Biggest Celebrity Lawsuits Through the Years

Prince Harry vs Mirror Group Newspapers

On Dec. 2023, Prince Harry and his lawyers won the months-long case against Mirror Group Newspapers, aka the publishers of The Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and more. Among the accusations made by the royal are that the publisher, from years of 1991 to 2011, acquired information in unlawful ways such as phone-hacking and wire-tapping.

“I hope that the court’s finding will serve as a warning to all media organizations who have employed these practices and then similarly lied about it,” Harry’s lawyer David Sherbourne said in a statement outside the courthouse following the decision. “My commitment to seeing this case through is based on my belief in our need and collective right to a free and honest press. The mission continues.”

The newspapers were ordered to pay the Duke of Sussex $180,000 for using unlawful information gathering in 15 of the 33 newspaper articles examined at trial, per Associated Press. 

Blac Chyna vs The Kardashians

In 2017, Blac Chyna sued the Kardashian family after the reality show with her ex Rob Kardashian, Rob & Chyna, was canceled following their split. Chyna sued the Kardashians for allegedly interfering with her reality show’s future. At the time of filing, Chyna was seeking $108 million in damages. “Blac Chyna will seek millions in compensatory and punitive damages from Kris [Jenner], Kim [Kardashian], Khloé [Kardashian], and Kylie [Jenner] for defamation, intentional interference with contract, and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage,” Chyna’s lawyer told Us Weekly at the time. 

Five years later, in May 2022, the Los Angeles jury found the Kardashian clan not liable or guilty, per Associated Press. According to the verdict, none of the members defamed Chyna and not did interfere with her contract by convincing the E! network to cancel her reality show.

Scarlett Johansson vs Disney

In 2021, actress Scarlett Johansson made waves when she filed a lawsuit against Disney claiming that the studio sacrificed Black Widow‘s box office potential to grow their Disney+ streaming service when they released the movie both on streaming and on theaters on the same day, per The Hollywood Reporter. And while the terms of the deal were not disclosed, both parties settled a few months later in September. 

“I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney,” Johansson told the outlet. “I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team. I look forward to continuing our collaboration in years to come.”

Vanessa Bryant vs Los Angeles County

Back in Aug. 2022, Vanessa Bryant, the widow of legendary basketball star Kobe Bryant, and another male victim were awarded $31 million in damages. This was for the graphic photos sheriff’s deputies and firefighters took of the 2020 helicopter crash scene that killed Bryant, their daughter Gianna, and several others.

Ed Sheeran vs Sam Chokri & Ross O’Donoghue

Remember when Ed Sheeran’s son “Shape of You” was all over the radio? Well, a lot of people do, and many weren’t thrilled when the same came on, specifically grime artiste Sam Chokri and producer Ross O’Donoghue, who accused him of plagiarism.

Chokri claimed the “Oh I” hook in Sheeran’s track was “strikingly similar” to one of his own sons. Back in 2022, after 11 days, the judge ruled in favor of Sheeran, saying he had “neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied” Chokri’s song.

Travis Scott vs Astroworld Victims

After the Astroworld tragedy in 2021 that took nine lives, Travis Scott was hit with lawsuit after lawsuit from those injured, and the family of the deceased.

Per the Buzzfeed News, a number of those who’ve filed suits cited “negligence” and “encouragement of violence.” Sources close to Scott maintain that the rapper wasn’t aware of the tragedy until “hours” after his performance

The latest victim, Shanazia Williamson, filed a lawsuit against the rapper in May 2022 claiming her “unborn child” died after she was “crushed” during the crowd surge, Rolling Stone reports. 

As of September 2023, there were 1,500 active cases filed against Scott and Live Nation, the concert promoter, per Associated Press. Among the lawsuits were 992 cases with physical injuries and 313 cases of “emotional distress, pain, suffering and mental anguish.”

Angelina Jolie vs Brad Pitt via Chateau Miraval

In 2022, Brad Pitt filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife Angelina Jolie over their vineyard in the south of France, Chateau Miraval. Back when they were together, they decided that neither would sell their stakes in the business without consultation, but Jolie sold hers to a Russian liquor giant named Stoli, led by businessman Yuri Shefler. 

