With Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Kim Kardashian in courtrooms this week on unrelated matters, attention has turned to some of the most significant celebrity court appearances in the world.
Over the years, some of the world’s most famous names have been charged with serious crimes while others have been the subject of civil cases, including defamation.
While some cases are far from laughing matters, others can at times become downright comical – who can forget Gwyneth Paltrow’s four-word reaction to the decision when she was sued over a ski slope crash?
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Let’s take a look at some of the courtroom appearances involving celebrities that had the whole world talking.
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian faced a Paris courtroom this week as the main witness in the trial of the 10 men who robbed her in 2016.
Dressed in black – and dripping in diamonds – Kardashian took the stand to describe what happened the night in Paris when she was tied up by a band of robbers who stole $9.3 million in jewellery.
Twelve people, many described as elderly, were arrested over the heist and ordered to stand trial but one died before the matter could go to court and another was excused because they have dementia.
Two have pleaded guilty, including Aomar Ait Khedache, now 68, who wrote a letter of apology to Kardashian that was read in court, which ended in her tearful apology.
OJ Simpson
Long before Kim Kardashian was a household name, it was her father, Robert, a lawyer, who was better known.
One of his most famous cases involved his friend, OJ Simpson, a former NFL player turned actor.
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In 1994, his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, was found murdered outside her Brentwood home. Also killed was her friend Ron Goldman.
Simpson was charged with her murder after leading police on a car chase that was beamed live on TV.
He was acquitted, in part because a bloody glove found at the scene did not fit his hand. It resulted in one of the best-known courtroom quotes from his defence lawyer, Johnny Cochran, who said, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”.
No one else was ever charged with the murders, but Simpson was found liable for Goldman’s death in a civil trial brought by his family and was ordered to pay them damages.
Simpson was later jailed in 2008 for an unrelated robbery and kidnapping. He was released on parole in 2017 and died of prostate cancer in 2024. 
Phil Spector
Long considered a musical genius thanks to his work as a record producer, Spector was charged with the murder of Lana Clarkson in February 2003.
The two had met at the legendary music venue House of Blues the previous night and she had accompanied him back to his home in his limousine.
Hours later, she was dead, after suffering a gunshot wound to her face. His driver alleged Spector came out of the house with a gun and said, “I think I killed someone”.
Despite being charged with murder, he was released on bail.
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Spector alleged Clarkson shot herself, but five other women came forward to allege he had threatened them with guns when they rebuffed his advances.
His first in 2007 was televised, but resulted in a hung jury.
A second trial began in 2008 and lasted six months before he was eventually found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 19 years’ jail.
He died in 2021 in a prison hospital – three years before he would have been eligible for parole. Media outlets were criticised after his death for downplaying his murder conviction in obituaries.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp
In 2019, Johnny Depp launched a defamation case against his former wife and fellow actor Amber Heard over an opinion piece she wrote in 2018 for The Washington Post.
The couple, who met on a movie set in 2009 and married in 2015, had a tumultuous relationship, which ended when Heard filed for divorce in 2016 before filing a restraining order a week later, which included allegations he assaulted her.
She went on to write about the alleged abuse, and the effect on her career, before Depp sued her for defamation. This resulted in Heard launching three counter-claims.
The matter went to trial in 2022. Over six weeks, explosive claims were made by both parties detailing mutual abuse.
The court heard that during a 2015 trip the couple took to Australia, the star lost the tip of his middle finger after Heard allegedly threw a vodka bottle at him.
There was even a star witness during the trial, with Kate Moss appearing by video link to dispute a claim made by Heard that Depp had once pushed her down stairs.
But perhaps the most bizarre was allegations Heard was responsible for defecating in their former marital bed.
The jury eventually found in favour of Depp and awarded him $23 million in damages.
Heard won one of her claims and was awarded $3 million.
It was considered a victory for Depp, who two years earlier had lost his libel claim against UK newspaper The Sun.
Kardashian-Jenner family and Blac Chyna
In 2022, Kim Kardashian headed to court again, this time for a defamation trial brought by Blac Chyna, whose real name is Angela White.
The lawsuit also named Kris Jenner, Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, leaving out their two other sisters.
At the height of the matter was Chyna’s failed relationship with Rob Kardashian, the father of their daughter, Dream.
She claimed the family’s allegations she assaulted Rob and their relationship with TV execs led to the cancellation of their TV show Rob & Chyna, and sought $156 million in damages.
The trial drew media attention and was covered on the family’s reality TV show. It also saw the family mocked over unflattering courtroom sketches of the famous family.
Gwyneth Paltrow
In 2023, Gwyneth Paltrow won a court case brought by a skier over a collision on the ski slopes of Utah back in 2016.
Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson had claimed an “out-of-control” Paltrow had crashed into him, leaving him with four broken ribs, concussion and brain damage.Â
He originally sought $4.8 million in compensation but later reduced this to $468,000.
Paltrow counter-sued, seeking $US1. 
After an eight-day televised trial, a jury found Sanderson was at fault for the collision, believing her claim he had veered into her.
That is when Paltrow offered her parting words to Sanderson, a deadpan “I wish you well”.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively
Former co-stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are due to appear in court in March 2026.
At the heart is their working relationship on the set of the hit film, It Ends With Us, which the two co-starred in and Baldoni directed and produced via the company he co-founded, Wayfarer Entertainment.
Rumours not all was good between the pair were confirmed last December when Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni alleging she suffered “severe emotional distress” after he sexually harassed her on set. She also alleged he and others orchestrated a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni in turn filed a civil lawsuit against Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and others for defamation and other claims.
He and the co-plaintiffs are asking for $624 million in damages.
With both sides already firing numerous salvos, the case, which will be held in New York, is shaping up to be one of the most highly-anticipated court dramas involving celebrities in recent years.
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