Celebs We Didn’t Know Have Been Affiliated With Gangs
By Milli
9 months ago
1. Robert DeNiro
Image Source/ Metro UK
An actor whose cover may be that they have only spent time with gang members to learn their ways and better themselves as an actor is Robert DeNiro. When he was growing up, Robert was part of a gang that has been connected to the Gambino crime family. He has also been seen hanging out with Anthony "Fat Andy" Ruggiano as apparent 'research' too.2. Mark Wahlberg
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Mark Wahlberg was quite the rebellious teen and after deciding education was a waste of time he joined a gang. It didn't take him long to rack up a list of police charges against him. He has even admitted that he was addicted to cocaine and was responsible for blinding a guy in one eye after attacking him without provocation. This obviously ended with jail time, where he decided to turn his life around and found his way into Hollywood when he left.3. Wiz Khalifa
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Wiz Khalifa is one of the most well known members of the Crips gang and is part of the East Side Long Beach Rollin 20s set, amongst a variety of other famous hip-hop and R'n'B music stars, making it one of the largest and most influential section of the gang. Wiz Khalifa has lived all over the United States before settling down in Pittsburg and recording his first few hits.4. Danny Trejo
Image Source/ Los Angeles Daily News
Danny Trejo is a self confessed gangster, although he prefers to refer to himself as more of a 'vato-loco gangster' than a tough guy. In his younger years, he was robbing liquor stores and getting involved in shootouts with rival gangs in the San Fernando Valley area. He did a stint in Soledad Prison and this was the catalyst for turning his life around. He went on to start in Hollywood films like Machete and many other classics.5. Lil Wayne
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Lil Wayne is not that secretive about his gang affiliations, in fact you could argue he must be quite proud of them. In his lyrics he definitely expresses affiliation with the Bloods gang and uses slang typically associated with the gang. In his songs he references gang-related violence. But gang life is hard and has eventually caught up with him, as extensive substance abuse has led to a variety of health problems for the rapper.6. Chris Brown
Image Source/ Daily Mail
Chris Brown has been in the tabloids his fair share of times, and not necessarily for good reason. His assault on Rihanna being the most popular, plus a fight with Drake and also a shooting at one of his shows in San Jose that injured five people. At an after party for the BET Awards, Chris Brown was seen making various gang signals with his hands, adding fuel to the fire of the rumours that he is part of the Bloods gang. These rumours were started when Brown tweeted Bloods messages more than once.7. 2Pac
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Regarded as one of the best rappers of his time, Tupac Shakur was murdered in a gang related shooting. He was always aggressive with some of his lyrics which caused a lot of feuds between East Cost and West Coast rappers at the time. In the end, it was the Crips that shot him at age 25, after him and his Bloods bodyguard had beaten up one of their members, Orlando Anderson.8. Cardi B
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Before Cardi B made it as a pop sensation, she was a member of the Bloods at 16 years old. She described it as sometimes being like a sorority and sometimes people in the same gang killing each other. She also said she would never want another young girl or person to think it's okay to join a gang. That didn't stop her from dissing rival gang, the Crips, and getting herself into some bother.9. James Caan
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James Caan is a Hollywood legend and has appropriately starred in some gang films too, like The Godfather. James Caan made his affiliations known when he tried to bail Andrew Russo out of jail. Russo was jailed after an FBI investigation in New York into members of the Colombo crime family. Caan was even in court to try and voucher for Russo but the judge was not to be convinced by his Hollywood charm.10. Joe Pesci
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A star of Goodfellas and even more crime films, Joe Pesci is the guy you want to portray a gangster and film producers know it. Along with Al Pacino, Pesci has links to the Genovese crime family. He has also had some history with fellow actor, James Caan after leaving him with a whopping $8,000 hotel bill! Caan is alleged to have contacted some gangster friends to sort the problem out.11. Elizabeth Hurley
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Elizabeth Hurley is a famous British model, actress and film producer. She gives off very innocent vibes, but her past is not so innocent. She was at once time dating Donnie "Shacks" Montemarano, who has been part of the Columbia crime family for a very long time. He was under the watchful eye of the FBI for a while too, although charges were never made, Elizabeth must have known something...12. Josh Brolin
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Josh Brolin has played a few bad guys in his career and he is very good at it. Possibly because he has had some real life experience in the past when he was a member of the Cito Rats surfer gang. They would steal radios from cars and sell them for money to buy drugs. He also said that most of his friends he grew up with in this gang are dead now, mostly from heroin. He also admitted to doing some time in jail at just 19 years old.13. Kendrick Lamar
