Paving the way for future generations
North Carolina native Donte Jamar Sims was actually picked up by the Feds after tweeting that he was going to assassinate then-President Barack Obama. A sworn affidavit reported that Sims laughed when a Secret Service agent read his five tweets out loud, and he was subsequently charged with a felony.
After the then-18-year-old English diver failed to capture gold in the synchronized diving competition at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, he tweeted his disappointment but received hate in return, with some going so far as telling Daley that he let his deceased father down, and even threatening to drown him.
Back in 2012, a deranged Twitter user started threatening Page to stop dating 'True Blood' star Alexander Skarsgård or else... Page turned to the LAPD and an investigation found that two accounts were being used to menace the 'Inception' star.
Twitter's owner claimed in a two-hour Q&A audio chat on Twitter Spaces on December 3 2022 that there's a "significant" risk of him being assassinated. "Frankly the risk of something bad happening to me, or even literally being shot, is quite significant," he said, adding, "It's not that hard to kill somebody if you wanted to, so hopefully they don't and fate smiles upon the situation with me and it does not happen." As for his plan of action, Musk told listeners he "definitely" would not "be doing any open-air car parades, let me put it that way."
Being Justin Bieber's partner is no walk in the park, and after photos surfaced of him and Selena Gomez canoodling on a romantic 2011 trip to St. Lucia, his crazy fan base sent a slew of hateful messages threatening to kill Gomez, calling her racial slurs, and fat shaming her.
What did the English model do that could be so bad as to warrant a death threat? Pixie Geldof was spotted leaving a club with then-One Directioner Harry Styles in 2012.
In May 2022, Kim Kardashian had to file a restraining order over a stalker who made repeated death threats against her, her kids, and her then-partner Pete Davidson. In the restraining order request, Kim K included over 30 letters in which the alleged stalker "made numerous violent threats against" her and her loved ones, Cosmopolitan reports.
Kim Kardashian is no stranger to death threats, sadly. Back in 2010, Justin Bieber fans sent her death threats after the duo fawned over one another on Twitter and shared a photo together.
As Taylor Swift began to rerelease her old albums, Swifties renewed their attack on her ex-boyfriend John Mayer, whom she dated for a few months back in 2009 when she was 19 and he 32. Mayer shared a conversation he had with a Swiftie who sent him death threats in which he let the user know that he'd been receiving several hateful messages and asked, "Do you really hope that I die?" The user said she didn't think he'd ever see the messages and apologized.
Madonna received death threats and threats of arrest for defending the band P*ssy Riot and promoting "gay behavior" at her Russian concerts in 2012. She'd also allegedly received death threats from the Russian mafia during her European tour in 2006 which is reportedly what kept her confined to her hotel rooms when she wasn't performing.
The comedian started a show called 'Patriot Act' in which he criticized Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and spoke about his experience subsequently receiving death threats on his 2022 special 'The King's Jester.'
The 'Breaking Bad' actress played Walter White's wife Skyler who, before becoming part of the spiral of organized crime, was a much-hated character by audiences. But some people took things too far and sent Gunn death threats, to the point where she had to take measures to ensure her safety. The creator of the series, Vince Gilligan, spoke out about the threats and called the haters "misogynists, plain and simple."
The 'Game of Thrones' actress, who played Melisandre, the centuries-old Red Priestess, revealed to The Telegraph in 2017 that she'd received numerous death threats simply because of her role, and said: "People take it too seriously."
In 2012, death threats against the actress—particularly from a man saying he would "slit her throat"—were enough to get Berry to try and leave the country with her daughter Nahla, though the child's father, Gabriel Aubry, fought in court to keep them in the US despite Berry's fear for her life.
Taylor Swift got a taste of the wrath of an obsessed fan base for herself back in 2012 when she became the target of vicious threats on Twitter by One Direction fans who were upset about her romance with former member Harry Styles.
The band Chvrches had to increase security levels after receiving an influx of death threats for criticizing Marshmello's decision to collaborate with Chris Brown and Tyga, who have both been accused of misconduct on numerous occasions. "I am not staying in my own home when we finish [our] tour because the threats we have received have reached such a scale," singer Lauren Mayberry tweeted in 2019. "We have to have the police at our shows now. If that's what I deserve for saying mainstream music should be more morally conscious, then so be it."
