They asked for $25 million in exchange for their silence? These are the famous victims of blackmail and extortion

Being rich and famous with lots of money to burn often means being a victim of blackmail and extortion, sometimes from their nearest and dearest. Barcelona forward Paul Pogba recently claimed to be the target of an online gang led by his older brother,

In 2012, the ‘Jenny from the Block’ singer filed a lawsuit against her former driver, Hakob Manoukian, who threatened to “disclose sensitive and personal information that he allegedly heard while driving." According to the documents, the driver "became hostile and angry because he mistakenly and unreasonably believed he had the unqualified right to designate the security team" for JLo’s music video. Manoukian demanded over $2.8 million to keep quiet about the information he heard.

In 2005, John Rutter tried to extort cash from the ‘There’s Something About Mary’ actress, threatening to release topless photos of her. He demanded a total of $3.5 million, but was eventually arrested by the police and convicted of perjury, forgery, and attempted grand theft.

When Kanye's seventh studio album ‘The Life of Pablo’ dropped in 2016, he left fans speculating whether the track ‘Real Friends’ was based on a real incident after he rapped: "I had a cousin that stole my laptop that I was f****** b****** on / Paid that n**** 250 thousand just to get it from him." A different cousin of West, Lawrence Franklin, confirmed that someone in the family had in fact extorted Kanye for $250, 000.

The ‘Rocky’ star had a very rocky relationship with his late half-sister Toni-Ann Filiti. During the late 1980s, whilst Stallone was at the height of his career, Toni accused the ‘Rambo’ actor of abuse. Stallone denied the allegations with their mother Jacqueline Stallone telling Page Six: "This was nothing more than a shakedown. "Toni-Ann was on 65 Oxycontin pills a day, and she threatened Sylvester. A drug addict will do anything... At the time he was very hot, and his lawyers said, 'Give her something just to shut her up.'"

One of the most devastating moments in John Travolta’s life took place in 2009 after his son Jett’s passing. As if this was not already tragic, Tarino Lightbourne, the ambulance driver who assisted the Travolta family during that night, threatened to release private information he had seen or heard while manning the vehicle. He demanded $25 million in exchange for their silence. The case was taken to court but was eventually dismissed.

KISS rocker Gene Simmons was informed in 2008 that a company was trying to extort and blackmail him, otherwise, an intimate video of him would be made public. The clip eventually surfaced and the 'Crazy Crazy Nights' rocker took legal action.

In 2009, supermodel Cindy Crawford went through every parent's worse nightmare when German man Edis Kayalar threatened to release a picture of her then-seven-year-old daughter gagged and tied to a chair. Cindy’s husband Rande Gerber paid Kayalar $1,000, but ended up contacting the authorities after learning he wanted more money. Kayalar was eventually arrested and sentenced to two years in prison.

The ‘Queen of Christmas’, worth over $320 million, has been dealing with extortionists all her life. In 2019, Carey’s executive assistant, Lianna Azarian, betrayed Mariah’s trust by recording videos of her in private. Her attempt to extort Mariah for $8 million backfired as she was hit with a lawsuit. The lawsuit said: "Confronted with the fact that she recorded Mariah without her knowledge or consent, Arzarian did not apologize. Instead, Azarian threatened to release the videos, and other sensitive, private information, unless Mariah provided her $8 million. This is blackmail."

Tom and Katie got married in 2005 and only one year later they were threatened by Marc Lewis Gittleman, who had stolen some of their wedding pictures. He demanded $1.3 million for their return. However, the only thing that he got was a two-year probation sentence. In 2009, it was announced that he had taken his own life.

Oprah’s former employee, Keifer Bonvillain, tried extorting $1.5 million from her back in 2005. He published a tell-all book titled ‘Ruthless’ three years later and filed a $180 million lawsuit against her.