It seems that nothing can beat the bond between parents and their children, except money. Although conflict exists in any relationship, it's at another level for some people, including celebrities, who had a legal battle with their parents. When stars become famous and wealthy, sadly they might be abused by their own parents. And, they actually file a lawsuit against their "closest loved ones".
Suing parents sounds counter-intuitive, yet it's not out of the ordinary in showbiz. Many of them are child stars gaining massive fortune in their childhood, yet their money is managed by their parents. That's prone to causing money mismanagement. Besides, some celebs were emaciated by their parents, then decided to sue them.In this post, we've compiled 17
cases of celebrities sued their own parents. From "Home Alone" star Macaulay Culkin to Olympic gymnast Dominique Moceanu, they will surprise you with their parent suing stories. Keep scrolling down and check them out!
#1 Macaulay Culkin
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Macaulay Culkin earned the limelight when he was only 10 with his role as Kevin in Home Alone. With the success of the movie, he gained a massive fortune when he was a kid, and his money was managed by his parents. When he turned 16 in 1997, sued his parents for emancipation and $17 million. He alleged that Kit Culkin, his father, squandered his money and made forced him to sleep on the couch. A judge ordered an accountant to oversee the money until Macaulay reached 18.
#2 Rihanna
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Famous pop star
Rihanna filed a lawsuit against her father - Ronald Fenty in 2019, accusing him of using her name to make money. She claimed that her father had booked concerts for her despite not being her agent, including a $15 million (£10.9 million) international tour, without her knowledge or consent. Besides, she had charged Ronald with deceptive advertising, invasion of her privacy, and fraudulent use of her name to advance his Fenty
Entertainment company. The singer of the hit "Diamond" ended up dropping the lawsuit in September 2021.
#3 Billy Unger
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Lab Rats star Billy Unger opened a lawsuit against his father on many grounds, including breach of contract, fraud, and intentional misrepresentation. Billy said that his father, who served as both his talent manager and business manager, had spent his money on a life insurance policy on Billy with himself named as the only beneficiary and rent for a girlfriend. In addition, he received 33% part of Billy's income.
#4 Aaron Carter
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In 2003, Backstreet Boys Nick Carter's brother slapped a legal case against his mother, alleging that she had stolen $100,000, some memorabilia, and prevented his father from attending his concerts. At the time, Aaron was only 16 years old and sought emancipation, but they were able to reach an agreement outside of court.
#5 Beyoncé
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Soon after firing her father, Mathew Knowles,
Beyoncé was compelled to file a lawsuit in 2011. He had "stolen money from Beyoncé on her most recent tour or otherwise taken funds that [he] was not entitled to."
#6 Leighton Meester
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The Gossip Girl actress sued her mother in 2011, claiming that she taking money meant for her ailing brother. According to the lawsuit, Leighton's mother also allegedly tried to persuade her to believe that they had made an oral agreement under which she would receive "$10,000 a month for life" and threatened to sue Leighton for 3 million if she didn't up her monthly payments.
#7 Jena Malone
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Jena Malone, a star of the Hunger Games, had been living independently for years, but at age 14 she filed a lawsuit to formally emancipate herself from her mother. She also filed a lawsuit against her mother for misusing $1 million of her profits, but it appears that their relationship has since been patched up.
#8 Ariel Winter
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Ariel Winter, well known for the mockumentary series Modern Family, was 14 years old when her mother Chrisoula Workman was charged with child abuse. She was transferred to her older sister's legal guardianship. After 3 years, the actress posted "I am now officially emancipated!!!" on Twitter.
#9 Gary Coleman
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Diff'rent Gary Coleman, a star of the Strokes, sued his parents and his former business manager for misusing an $18 million fortune. Gary had to file for bankruptcy in 1999 when a court awarded him only $1.3 million after a protracted legal battle. At the age of 42, Gary passed away in 2010.
#10 Drew Barrymore
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Charlie’s Angels star Drew Barrymore successfully sued for emancipation at the age of 15. Barrymore was admitted to rehab at the age of 13 after growing up in a dysfunctional household with a controlling mother and an absentee father. Her mother forced her to spend 18 months in a mental health facility. When she made an attempt at suicide at the age of 14, it appeared that the passage of time had not helped her mental health
#11 LeAnn Rimes
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LeAnn Rimes, a country music artist, began her singing career when she was just a teenager. She claimed in a 1998 lawsuit that her father and manager took $7 million of her earnings during that time. LeAnn and her divorced mother reached an out-of-court agreement for an undisclosed sum.
#12 Kobe Bryant
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Kobe Bryant sued his parents for selling artifacts he had given them as a gift before his untimely death in January 2020. In 2013, they were able to come to an agreement that let his parents sell just six of the artifacts for an estimated profit of more than $500,000. Only 10% of the memorabilia that Joe and Pamela Bryant had planned to sell was actually sold.
"We regret our actions and statements related to the Kobe Bryant auction memorabilia," his parents shared in a statement at the time, via ESPN. "We apologize for any misunderstanding and unintended pain we have caused our son and appreciate the financial support he has provided over the years."
#13 Corey Feldman
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Child celebrity of the 1980s Corey Feldman discovered as an adult that his parents had wasted the majority of the money he had earned as a child. He so filed a successful lawsuit at the age of 15 to become financially independent of his parents. The nasty twist, according to Corey, was that the actor had to use his final $40,000 to pay his father for him to sign the emancipation papers.
#14 Mischa Barton
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The former "The O.C" star Mischa Barton, sued her mother, Nuala Barton, in 2015, claiming that she was "a greedy stage mother posing as a talent manager who, instead of acting in the best interest of her daughter/client, schemed to defraud her unsuspecting victim,"
Nuala Barton allegedly established "various companies" to manage her daughter's finances, borrowed money against a home Mischa purchased in 2006, and secretly signed her up for endorsement arrangements, according to the lawsuit. Mischa's mother is also accused of forging her signature to get her to appear in The
Hoarders, lying to her about the pay, and keeping the difference for herself.
#15 Dominique Moceanu
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Olympic gymnast Dominique Moceanu didn't have any money in 1999 despite having a gold medal and a best-selling autobiography to her name. When she was 17 years old, she sued her parents for wasting more than $1 million in proceeds from her career. The teen gymnast's friends and coaches claimed that her father, Dumitru Moceanu, was a domineering figure in her life and used her money to support his lifestyle. Dominique, however, said that she and her parents had since made up and that they now have a "great" relationship in a 2004 interview with USA Today.
#16 Mike Sorrentino
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The Situation from Jersey Shore, Mike Sorrentino, sued his father, Frank Sorrentino. In 2011, he filed a lawsuit seeking $75,000 in damages for using his name and likeness to profit from several videos on his website where he made derogatory remarks about his kid. Later, the two were able to come to terms, and Mike dismissed the complaint.
#17 Chris Warren
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As a theme on this list, The High School Musical actor sued his parents for using money from a trust fund they had set up for him without his consent. His mother is Passions' Brook Kerr. In 2013, a judge mandated that the couple repay $337,000.