In response to Pitt’s suit, Jolie filed a $250 million countersuit, alleging that Pitt was merely being vindictive for how their previous custody battle turned out. Most recently, in Oct. 2023, Pitt’s lawyers requested additional documents from the Russian businessman in an attempt to prove that Jolie and Shefler were secretly planning to shut Pitt out of  negotiations all along. 

Alec Baldwin vs Halyna Hutchins’ Family

One of the biggest tragedies in 2021 was the horrific shooting incident on the set of Rust involving Alec Baldwin and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who passed from the incident after a gunshot wound. Hutchins’ family then went on to file a wrongful death suit against Alec Baldwin. Later in 2022, reaching an undisclosed settlement.

Amber Heard vs Johnny Depp

All anyone seemed to talk about in 2022 was the trial of exes Amber Heard and Johnny Depp.

Along with filing a lawsuit against The Sun, Depp sued Heard for $50 million over her 2018 op-ed published in The Washington Post, claiming she referred to herself as a domestic abuse victim without mentioning the name of the Pirates of the Caribbean star in her article, but heavily insinuating it. Along with that, he claimed she was abusive towards him, with her countersuing Depp for $100 million since his former attorney Adam Waldman called her allegations a “hoax.”

After a six-week-long televised trial, the jury ruled in favor of Depp, who was awarded $10.35 million in damages. Heard did win one of the three claims, and was awarded around $2 million in compensatory damages. However, both of them have filed an appeal against one another for the money they owe one another.

Taylor Swift vs. David Mueller

Radio DJ David Mueller allegedly groped Taylor Swift at a fan meet-and-greet in 2013 and then tried to sue the superstar for cash when he lost his job over the sexual assault. Mueller claimed the contact was inadvertent, but Swift testified, saying, “It was a definite grab. A very long grab,” The Guardian reports. 

She countersued Mueller for a symbolic $1 because she wanted the trial to serve as an “example to other women,” NPR reports. In a championing moment during the trial, Mueller’s lawyer asked Swift how she felt about Mueller losing his job over the encounter to which Swift responded, “I’m not going to allow you or your client to make me feel in any way that this is my fault.” She added, “Here we are years later, and I’m being blamed for the unfortunate events of his life that are the product of his decisions — not mine.” Swift won the suit in August 2017. 

Britney Spears vs. Jamie Spears

The legal battles between pop icon Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears were more than a decade in the making. Jamie was the dominant member of the team running his daughter’s 13-year conservatorship, which finally ended in November 2021. Since reclaiming her freedom and autonomy, Britney continued to take these legal battles one step further.

During her heartbreaking testimony amidst her conservatorship hearings, Britney alleged that her father mishandled her finances, profited off her work, and more. More recently, a former FBI agent concluded that Jamie Spears was spying on his daughter and surveilling her bedroom, according to ET. 

Nicki Minaj vs. Tracy Chapman

On Jan. 7, 2021, the legal battle between Nicki Minaj and Tracy Chapman over the former’s unauthorized sampling of Chapman’s song “Baby Can I Hold You?” finally came to an end. Back in 2018, Minaj publicly claimed she had “no idea” that her song sampled Chapman’s and begged the singer to give her rights so she wouldn’t have to delay her new album release. But Chapman repeatedly refused: and two years later, she’s accepted Minaj’s offer of $450,000 to settle.

“I am glad to have this matter resolved and grateful for this legal outcome which affirms that artists’ rights are protected by law and should be respected by other artists,” Chapman told NBC News. “I was asked in this situation numerous times for permission to use my song; in each instance, politely and in a timely manner, I unequivocally said no. Apparently, Ms. Minaj chose not to hear and used my composition despite my clear and express intentions.”

While Minaj ultimately cut the song from her album, it was leaked and made its way around the internet nonetheless. With this legal ruling, further circulation of the song will be banned.

FKA Twigs vs. Shia LaBeouf

In December 2020, the New York Times revealed musician FKA Twigs’ lawsuit against actor ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf alleging “relentless abuse,” including sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress. Her account to the Times alleges horrifying physical, psychological, and emotional abuse at the actor’s hands, and another one of his exes, Karolyn Pho, has come forward with similar stories as well. 

