Celebs Who Got Into Legal Hot Water In Florida

Celebrities are not above the law, despite what some may think. When they do wild things, they're just as likely to end up in a mug shot as anyone else. And Florida is known for being a wild place, to the point that there even exists a challenge to look up 'Florida Man' headlines for one's birthday. So it's no surprise there are plenty of times celebrities have found themselves in trouble in the Sunshine State as well.
One famous example of a celebrity ending up in legal hot water came when Jim Morrison was arrested in Miami, Florida, in 1969. A performance at the Dinner Key Auditorium went incredibly poorly thanks to the frontman's intoxicated state, but the eyewitness accounts of the concert are rather conflicting. Morrison was already known for on-stage antics by this time, and The Doors singer tried to incite a riot. After inviting the entire crowd on stage, Morrison went too far.
He took off his shirt after having champagne poured over his head and allegedly pulled out his genitals on stage. A reporter for Rolling Stone and Morrison's bandmates stated that he didn't expose himself that night despite many in the crowd believing it. The entire time this was going on, the band continued playing. After the show, six warrants were issued for Morrison's arrest due to lewd conduct, and he was subsequently arrested. In 2010, a Florida Clemency Board voted to pardon those 1969 indecency charges.

Justin Bieber is another singer who found themselves in trouble in Florida. Bieber was arrested and charged with drunken driving, resisting arrest, and driving without a valid license in 2014. The pop star was apparently street racing in the early morning hours, and the arrest report wasn't flattering. He was described as having a "flushed face, bloodshot eyes, and the odor of alcohol on his breath." His apparent racing opponent, Khalil Sharieff, was also arrested on a drunken driving charge.

After eventually pulling over, Bieber was quoted by the arresting officer as saying, "What the f*** did I do? Why did you stop me?" (via CNN). He was released from a Miami jail shortly after being booked in on $2,500 bail. Interestingly, two black SUVs had blocked traffic in order for the two racers to go at it, which weirdly made it slightly safer. However, Bieber was 19 at the time, and his alcohol consumption in the U.S. was also illegal. This past arrest is just another reason why we're concerned about Justin Bieber.

Sean Kingston's legal troubles in Florida were interesting. He was actually arrested in California but was extradited to Broward County, Florida, to face charges there. Both the singer and his mother were charged with committing more than $1 million worth of fraud after a SWAT team raided the mansion he rented in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Apparently, the two had worked out a scheme to steal money, jewelry, a Cadillac Escalade, and furniture. Add on charges for identity theft, grand theft, and some additional charges that went along with those acts.
The warrants released in the case detailed $500,000 in jewelry, more than $200,000 stolen from Bank of America, and several other incidents of either funds or items being obtained illegally. Kingston was serving two years of probation at the time for trafficking stolen goods, and his mother had already pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 2006. As these charges were leveled in 2024, the legal process is still unfolding, but both Kingston and his mother face decades of jail time.

People don't always make the best choices when they get drunk, and Travis Scott found himself on the wrong end of those decisions in 2024 in Miami Beach. Officers responded to a call from a marina there at 1 a.m. that said there were people fighting on a yacht. The officers found Scott standing on the dock, yelling at people on one of the yachts parked there, obviously drunk. The people on the yacht didn't want to press charges, so he was offered the chance to leave, which he did — sort of.

As he walked away, he kept turning around to yell obscenities at the people with whom he had been arguing. He did end up leaving when he was picked up by a friend, but came back five minutes later to disturb the area again. Scott was arrested for misdemeanor charges of trespassing and public intoxication but was released on $650 bail. His attorney posted an update, "There was absolutely no physical altercation involved, and we thank the authorities for working with us towards a swift and amicable resolution." (via AP). Why he was on the dock is still unknown. This incident is not Scott's only brush with the law. As of 2024, he still faces lawsuits regarding the Astroworld tragedy, in which 10 people died at one of his concerts.

Most people will be aware of R. Kelly's legal troubles and involvement with underage girls. He was actually arrested and charged on more than one occasion in Florida. The first of these came in 2002. Kelly was indicted on 21 counts of child pornography in Chicago and only days later was arrested by the Miami Police Department on the Chicago arrest warrant. He ended up spending only one night in jail and was released on bail of $750,000.
The investigation was extended to Kelly's home in Davenport, Florida. Officers searched the home and recovered twelve images of an allegedly underage girl. The following year, Kelly was arrested in Miami's Wyndham Grand Bay Hotel for twelve counts of child pornography, this time on Florida warrants. Eventually, the charges were dropped due to a lack of probable cause for the original search warrants. In addition to his sex crimes, R. Kelly also has a negative net worth.

Lil Durk was arrested in Broward County on a charge of murder for hire near the end of 2024 and was held without bail. U.S. Marshals orchestrated the takedown, as Durk was allegedly attempting to flee the country after getting wind of the charges. Five people associated with his hip-hop collective were arrested on a federal indictment in California, accused of committing a murder for hire that was revenge for the death of a fellow group member. The five arrested are allegedly members of gangs in Chicago.

The charge sheet uses initials and doesn't name either the victim of the revenge killing or the victim of the original murder. It says one of the charges, named Co-Conspirator 1, "made clear, in coded language, that they would pay a bounty or monetary reward to anyone who took part in killing the original murderer." Charges of conspiracy, use of interstate systems to commit murder for hire resulting in death, possession of a machine gun, and furthering a crime of violence resulting in death are also on the docket. The legal process is still playing out as of 2024.