When thinking about violence against members of the mass media, the cases that tend to come to mind are those with the most famous victims, the most brazen perpetrators, and the most bizarre details. These cases involve mostly overt methods that frequently begin with an innocent-seeming initial contact before escalating over time to stalking behaviors and eventually one or more attempted or completed physical attacks, perhaps with a firearm or a knife. Indeed, numerous entertainers have been subjected to potentially violent stalkers. Media personalities are at particular risk for being stalked partly because of their high profile, but also because their role—whether they happen to be an entertainer, news anchor, radio morning show host, or politician—requires them to pander to an audience and sustain public attention (Wilson et al., 2018).

Many people have sent fan mail to their favorite celebrities and/or reached out to them on social media, and some die-hard fans pay exorbitant sums of money for backstage passes and meet-and-greet events with A-list stars. Very few would ever attempt to get closer than that, and rarer still are the handful of deranged individuals out there who develop unhealthy obsessions with famous people that may lead to dangerous—and sometimes deadly—consequences. Among the most notorious of these incidents are the fatal shootings of singer John Lennon in 1980 by an angry Beatles fan, of actor and model Rebecca Schaeffer in 1989 by an obsessed devotee, and of singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez in 1995 by the former president of her fan club. Several laws and other practices changed in the 1990s (particularly in response to the death of Schaeffer, who was shot in the doorway of her home after the killer obtained her address via California Department of Motor Vehicles records) that have helped to prevent more of these incidents, though they certainly still occur.

In a recent example, up-and-coming singer Christina Grimmie (who finished in third place on season six of The Voice) was fatally shot in 2016 by an obsessed fan while the 22-year-old signed autographs after a concert in Orlando, Florida. Stalkers have broken into the homes of Sandra Bullock, Selena Gomez, and Jennifer Lopez; have trespassed on properties owned by Kendall Jenner, Madonna, and Taylor Swift; and have sent unwanted letters and gifts to numerous others.