“The lawsuit says that he kept a loaded firearm by the bed and that she was scared to use the bathroom at night lest he mistake her for an intruder and shoot her,” the Times reports of Twigs (born Tahliah Debrett Barnett’s). “He didn’t let her wear clothing to bed, and would spin a trifling disagreement — over an artist she liked and he didn’t, for example — into an all-night fight, depriving her of sleep.”

“In the lawsuit, Ms. Barnett and Ms. Pho said that Mr. LaBeouf did not like it if they spoke to or looked at male waiters; in an interview, Ms. Barnett said she learned to keep her eyes down when men spoke to her,” the piece continues.

“it may be surprising to you to learn that i was in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship,” Twigs wrote on Twitter the day the Times published its story. “it was hard for me to process too, during and after i never thought something like this would happen to me.”

In September 2023, the lawsuit was postponed until October 2024, per Rolling Stone. 

Kelly Clarkson vs. Starstruck Management

In a lawsuit we definitely did not see coming, Kelly Clarkson was forced to file suit against her former management company Starstruck Management Group, specifically agents Brandon Blackstock (her ex-husband) and Narvel Blackstock (his father). This came just four months after she first shocked us by filing for divorce after nearly seven years of marriage, though the legal action that’s followed has certainly shed some light on why they broke up.

Clarkson wasn’t the first to sue — that would be Starstruck, which claimed the singer owed them $1.4 million in unpaid management fees. Clarkson hit back by responding that they’d never had an official contract and that neither Narvel nor Brandon was licensed to operate as her manager, then going on to quietly file a lawsuit in return for having defrauded her out of millions in earnings, claiming Brandon had been charging her exorbitant fees for 13 years for his unlicensed management services.

As all this is going down, Clarkson and Blackstock are still trying to figure out their custody arrangement and spousal support too. Most recently, Blackstock’s legal team submitted an appeal after he was ordered by the California Labor Commission to pay back the $2,641,374. 

Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi vs. Edelson PC

In late 2020, Erika Girardi (AKA Erika Jayne of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) shocked us by filing for divorce from lawyer Tom Girardi after 21 years of marriage. After that, the shocks just kept on coming: Edelson PC, a class action firm, filed a lawsuit against the couple just a few weeks later, claiming the couple was “on the verge of financial collapse and locked in a downward spiral of mounting debts and dwindling funds,” Us Weekly reports. 

“While Erika publicly filed for divorce this month, on information and belief, that ‘divorce’ is simply a sham attempt to fraudulently protect Tom’s and Erika’s money from those that seek to collect on debts owed by Tom and his law firm GK,” Edelson PC wrote. 

Tom and Erika are being sued for embezzlement and fraud, having allegedly embezzled settlement funds intended for families of victims of Lion Air Flight 610, which crashed in 2018. Per the lawsuit, they believe the Real Housewives star’s extravagant lifestyle is to blame for their spending, and Tom is accused of having used his clients’ assets to fund his family’s ventures.

Meghan Markle vs. Associated Newspapers

In October 2019, Meghan Markle filed a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of British outlets like The Sun, for publishing a handwritten letter between her and her father in 2018. The Duchess alleges that these publications breached the Data Protection Act, misuse of private information, and copyright infringement. But they’ve attempted to claim in return that Meghan’s letter was in fact an official piece of royal communications intended for PR, and not an original work.

The letter in question was an emotional plea from Meghan to her father, Thomas Markle, asking him to stop speaking to media and stop posing for paparazzi pictures, telling him he was breaking her heart by continuing to exploit her like this. Meghan and her father remain estranged to this day, with the letter’s publication acting as the final straw in her attempts to reach him surrounding the royal wedding.

By December 2021, the court sided with Markle, who released a statement following her legal victory. “While this win is precedent-setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create,” she said in statement.

Goop vs. California

Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness company Goop was in some hot water back in 2018 when a group of officials from the California Food, Drug, and Medical Device (FDMD) Task Force filed a lawsuit against them for making unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of some of their products — including the infamous vaginal jade egg. 

California prosecutors said that Goop’s claims regarding this “detox egg,” like suggesting it could improve bladder control or prevent uterine prolapse, “were not supported by competent and reliable science.” Ultimately, the judge agreed, stating: “We will vigilantly protect consumers against companies that promise health benefits without the support of good science…or any science.”

Goop settled the lawsuit with a payment of $145,000 and a promise to refund any consumers who purchased the egg between January 12, 2017 and August 31, 2017. 

