support these statements, leading to a lawsuit and a decision in favor of the task force, which admonished false advertising of health products. Goop settled the case after agreeing to refund customers who had bought the jade egg in the period January to August 2017 with a payout of $145,000.
11) Kendall Jenner vs. Gregory Messer
The Fyre Festival, aimed at providing a luxury music experience, ended very badly, leaving attendees stranded and frustrated. The organizers of the event very soon faced a $100 million class-action lawsuit, not to mention celebrities who had come forward to promote the festival receiving legal scrutiny. People such as Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner were paid and asked to hype the festival, which led to misleading followers and a lawsuit was filed against them. Although the case is still on, Kendall Jenner settled in May 2020, by paying $90,000 of the $275,000 that she was initially paid to promote the festival. This case might be one with a long-lasting impact on the legal handling of celebrity endorsements.
12) Janice Dickinson vs. Bill Cosby
In November 2017, Cosby and his attorney, Marty Singer, were defendants in a renewed defamation lawsuit from Janice Dickinson, one day after Dickinson's 2017 rape allegations against Cosby. Dickinson claimed Cosby had drugged and raped her during the 1980s. Singer publicly called her account a "fabricated and outrageous defamatory lie" and threatened to sue Good Morning America for allowing Dickinson to tell her side of the story. A California appeals court initially overturned a trial court decision that had dismissed Dickinson's motion to amend her complaint to add Singer, but on appeal, the order was reinstated, so Dickinson could continue with her case. Dickinson wanted justice from Cosby, who had tried to discredit her story by besmirching her reputation.
13) Kesha vs. Dr. Luke
This legal battle between Kesha and music producer Dr. Luke began in 2014 when she said that he raped her twice, while emotionally and psychologically torturing her, according to Vulture. She sought refuge from her contract with Dr. Luke and Sony Music by arguing that they were aiding his abuse. The case dragged on for years, even after multiple legal failures: an injunction request filed in 2016 and the loss of a defamation judgment in 2021. Finally, after nearly a decade of lawsuits, Kesha and Dr. Luke reached an undisclosed settlement in June 2022. Her social media posts were jubilant and highlighted new music and creative projects
14) Kate Middleton vs. Closer Magazine
In 2012, a French magazine called Closer published topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge. The photos were taken without her consent when she was sunbathing at a private villa. The royal family sued the magazine. In September 2017, the case was settled, with a judge ordering Closer to pay approximately $119,000. Furthermore, the magazine's editor and owner were each fined about $53,000 for their role in the privacy breach. This ruling brought home the point that everyone's privacy rights must be protected, even public figures.
15) Keira Knightley vs. Daily Mail
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Keira Knightley received numerous negative comments about her body over the years, although one of the most understandable ones took place back in 2007 when The Daily Mail attacked her for allegedly having a hand in an anorexic teenager's death. This paper reported that because of her denial that she has an eating disorder, Keira Knightley was misleading the public, possibly affecting the younger girl's condition. Knightley successfully sued the paper, winning the defamation case, and received a small judgment of $6,000, which she gave to charity. The lawsuit set an important precedent for combating dangerous body shaming, considering that these were unfounded accusations.
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