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Kendrick Lamar grew up around a lot of gang members, with his closest friends being members of the Westside Piru Bloods. His own father was a Gangster Disciple. Regarded as one of the most influential rappers of his generation, Dr. Dre has even taken him under his wing. Although heavily affiliated, Kendrick Lamar is not known to be part of a gang himself and is maybe trying to create a new narrative for himself.14. Carmelo Anthony
Image Source/ NY Post
Carmelo Anthony is known for being part of the infamous worst season in New York Knicks history. Before this, he was known for participating in a video alongside drug dealers and other gang members. He played for the Denver Nuggets at the time of the video, which was made to encourage people to 'stop snitching', a common saying within the gang underworld.15. Al Pacino
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Al Pacino is one of the greatest actors of all time, and is best known for his legendary gang themed roles. It seems only fitting that he is actually in cahoots with gangs in real life. He has been linked to the Genovese crime family over the years, whether just for research purposes to make him a better actor, or for personal reasons, we may never know...16. Steven Gerrard
Image Source/ Independent
Steven Gerrard is a British footballing legend, playing most of his career for Liverpool. He was recently a character witness at a trial for John Kinsella, a well known gangster that was being convicted of robbery. He ended up fleeing custody during the lunch break of the trial, going against a lot of what Gerrard had said about him! The rumour is that Kinsella helped Gerrard out when he was being blackmailed by another gangster and that's how the loyalty was formed.17. J.R. Smith
Image Source/ LA Zone
J.R. Smith is great character to watch on a basketball court and has been known for untying the shoelaces of opposing players and shooting unreal three-pointers. He has certainly been enjoying the Big Apple lifestyle since moving to the New York Knicks, but someone really needs to watch his social media. He has tweeted a variety of Bloods-related tweets and also referenced rival gang, The Crips.18. James Harden
Image Source/ Twitter
James Harden has had a very decorated and legendary basketball career. He might not be who you would expect to be affiliated with a gang, but he must have made some pretty suspect connections off the court. During a game playing for Oklahoma City Thunder, James Harden made some hand movements that could definitely be interpreted as those used by Bloods. He has also publicly messaged Lil Wayne using Bloods terminology.19. Snoop Dogg
Image Source/ Rolling Stone
Another member of the infamous Los Angeles Crips gang is Snoop Dogg and he makes no effort to conceal his loyalties in his music. Like many other rappers, he sings a lot about his gang allegiances, 'Make America Crip Again' being a great example of this. Snoop has publicly disagreed with gang violence though and strives for other purposes for the gang like looking after neighbourhoods and kids.20. Frank Sinatra
Image Source/ The Root
It's hard to know these days exactly what Frank Sinatra's mob connections were, but it was definitely known that he was very friendly with several Italian organised crime families. In his early career, many of the clubs Sinatra performed at were owned by the mob and he is rumoured to have been friendly with a lot of mobsters who grew up in New Jersey at the same time as him.21. Suge Knight
Image Source/ AZ Central
Death Row Records founder, Suge Knight, was affiliated with the Mob Piru Bloods and that this affiliation is what led to the murder to Tupac Shakur, according to the LA Police Department. Mob Piru was in 'deadly rivalry' with Compton Crips and when Tupac signed with Death Row Records, he immediately became their enemy. An exchange between Tupac and a Crip member took place and later that day Tupac was shot and killed.22. Fabrizio Miccoli
Image Source/ Daily Star
Fabrizio Miccoli is another famous footballer who played for Palermo back in the day and has been seen getting too close to gang and mafia affiliates. The town of Corleone, in Palermo, lost a fearless prosecutor years ago, Giovanni Falcone, supposedly killed by the mafia. After being seen getting close with mafia figures, Fabrizio also states that Falcone was "filth" which really angered the people of Corleone who have now revoked his honorary citizenship!23. Nick Cannon
Image Source/ XXL Mag
Nick Cannon grew up in San Diego and was imbedded within the Bloods gang, although he says it wasn't necessarily through choice. That was the done thing back then for where he lived and everyone he knew was part of one set or another of the Bloods. He says he sadly lost a lot of friends to gang violence and a lot of people he grew up with are in jail now. He got a lucky escape when he landed a role with Nickelodeon and was able to get out.24. Young Thug
Image Source/ The Sun
Young Thug has risen in popularity over the past ten years of so since his first hit, "Stoner". He's strongly affiliated with Lil' Wayne and other Bloods gang members. Fitting of this, he was arrested at one time on charges related to gang activity and racketeering and was joined on the indictment by 27 other defendants! These were thought to be part of Young Slime Life, a violent street gang affiliated with the national Bloods gang.25. D.L. Hughley
Image Source/ Complex