Kendall Jenner vs. Gregory Messer

The story of the ill-fated Fyre Festival is a sordid tale. Basically, a bunch of wealthy people paid a ton of money to attend what was billed as the most exclusive, luxurious music festival on the planet. In reality, it was anything but luxurious, and the festival shut down after one day.

A $100 million class-action suit was quickly filed against the organizers, but soon after, another was filed against celebrities who acted as social media “Fyre starters” in advance of the event, per Wired. Celebs like Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski, were all paid to promote the festival. A law professor told Fortune there is precedent for the charges, and though the case is still in court, if it goes against the celebrities, it could have a lasting impact on celebrity endorsements.

In May 2020, Jenner paid a settlement to Gregory Messer, who was in charge of Fyre Fest’s bankruptcy filing. She’d been paid $275,000 for a social media post promoting the event, but only gave a payment of $90,000.

Janice Dickinson vs. Bill Cosby

In late November 2017, former supermodel Janice Dickinson, according to The Hollywood Reporter, filed a renewed defamation case against Bill Cosby, with a majority of her older lawsuit still in use. A California court of appeals also ruled that she could pursue legal recourse against Cosby’s lawyer, Marty Singer, for defamation. 

The lawsuit stems from Dickinson coming forward in early 2017 with allegations that Cosby drugged and raped her in the 1980s. So, Singer, acting in the interests of Cosby, “sent demand letters that asserted that Dickinson’s story was ‘fabricated and is an outrageous defamatory lie.’ Further, Singer threatened to sue Good Morning America if the ABC show proceeded with a planned segment with Dickinson. The following day, Singer issued a public statement again repeating that Dickinson’s story of rape was a lie and different than what she had written in her own autobiography,” according to THR.

THR further reports that “Cosby brought a motion to strike her complaint under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which provides early recourse for individuals targeted for First Amendment activity. After Cosby brought the motion and arguments were made, Dickinson attempted to amend her complaint to add Singer as a co-defendant. The trial judge wouldn’t allow this,” but the original ruling was slapped down by another judge, allowing Dickinson’s case to proceed.

Ashley Judd & Rose McGowan vs. Harvey Weinstein

A New York Times exposé published in early October of 2017 detailed three decades of numerous allegations of sexual harassment and assault by Harvey Weinstein, one of the most influential men in Hollywood. Those included claims by Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, both of whom say they were targeted by Weinstein in 1997.

Judd first went public with her accusations in 2015, telling Variety for its Power of Women issue that an unnamed Hollywood mogul had asked her for a “meeting” in his hotel room and then tried to make her massage him and watch him shower. In the New York Times piece, Judd finally admitted that man was Weinstein, telling the paper that she wondered at the time, “How do I get out of the room as fast as possible without alienating Harvey Weinstein?” and that she “said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask. It was all this bargaining, this coercive bargaining.”

That same year, Weinstein settled a sexual harassment claim from Rose McGowan. The settlement was undisclosed at the time, but the Times reports he paid her $100,000 to “avoid litigation and buy peace.” McGowan chose not to comment on the Times‘ article, but after it was published, she tweeted a call for allies to stand up for the myriad women now accusing Weinstein of harassment and assault.

Late in October 2017, The Weinstein Company announced that Weinstein had been fired after more than a third of its all-male board stepped down and many of Weinstein lawyers and close advisers, including sexual assault advocate Lisa Bloom, began distancing themselves from him. 

In March 2020, Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault, receiving 23 years in prison, per BBC. The case for which Weinstein was convicted was unrelated to Judd and McGowan’s lawsuits.

Kesha vs. Dr. Luke

The saga of Kesha versus Dr. Luke is a long and sad tale of lawsuit after lawsuit. But the most notable accusation took place in October 2014 when Kesha claimed the music producer raped her twice while also using his position to “intimidate and torment” her, per Vulture. Since then, Kesha has filed motions and suits in an attempt to get out of her contract with Dr. Luke and Sony Music. She has further claimed that Sony knew about Dr. Luke’s alleged abuse. 

By February 2016, a request for a preliminary injunction made by Kesha’s team was denied. In 2021, she lost another appeal in the defamation ruling, per Rolling Stone. In June of last year, Kesha and Dr. Luke finally settled the lawsuit after almost a decade, with the terms not disclosed to the public. “I am so full of light and excitement for the beautiful things to come, for shows to play, and art to make to share with you all,” the singer wrote on social media at the time, per the outlet. 

