Fans think celebrities have everything and maybe they do.  Everything that makes them a potential target for extortion and blackmail.  Click here for legal definitions.

For celebrities, the cost of preserving  one’s image and privacy is worth giving in to the blackmailer’s demands.

Many celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Paris Hilton and Bill Cosby have been victims of blackmail.  Other victims have included politicians and athletes.

According to celebrity publicist, Michael Levine, the problem has worsened over the last ten years due to the internet which allows for the immediate transfers of photos, videos and texts.  The issue has also worsened because of the insatiable public and media appetite for their “Hollywood Obsessions”.

The public rarely hears about these blackmail situations because of copycatting possibilities and also bringing it to the forefront would draw out information the victim does not want to be made public.

In the end, it may be in the best interest of the victim to beat the blackmailer to the punch.  Everyone makes mistakes.  We’re all human.  Lives go on.  Sometimes its better to tell the truth in any way that is possible then to  continue to live with lies.

Click here

Works Referenced

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3354065&page=1

Tags: blackmail, Celebrity blackmail, Celebrity Image, David Letterman, extortion, Hollywood, law enforcement, Oprah Winfrey, tort law