Six Famous Stars Who Were Blackmailed for Bizarre Reasons in the Past

Celebrities Who Were Blackmailed For Bizarre Reasons

Blackmailing isn't the most ethical thing to do and believe it or not many celebrities have their share of bizarre stories. In most cases, the blackmailing takes place when the perpetrator asks for a whopping amount of cash to keep the nasty secrets of famous people out of the reach of tabloids. From intimate photographs or videos to kidnapping threats, the blackmailers have conspired on varied levels to extort the celebrities. Most blackmailers were caught in the action and arrested for lurking around their private properties. Here's looking at six such celebrities who were victims of blackmail.

1. Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez received death threats when she was only 19 years old.  The culprit later identified as Thomas Brodnicki, was a 46-year-old man who was accused of stalking the Come And Get It hitmaker. According to the Daily Mail, the stalker was witnessed around Gomez on many occasions. The LAPD's Threat Management Unit shared that the actress and singer was worried for her friends and family. The behavior of the stalker had jolted the teen star back in 2011. The declaration by Gomesz stated, "I am in extreme fear of Mr. Brodnikci due to his direct threat on my life, his obsessive, harassing and threatening behavior towards me as well as his criminal history of stalking."

2. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were not allowed to share their wedding pictures as per the rules of the Church of Scientology. However, a man got hold of their picture and tried to extort the Mission Impossible actor with a ransom of $1.3 million. However, his plan was foiled as he got arrested and was sentenced to two years probation with a hefty fine of $3,000 after pleading guilty back in 2008 as reported by the NY Times. The guilty man was identified as Marc Lewis Gittleman, who was a computer technician by profession. 

3. Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez was once blackmailed by her ex-husband, Ojani Noa. The Waiting For Tonight singer's blackmail case was entirely personal as Noa with who JLo was married from 1997 to 1998 ended on bad terms. The ex-husband threatened the singer and actor to release a tape of the two. The tape was an intimate 11-hour-long footage of the couple. Lopez went on to file a lawsuit against him for threatening her. Despite signing a confidentiality agreement, Noa was planning to release a tell-all book on their relationship. JLo's legal team filed a restraining order and won it in her favor as reported by Reuters. 

4. Britney Spears

Britney Spears' ex-boyfriend, Adnan Ghalib, demanded money from her instead of protecting their taped private moments. The ex-paparazzo dated the Oop I Did It Again hitmaker for some time when she was basking in the glory of her fame. Ghalib allegedly withheld a sex tape of them in it. Speaking to Heat he once claimed, "There is such a tape, but I won’t discuss prices for hypothetical inquiries. Unless there is a locked-in deal, I will go no further."

5. Shakira

Shakira faced blackmailing at the hands of her employees. The singer was threatened with the release of private information about her life. The only way out was to pay a hefty amount. According to rumors, one of Whenever Wherever singer's former assistants recorded her in intimate moments with her now ex-husband, Barcelona soccer player Gerard Piqué. The blackmailing caused her immense distress and she went on to sue the former employee by slapping the charges of defamation, and extortion as reported by Fox News. 

6. John Travolta 

John Travolta lost his son in a tragic accident back in 2009. Tarino Lightbourne, the ambulance driver who took Jett to the hospital, threatened the Hollywood star to reveal embarrassing information about the incident. The man claimed he wanted $25 million to be the "Bahamian Robin Hood." The legal team of Travolta played an audio recording and two secret videotapes which the former paramedic claimed to have. Travolta's son was only 16 when he died after collapsing at the family's holiday home. The actor wanted to fly his son to Florida for treatment eventually he changed his mind and took him to the local hospital's ER department where he was pronounced dead as reported by the Daily Mail.