Why would celebrities ever feel the need to shoplift?
What's at the bottom of this pop-culture phenomenon?
A surprising number of celebs have been suspected of shoplifting over the years.
Here are a few bold-faced names to keep in your back pocket.
Lindsay Lohan
Amidst a swirl of news cameras, Lindsay Lohan appeared at the L.A. Airport Courthouse in
February 2011 to face charges that she'd filched a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry shop.
Officials claimed the store's surveillance cameras even captured the star wearing the
necklace in question.
She claimed that the necklace had been "loaned to her," while an assistant told TMZ,
"She wanted to give the necklace back to the store the day after she took it from the store,
but she was very busy."
Lohan eventually pleaded no contest.
Though she never exactly fessed up to committing the crime, the case was still recorded as
a conviction.
The judge sentenced her to 120 days in jail and 480 hours of community service.
She also had to undergo extensive counseling and attend an anti-shoplifting class.
Amanda Bynes
In October of 2014, the NYPD paid a visit to Barneys New York after Amanda Bynes allegedly
sashayed out of the high-end retailer without paying for a hat.
Security evidently let her go before cops arrived on the scene.
Charges weren't filed, but Bynes reportedly signed a no-trespass affidavit, which barred
her from ever entering the store again.
She dismissed the kerfuffle as "a misunderstanding," claiming she was just heading out to her car
to grab her handbag.
She also added that "undercover" paparazzi had been antagonizing her and that she left
the store to escape their clutches, without realizing she was still wearing the hat.
One important detail casts suspicion on Bynes' version of events, as she was reportedly involved
in another shoplifting scandal that same afternoon.
According to TMZ, employees at Pookie & Sebastian noticed that she was acting suspicious, and
allegedly tried to leave with a shirt stuffed between her arms.
When an employee stopped her, she allegedly asked,
"Do I really have to buy this?"
Winona Ryder
In 2001, Winona Ryder was arrested after allegedly zipping out of a Beverly Hills Saks Fifth
Avenue armed with approximately $5,000 worth of items that she hadn't paid for.
She was also charged with "illegal possession of an antidepressant drug."
In 2002, Ryder was convicted of grand theft and vandalism.
She avoided jail, but had to perform 480 hours of community service and cough up over $10,000
in fines and restitution.
Throughout the scandal, she maintained a sense of humor about the debacle, wearing a "FREE
WINONA" T-shirt for a W magazine cover and lampooning the situation on Saturday Night
Live.
"They set up security cameras because of me?"
"Nonononono"
"Then why did they set them up this week?"
"Because I can't think of a lie right now."
Although the incident momentarily hobbled her career, Ryder later told Interview Magazine
that the scandal turned out to be a good thing, saying,
"I really needed the time off."
Megan Fox
In 2009, the Daily Express revealed that Megan Fox was banned from Walmart as a teenager
after getting caught trying to steal makeup from the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen cosmetics
line.
Fox doesn't know if the ban was for life, but she evidently doesn't want to take her
chances and hasn't been back.
Following her uncomfortable brush with the law, she had to appear in court, where she
was reportedly given two choices.
The first option was standing outside a Walmart for three days while wearing a sign that said
that she stole from Walmart.
So instead she chose Option Number 2, which wasn't much of a punishment.
She simply had to wrap Christmas presents for Walmart customers, an experience she claims
was actually "awesome."
Britney Spears
On November 18th, 2007, Britney Spears made a particularly fateful visit to the adult-themed
Hustler store in West Hollywood, Calif.
She allegedly wanted to test-drive a pair of "saucy knickers," and was incensed to learn
she couldn't try them on before buying them.
According to a source, the store simply doesn't allow people to try on underwear, and this
rule evidently upset Spears.
She allegedly removed the underwear she was wearing right then and there, startling staffers
and customers, and proceeded to try on the lingerie before their very eyes.
Spears reportedly plunked down a credit card to pay for the panties, which reportedly featured
the words "Barely Legal" across the back.
However, she apparently continued causing trouble following her purchase, as she allegedly
stole a wig off the head of a poor, defenseless, mannequin.
This isn't Spears' only past shoplifting adventure.
In 2008, she allegedly waltzed out of a Fred Segal outlet wearing a $200 long-sleeved top
that she "forgot" to purchase.
Perhaps strangest of all, in December 2017, she reportedly stole a lighter from a gas
station, which would've cost her $1.39.
"F--- you.
F--- you.
You're cool.
F--- you.
I'm out."
Tila Tequila
In 2010, reality star Tila Tequila took to MySpace to share the story of her brush with
the law.
She had lost her wallet, but she was so hungry that she decided to slip into a nearby CVS
and swipe some bubble gum and a bag of potato chips.
But alas, a security guard caught her swiping the goods.
She subsequently had to deal with a court case, and was evidently so tickled by all
the swirling drama, she decided,
"Now I can certify myself a REAL GANGSTA!"
It's worth pointing out that Tequila subsequently certified herself "the second coming of Jesus"
in 2015, so this shoplifting debacle is but the tiniest particle in the misguided mosaic
that is her public life.