In December 2011, when the singer was a judge on 'The X Factor,' Scherzinger received death threats for voting to eliminate a 14-year-old contestant. "It kind of ruined me and I told them I didn't wanna leave my room," she told The Mirror.
In 2011, a jihadist website has issued a death threat against the famed late-night show host because he joked about the death of Ilyas Kashmiri, a leading member of al Qaeda who was killed in an air strike in Pakistan. Letterman responded by joking about the threat in his next opening monologue.
Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick canceled plans to appear at several book signings in 2013 after he and his family received death threats. Vick's book covered his 19-month prison stay for his part in a dog-fighting ring and animal cruelty, which some people were understandably upset about but others took way too far.
The 'Monster Garage' host received death threats from one of his ex-wives, adult entertainment star Janine Lindemulder. The pair were in a custody battle for their daughter back in 2010 when Lindemulder filed for a change of custody on the basis of Jesse James' affair with Michelle McGee and subsequent divorce from Sandra Bullock. James was later awarded sole physical custody of his daughter.
Back when she'd released her viral song 'Friday' at just 13 years old, Rebecca Black began receiving death threats by email and phone, demanding she pull the song from YouTube "or else." The Anaheim Police Department even got involved.
The creators of 'South Park' received death threats after a 2010 episode featured the Muslim prophet Muhammed dressed as a bear. Two men were reportedly sentenced to prison in association with the threats, and the episode was censored.
Rapper Rick Ross was threatened by the ruthless Chicago-based Gangster Disciples gang in 2012. Then in 2014, he couldn't perform his show at Detroit's Chene Park because a "human blockade" of up to 150 people threatened his life and prevented him from stepping foot on the venue's grounds—a blockade the venue said was formed by "a band of individuals led by a local rapper."
Former Chicago Bulls point guard C.J. Watson received death threats after he missed a half-court heave and the Bulls lost to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The singer and dancer got a restraining order against Chris Brown in 2017 after allegedly receiving death threats from him, TMZ reported. The two had broken up not too long before, and the file claimed that Brown told several acquaintances that he would kill her and that he was abusive during their relationship, having already punched her and thrown her down a flight of stairs.
Jameela Jamil began receiving racist death threats because, in her own words, "[Piers Morgan] implied that I was responsible for Caroline [Flack's] death just because she and I had a mild disagreement about her TV shows, where I wasn't actually criticising her, 8 months before she passed," she shared online. "The media killed her, not me."
In 2012, Washington Redskins (now the Washington Commanders) wide receiver Josh Morgan said he received threatening messages on Twitter after committing a costly fourth-quarter blunder—earning an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing the ball at Cortland Finnegan—in a loss to the St. Louis Rams.
Sources: (New York Post) (Complex) (Cosmopolitan) (Entertainment Weekly) (Global News) (MLive) (TMZ) (TV Overmind)
See also: 'Loki' actor Jack Veal reveals he is homeless at 17
Back in 2012, Carly Rae Jepsen received death threats just for being awarded for her talent. She beat out One Direction for New Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards and provoked a disproportionate outburst online.
While social media has heralded in a new closeness people feel with celebrities, it also opened up a dangerously direct avenue for communication both ways. In the darkest parts of the internet, that can look like people sending death threats and vile messages to stars out in the open, as they hide behind screens and usernames.
And sometimes when you're rich and famous, the death threats come closer, from people you know. Click through to see which stars have received death threats, what their alleged crime was in the eyes of the sender, and what they did about it.
Celebrities who have faced threats
You won't believe the celebrities whose lives were at risk
CELEBRITY Social media
While social media has heralded in a new closeness people feel with celebrities, it also opened up a dangerously direct avenue for communication both ways. In the darkest parts of the internet, that can look like people sending death threats and vile messages to stars out in the open, as they hide behind screens and usernames.
And sometimes when you're rich and famous, the death threats come closer, from people you know. Click through to see which stars have received death threats, what their alleged crime was in the eyes of the sender, and what they did about it.