D.L. Hughley has managed to get away from his Bloods days and it's not something he is proud of. As with many others, he was sucked in as a young teenager and is one of the few to get away from that life. When one of his own cousins was killed by the Bloods, things changed for Hughley. They woudn't let him even go to the funeral of his cousin and that's when he knew he needed to leave.26. Ice-T
Image Source/ XXL Mag
Coming out of Crenshaw in Los Angeles, rapper Ice-T was affiliated with the Crips when he was growing up. He says you were either with them or against them in that neighbourhood and that gangs are very real and fight to the death. He said he made up a fake gang called 'Hillside Crips' for the purpose of getting people to leave him and his friends alone!27. The Game
Image Source/ Vibe
The Game grew up in the infamous Compton area of California. He is proud to talk about his life as a member of the Bloods and even dedicated an entire LP, The R.E.D Album to it. One of the songs off the LP, 'Red Nation' was banned from being played with MTV because it was too 'gang' heavy. Featuring Lil' Wayne, we can't say we are really that surprised.28. Tekashi 6ix9ine
Image Source/ NBC News
Tekashi 6ix9ine is always decked out in red bandanas and considers himself affiliated with the Bloods. Although, he seems to references allegiances with the Crips too in some of his songs, so we really can't keep up. This sort of thing has got him into trouble in the past, including him being jumped at LAX airport once and Texan gang, Tango Orejon, tried to stop him from performing in their state.29. Chief Keef
Image Source/ Block Club Chicago
Chief Keef is supposedly a member of the Black Disciples, a Chicago-based street gang. He has posted photos on Instagram showing the gang's hang sign and has also referenced the gang in his music, although saying 'we don't carry rifles', in contradiction to the violent crimes the gang have been know for, including drug trafficking amongst other activities.30. Birdman
Image Source/ The Jasmine
Birdman is yet another rapper connected to Lil' Wayne, Young Thug and therefore the Bloods gang. Interestingly, there were rumours swirling that the gang actually tried to murder Lil' Wayne! It was Young Thug's tour manager, yet another high-ranking member of the Bloods, who supposedly shot at Lil' Wayne's tour bus in 2015. Birdman is just a spectator as far as we know, but he always seems to be around...31. Celebrities you also didn't know had a criminal record... Will Smith
image source: fandomwire.com
No, we're not talking about THAT famous slap, but his past could explain a little bit about that... Will Smith actually has a criminal record for aggravated assault back from 1989, where he hit a man so badly he almost left the guy blind! Smith was officially charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangerment and even criminal conspiracy - but all charges were later dropped.32. Matthew Broderick
image source: theguardian.com
Matthew Broderick seems like one of those actors that can do no wrong, beloved for roles like Ferris Bueller and the voice of Simba. But he was actually charged with careless driving for a tragic incident in Ireland back in 1987, when he drove into the wrong lane and ended up colliding with another car. Sadly, the driver of the other car and the passenger didn't make it. Broderick was officially convicted of careless driving, but the victims' families didn't think it was justice.33. Tim Allen
image source: latimes.com
To infinity, and... criminal charges. Actor Tim Allen was only 25 years old when he was arrested in 1978 for possessing dr*gs. He served two and a half years in prison as a result, but he was later arrested again in 1997 for driving under the influence of alcohol. The actor then had a year's probation and made to go to alcohol rehab for his drinking.34. Mark Wahlberg
image source: people.com
Mark Wahlberg's criminal record goes way back, to when the famous actor was only 16 years old. He was initially charged with attempted murder, when he attacked two men from Vietnam with a stick. The attack left one of the men blind in one eye. After being charged with attempted murder, Wahlberg pled guilty to assault only, and he served 45 days in prison from an initial two year sentence!35. Bill Gates
image source: cnbc.com
You'd think being a super duper business magnate would make you a little more careful when it comes to criminal activity, but not Bill Gates! He was arrested twice: first in 1975 when he was driving without a licence, and - to make it worse - speeding! Second, he was arrested in 1977 again for STILL not having a licence, and then failing to stop at a stop sign.36. Khloe Kardashian
image source: people.com
It's sort of inevitable that at least one Kardashian must have done something wrong seeing as there are so many of them! This time it's Khloe, who has a record for driving under the influence of alcohol. Back in 2007, she was arrested and put on three years probation for being behind the wheel after drinking. Not only that - she then broke probation and was sentenced to 30 days in jail!37. Jay Z
image source: showbizcheatsheet.com
One half of the most well-known showbiz power couple, rapper Jay Z got into a bit of trouble back in 1999, before he became as huge as he is now, when he got into a fight outside of a nightclub. The fight ended up with Jay Z stabbing a record executive in the abdomen, and Jay Z pled guilty to the charge. He was sentenced with assault and three years' probation.38. Kiefer Sutherland
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