CBS vs. the Federal Communications Commission

Oh, the infamous wardrobe malfunction of the 2004 Super Bowl. Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson’s bustier, revealing her boob to the world. What followed was a lawsuit filed by CBS that took a whopping seven years to be settled.

The FCC levied a fine of $550,000 against CBS for nudity during a public broadcast and lack of preparedness by the network. CBS argued the FCC was being inconsistent and had overlooked similar if not worse things in the past. Ultimately, the court sided with CBS, and Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake are now bigger stars than ever.

Kate Middleton vs. Closer Magazine

Back in 2012, French magazine Closer published topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge, which they snapped without her knowledge while she was sunbathing at a private villa. The royal family sued the magazine, and the dispute was finally settled at the beginning of September 2017. TMZ reports a judge ordered Closer to pay $119,000 in damages while the editor and owner are also responsible for paying $53,000 each in fines.

Erin Andrews vs. Michael David Barrett & Marriott

In 2008, Michael David Barrett stalked ESPN anchor Erin Andrews to a hotel in Nashville where he filmed her through a peephole while she was naked, later uploading the video to the web. Andrews kept her lawsuit simple and direct; she went after Barrett and the owner of the specific Marriott hotel location that failed to protect her privacy. The court split the blame — 51 percent to Barrett and 49 percent to the hotel — and Andrews won a massive victory for women. She was awarded $55 million in 2016, ABC reports. 

Padma Lakshmi vs. Teamsters

Lakshmi filed a lawsuit against Boston Teamsters after they were reportedly verbally abusive during Top Chef filming in 2014. Lakshmi claimed the union drivers were “raining down racist, sexist and homophobic threats and slurs as staffers came to and left the set.” Specifically, she said they screamed at her, “You bitch! You slut! We’re gonna get you!” The teamsters were reportedly picketing on the set because they were upset the show had hired nonunion drivers. On Aug. 15, 2017, the Teamsters accused of harassment were found not guilty according to the Associated Press. Though the judge seemed to recognize that harsh language was used, it was not enough to convict the men of a crime.

Keira Knightley vs. Daily Mail

Keira Knightley has always fielded criticism over her body (remember when they photo edited her boobs for the King Arthur poster), but in 2007 Daily Mail went a step further, alleging she was to blame for the death of an anorexic teen. The Mail said Knightley misled the public by denying she had an eating disorder, leading to a teen’s death. Though the judgment in Knightley’s favor was small — just $6,000, which she donated to charity — the precedent was set that this particular kind of shaming wouldn’t be tolerated.

Lindsay Lohan vs. Grigor Balyan, overaggressive photographer

In 2010 a celebrity photographer claimed he was injured when the car carrying Lindsay Lohan sped away outside a Hollywood club, injuring his foot. The lawsuit ignited the age-old battle between stars and the paparazzi, but Lohan settled the dispute out of court according to TMZ. 

Jennifer Lawrence & others vs. Google

When someone leaked nude photos of almost 100 celebrities, he messed with the wrong men and women. Jennifer Lawrence was just one of the women who filed charges against the culprit, who ultimately pled guilty and went to prison.

The shocking part was the legal battles the victims had to wage against websites that refused to pull the images down. One porn site claimed Lawrence didn’t hold the copyright to the images since they weren’t selfies — this despite the fact that they were stolen from her personal iCloud account. Through a shared lawyer, more than a dozen women then took on Google, per Deadline, threatening a $100 million suit if they didn’t act faster to pull down the images from all Google-owned and -hosted sites.

Sofía Vergara vs. Nick Loeb

A complex legal case was filed in 2015 when Sofía Vergara’s ex, Nick Loeb, sued for custody of two female embryos the couple had frozen in 2013. Vergara’s camp argued both parties reportedly agreed not to implant the embryos without consent from both sides. Loeb claimed he always intended to see the embryos brought to full term and that he would waive any of Vergara’s parental obligations.

After the case was thrown out, Loeb re-filed in 2017 in Louisiana, most likely because the state has strict laws protecting embryos. But a judge dismissed the case, saying since the embryos were created in California, Lousiana courts hold no sway.