Why the FBI Spies On Celebrities

Weird History
Weird History
61,530
0
Published 2024-03-31
Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, we know of the wide variety of subjects the FBI keeps files on. Along with the obvious serial killers, terrorists, and embezzlers, the FBI investigates actors, musicians, athletes, comedians, cartoonists, and even a fast food “colonel.” The reasons for said federal surveillance range from the subject receiving death threats to having communist sympathies to possessing giant collections of adult material.

To read about more celebrities that the FBI kept files on, go here:
www.ranker.com/list/surprising-fbi-files/shane-fra…

Be sure to subscribe to the Weird History Newsletter: www.ranker.com/newsletters/weird-history?utm_sourc…

#fbi #surveillance #weirdhistory
All Comments (21)
  • @function0077
    If the FBI investigated games that Wilt bet on, then they should also investigate insider trading by congressmen and senators.
  • @baronvonswankenstein
    Because of his friendship with Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana, I understand why the FBI investigated Frank Sinatra. But Stan Lee ?!?!
  • @mrmoshpotato
    Is it because they didn't want to look into J Edgar Hoover?
  • @skully0078
    The FBI, throwing stones. Can we see the files on their employees?
  • @kirbymarchbarcena
    So, if we want gossip about any celebs, we just have to ask the FBI?
  • @ShadoeHaze
    How you gonna bring up The Diddler and then just leave it at that, with all the stuff going on right now? LOL
  • @XanderDDS
    1) power, 2) leverage, 3) blackmail
  • @lp-xl9ld
    In a parody of PEANUTS that appeared in MAD in the late 60s, we see Charlie Brown on the phone with Hoover, saying " Hello, J. Edgar? I have reason to believe that Mary Worth is a commie..."
  • @themeanlesbeann
    The way the US government monitored Eartha Kitt too was crazy.
  • @tremorsfan
    It's funny that the FBI monitored Lucy Ball since it was the CIA who were transmitting through her fillings.
  • @michellewilson6249
    I had never thought I would hear the FBI investigated Disney. How are all the creepy stuff going on now with Disney. Should be investigated.
  • @symbol8246
    So they can blackmail them or use them ad informants or both.
  • @jamie1602
    The FBI never had any taste because That Darn Cat and Louie Louie are chef's kiss.
  • @alicemanson448
    I remember the Kingsman part! It was parodied in Bloom County as one of the funniest things the Government ever wasted money on... I really loved the part where they showed what people THOUGHT they were hearing!
  • @MrMedictom
    Longtime FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (who ordered the investigations of some the celebs portrayed here) understood as early as the 1920s the power that the film industry could assert over the masses and that understanding sparked an odd love-hate relationship between the Bureau and the movie industry. On one hand, Hoover was personally awed over the allure of film celebrities and sought to court select individuals in order to encourage them to cooperate with the FBI and help promote the Bureau's agenda. On the other hand, he distrusted the film industry overall because of it's potential influential power and was especially harsh on those stars he personally viewed as 'subversives' (or at least met his personal definition of subversive). One of the stars Hoover was fond of was, in fact, Shirley Temple. The two shared a friendship that dated back to Temple's childhood when she was America's 'golden child'. When Temple reached her adult years, Hoover investigated her potential love interests to make certain they weren't trying to exploit her. The FBI's investigation of Temple prior to her ambassadorship was standard procedure. Great video as always, though.