Celebrity arrests: It’s like looking at a car accident. You don’t want to give into the tabloids, but part of you also wants to know what they did to deserve a mug shot. Here are 17 arrests that were embarrassing — either for the celeb or the police who booked ’em.
Jane Fonda
The city was Cleveland, Ohio, the year was 1970, and Fonda was fresh off filming “Klute.” Customs officers at the airport confiscated her vitamins and arrested her for drug smuggling. The actress was released on bond, and months later, after the pills had been tested, officials admitted they were indeed only vitamins.
David Bowie
Bowie was arrested in Rochester, New York, in 1976 for pot possession after a concert. He was arrested alongside Iggy Pop and two other co-defendants.
Shia LeBeouf
Back in 2015, LeBeouf was arrested on an intoxication charge in Austin, Texas. He was released on bail. It’s not the only time the actor has been arrested; he was arrested in January in New York during a rally against Donald Trump.
Lindsay Lohan
Everyone’s favorite “Mean Girl” has spent many nights in jail. This mug shot was taken when she was booked into the Lynnwood Correctional Facility to serve three months after breaking her probation following two DUI arrests in 2007.
Chace Crawford
The former “Gossip Girl” star was arrested in 2010 for marijuana possession under 2 oz. before being released.
Michelle Rodriguez
Rodriguez was arrested in 2006 for drunk driving in Oahu, Hawaii. Given the option between five nights in jail and community service, she chose the jail time.
Vince Vaughn
While working on a film in North Carolina in 2001, Vaughn was arrested for public fighting. He entered a no contest plea and the charges were dropped after six months.
Nick Nolte
Nolte was arrested in 2002 for drunk driving by the California Highway Patrol.
Bill Cosby
This shot was taken when Cosby turned himself in on a charge of aggravated indecent assault for an alleged encounter in 2004. At least 35 women have accused Cosby of assaulting them.
Paul Reubens
The actor best known as Pee-wee Herman was arrested in July 1991 and charged with indecent exposure at an adult movie house in Sarasota, Florida. He later pleaded no contest, and received a fine as well as order to produce an anti-drug PSA.
Robert Downey Jr.
Downey, Jr. and arrests aren’t strangers. This mugshot was taken in 2000 in Palm Springs, when the actor was found possessing drugs months after being released from prison.
Christian Slater
Slater was arrested in December 1994 for criminal possession of a weapon at an airport in New York. He reached a plea deal, requiring him to work with homeless children for three days.
Fiona Apple
The singer’s mugshot looks like an album cover. She was arrested at a border stop in Texas and was found to have marijuana.
Patty Hearst
Granddaughter to the news publisher, Hearst was arrested in 1975 on bank robbery and gun charges. President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence in 1979.
Rush Limbaugh
The late radio host turned himself in on a warrant that charged him with fraud to conceal information to obtain prescriptions in Florida in 2006. He reached a settlement in which he paid $30,000 and agreed to undergo addiction counseling. (He died in 2021.)
Hugh Grant
The British actor was arrested in 1995 in Hollywood on charges for lewd conduct. He was caught with a hooker by police.
Heather Locklear
The former “Melrose Place” actress was arrested in Thousand Oaks, California, in February 2018 for domestic violence and battery on a police officer.
Chris Brown
Just after performing a concert in West Palm Beach, Fla., the R&B singer with a long history of legal trouble was arrested in July 2018 on felony assault charges.
Bill Gates
The founder of Microsoft was picked up in 1977 on a traffic violation in Albequerque, New Mexico.
Jussie Smollett
The “Empire” star was arrested in February 2019 and charged with a felony for filing a false police report in connection with a hate crime assault he reported took place the month before in Chicago. The actor’s lawyers promised an “aggressive defense.”
R. Kelly
The singer-songwriter was indicted in February 2019 on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four accusers – three of whom prosecutors said were underage.
Stacey Dash
The “Clueless” star known for playing Dionne Davenport in the 1995 teen movie was arrested in Florida for domestic battery in September 2019. She and an unnamed victim got into a “verbal argument” in which she “pushed the victim and slapped him in the face,” according to an affidavit from the Pasco County sheriff’s office.
Amber Portwood
The “Teen Mom OG” reality star was arrested in July 2019 for felony domestic battery charges in Indiana, according to Radar Online.
Conor McGregor
MMA fighter Conor McGregor was arrested in March of 2019 after police said he smashed a fan’s phone outside of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel, according to the Miami Herald.
Larissa Dos Santos Lima
The “90 Day Fiance” star was arrest and charged with first degree domestic battery in Jan. 2019 following a reported altercation with her husband, Colt Johnson, according to Us Weekly. Dos Santos Lima claimed that Johnson had been the one to attack her, police told Us that they “determined that she was the aggressor in this case.”
Jesse Luken
The “Glee” and “Justified” star was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after crashing his car in Glendale, California, in December 2018, according to the L.A. Times.
Thomas Ravenel
The “Southern Charm” star was arrested in September 2019 on a charge of second-degree assault and battery, according to inmate records from the Charleston County Sheriff’s office. He announced his exit from the Bravo reality series following an accusation of sexual assault earlier that year.
Amanda Stanton
Stanton, who appeared on Ben Higgins’ season of “The Bachelor” in 2016, was arrested in September 2018 after a report of an altercation with her boyfriend Bobby Jacobs in Las Vegas.
Orlando Brown
The former “That’s So Raven” star was arrested in Las Vegas for burglary in September 2018, according to E! News. In June of that year, he was arrested for felony drug possession, as well as misdemeanor charges of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest and obstructing a public officer, E! added.
Offset
The rapper from the group Migos, Offset, whose real name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus, was arrested in July 2018 for gun possession. Police pulled him over while driving a Porsche 911 for improper lane changing in Georgia, at which point they found him in possession of a firearm, according to CBS News.
Stormy Daniels
Adult film star Stormy Daniels, who says she had an affair with Donald Trump before his presidency, was arrested and charged with three counts of illegal sexually oriented activity, and a misdemeanor in July of 2018 at a strip club in Columbus, Ohio, according to the New York Times. The charges were dropped 24 hours later. Daniels later sued the city of Columbus citing a violation of her civil rights, the Times adds. She reached a $450,000 settlement with the city in September 2019.
Vince Vaughn
The “Wedding Crashers” star was also arrested, this time for for drunk driving and obstructing an officer, in June 2018, according to TMZ. He was charged with a DWI, and later posted bail and was released the same day, TMZ added.
Jason Mitchell
The “Straight Outta Compton” star was arrested in Harris County, Misssippi, in April 2020 and faced two felony charges for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, as well as two more felony charges for possession of a weapon by a felon. “This misunderstanding will be resolved shortly,” his rep told TMZ.
Tiffany Haddish
This is most definitely not an “embarrassing” mugshot — in fact, it’s pretty cute for a mugshot. The popular actress was arrested in January 2022 on a DUI charge in Georgia, with police saying she was found asleep at the wheel.
