Image via Complex Original
Justin Bieber had the media and fans wildin’ over reports that he lost his laptop last week. Once the news spread like wildfire across the Net, like every other celebrity who had their personal gadgets stolen we anticipated the the leak of either unreleased music of photos of Selena Gomez meant for Justin's eyes only. None of that never came to fruition. Instead, the Biebs got one over on us, using the incident as a viral stunt to promote his new music video “Beauty and the Beat” with Nicki Minaj. Though he made an entertaining prank out of it, not every celeb can relate.
In fact, there's a host of them that have had their laptops jacked, with the robbers exposing dirty laundry or holding their personal files for ransom. It's not easy (or safe) being famous. Here’s a look at the stars whom had their laptops stolen throughout the past.
Kevin Costner
Date: Sept. 25, 2004
Compromised data: Wedding photos
Hairdresser Pascal Bensimon was hired to take care of guests at Kevin Costner’s wedding, but instead went on a tangent and jacked the actor’s laptop instead. Why? He was pissed at how the wedding planner treated him. Petty, we know. Bensimon was ordered to serve two years of unsupervised probation, 25 hours of community service, and pay $1,500 restitution. For that, they should’ve confined him to an IMAX theater and forced him to listen Costner's country albums.
Marc Anthony
Date: October 2005
Compromised data: Wedding video
The Salsa crooner was shooting a music video in New Jeresy when his Cadillac was stolen. While the vehicle was later retrieved, the same couldn’t be said for Anthony’s portable computer, which stored footage of him and wife Jennifer Lopez’s wedding. The thieves tried to extort the couple for millions, even shopping the video to several outlets, but authorities recovered the laptop via a sting operation. We’d hate to see what would happen if Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s encountered the same situation.
Anna Nicole Smith
Date: April 16, 2007
Compromised data: Film scripts and unreleased photos
Weeks after the former Playboy cover girl passed away, a group of badits broke into Edgewood Studios and walked away with Anna Nicole Smith’s laptop. The hard drive stored a ton of personal information on the actress, including future movie scripts, plot lines, phone numbers, emails, and never-before-seen photos. All six culprits were charged with the robbery and the device was recovered.
Keith Murray
Date: Sept. 21, 2007
Compromised data: 12 years worth of music
While traveling overseas in South Africa to work on his new album, the Def Squad rapper and his crew caught a jux as two armed robbers snatched "four laptops," cell phones, and cash. Murray supposedly offered a cash reward of $7,000 to $50,000 to anyone who returned the laptop containing his music catalog. The crooks were better off taking the money.
Tila Tequila
Date: 2007
Compromised data: Sex tape
Details remain sketchy as to how Tila Tequila lost her laptop, but the attention-seeking model filed a police report months after the incident occured—claiming her property was stolen after seeing her XXX-rated sex tape surface online. The footage appeared on 4tube.com just days after she Ustreamed a video of herself ranting in naked form. What a mess.
Salma Hayek
Date: Jan. 12, 2008
Compromised data: Personal family photos
During a trip abroad, the actress and new mother discovered her laptop missing. Worried photos of her newborn baby, Valentina, would leak online, Hayek went on to hire legal authorities to investigate the robbery.
Adrienne Bailon
Date: Nov. 9, 2008
Compromised data: Naked pictures
The Cheetah Girls star had her MacBook kidnapped while waiting for a flight at JFK. The laptop contained some raunchy pics that were meant for now ex-boyfriend Rob Kardashian. Thieves blackmailed Bailon out of $10,000 and returned the laptop, but not before leaking the photos online. Seems like everyone affiliated with the Kardashians gets caught in a sex scandal.
Rick Ross
Date: June 2009
Compromised data: Undisclosed
MMG’s bawse was partying it up with a set of groupies in his hotel, who just so happened to gain entry to his room and stole over $60,000 worth of jewelry, plus his laptop. Even though the crime was caught on the hotel’s video recording system, the police have yet to identify the group of women and retrieve Officer Rickey’s valuables. So much for academy training.
Baron Davis
Date: Aug. 12, 2009
Compromised data: 'Sensitive' images
No one knows how NBA baller Baron Davis got his laptop stolen. But dude was quick to threaten online outlets with legal action had they acquired and posted any provocative media stored on the device’s hard drive. Davis’ lawyers sent a letter to The Smoking Gun saying, “don’t even THINK About even considering acquiring anything off that laptop or we’ll pummel you with litigation." That's how a G manages damage control.
Nikki Reed
Date: Aug. 19, 2009
Compromised data: Vacation photos
The Twilight star was hoping to share photos of her Greece vacation when she discovered her computer was no longer in her possession. Reed was overheard sharing the bad news with co-star Robert Pattinson: “But my laptop was stolen with everything on it. The police are trying to find it for me, but I doubt they will, which really sucks!” What's sadder is there were no nude photo leaks after the robbery was reported.
Usher
Date: December 2009
Compromised data: Unreleased music and alleged sex tape with ex-wife
Crooks rode off with Usher’s GMC Yukon and found a number of goods in the truck: two laptops, two cameras, and a bag of jewelry valued at $1 million. In 2011, TMZ was contacted about purchasing a sex tape starring the singer and his ex-wife, Tameka Foster, plus given two pictures and a video preview of the two getting busy. Vivid Founder Steve Hirsch gave Usher his word that if given the opportunity to purchase the tape he prevent it from ever being published.
Talib Kweli
Date: April 18, 2010
Compromised data: Unknown
Touring out in Melbourne, Australia, some dude named Amir Elashir broke into Jean Grae’s dressing room and walked away with Kweli’s laptop and smartphone. Cameras caught him in action, encouraging the rapper to put out an APB on Twitter to help recover his personal items. Vinnie of Naught By Nature followed up with Kweli to confirm he retrieved most of his stuff. Well, everything except his Yankee fitted.
Ryan Leslie
Date: Oct. 23, 2010
Compromised data: Music and visual files
R-Les's trip out to Germany wasn't so great, as his laptop and hard drive got swiped from a black Mercedes parked outside of a nightclub in Cologne. The singer/producer posted a video on YouTube offering a $20,000 reward for the MacBook, even upping it to $1 million days later. Armin Augstein returned the laptop, but never received his bread. So he did what any normal person would do to a celebrity in this situation. File a lawsuit.
Keira Knightley
Date: Oct. 26, 2010
Compromised data: Unknown
Burglars broke into Knightley’s $1.95 million flat in London and did boogied with two different laptops. It’s obvious the unknown assailants were on the hunt for nude photos or videos from the Pirates of the Caribbean star. No luck. Knightley was said to be “mortified” and “violated” by the incident.
Grandmaster Flash
Date: Feb 27, 2011
Compromised data: Unknown
Yes, someone had the audacity to steal the laptop of Hip-Hop’s greatest DJ. Grandmaster Flash was spinning a set at the 40/40 Club in NYC and discovered his computer was nowhere in sight. He took to Twitter and put out a $1,000 bounty. It's like a jungle sometimes...
Skrillex
Date: April 28, 2011
Compromised data: Entire music catalog
While performing a show in Milan, Italy, Sonny Moore had two laptops taken from his hotel room. The burglars apparently took off with his entire music catalog as the musician noted in his official statement: "I had 2 laptops and both of my hard drives stolen out of my hotel in Milan, Italy last month. On those laptops and drives were all the project files of Skrillex. All gone now.” That hasn't stopped Skrillex from working on new music.
Simon Cowell
Date: October 2011
Compromised data: X-Factor secrets
According to the tell-all book Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life Of Simon Cowell scribed by Tom Bower, the TV personality had his laptop and wallet taken after a drunken one-night stand with a blonde he met at a Hollywood nightclub. The woman supposedly agreed to return the notebook loaded with undisclosed info on Cowell’s shows, but kept the money stashed in his wallet. Absolutely dreadful.
Will.I.Am
Date: Aug. 12, 2012
Stolen info: Demo tracks
The Black Eyed Peas' frontman had his $700,000 supercar hijacked from a parking lot at an L.A. nightclub, which also carried his computer. His whip was found three days later, but there was no sign of his other property. Will spazzed on the police for failing to recover the laptop. I gotta feeling the L.A. Police Department won’t be assisting him with any future burglaries. A series of demos soon leaked on the Net after the incident.