- 2 years ago
For the individuals behind these celebrity assassinations, it was about more than personal recognition. For this list, we’re talking about popular musicians, filmmakers, athletes, and others in entertainment who were targeted by known hate groups or crime organizations, or who were murdered in part because of their sociopolitical and artistic viewpoints.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 "We're about to see a dramatization of actual facts,
00:02 in which some of the names have been changed.
00:05 But the story is true."
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:08 For this list, we're talking about popular people in entertainment
00:11 targeted because of their sociopolitical and artistic viewpoints,
00:14 and/or by known hate groups or crime organizations.
00:17 However, personal murders like Selena or Christina Grimmie,
00:21 while impactful, have been excluded.
00:23 "Well, was it a robbery?
00:25 Was it a break-in?
00:26 Nobody-- it was so sketchy on everything."
00:28 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:30 Christian Povera.
00:30 Renowned French photojournalist Christian Povera
00:33 found an issue that needed more than just photographic representation.
00:37 His debut documentary, La Vida Loca, explored horrific gang wars
00:41 in El Salvador, mostly from the perspective of the 18th Street Gang.
00:44 [SPEAKING SPANISH]
00:47 Despite the film's renown, it gave some dangerous people
00:55 more exposure than they wanted.
00:56 In 2009, Povera was shot dead in a hit by the 18th Street Gang,
01:00 facilitated by a corrupt police officer.
01:03 Nearly a dozen conspirators were convicted,
01:05 but one Salvadoran journalist asserted that Povera's was just one
01:09 of many murders in the area that day.
01:11 Povera believed in taking the ultimate risks
01:13 to spread the most urgent stories.
01:16 La Vida Loca remains a worthy success, but it
01:19 cost a good man and important filmmaker his life.
01:22 Jalino Sanchez.
01:23 [SINGING IN SPANISH]
01:27 El Red del Corrido was in the right place at the right time
01:35 to influence modern Mexican folk.
01:37 Sadly, Jalino Sanchez was not so lucky in 1992.
01:41 Four months after surviving a gunfight at Coachella,
01:44 he dismissed a death threat at a concert in Culiacan.
01:47 During the drive home, he was pulled over
01:49 by men claiming to be state police, who needed a word with him
01:52 at the station.
01:53 Sanchez was found bound and dead of a gunshot the following day.
01:57 The Narco Corrido trailblazer had his share of enemies
02:00 as a volatile man who brought a criminal underworld
02:02 to mainstream attention.
02:04 [SINGING IN SPANISH]
02:07 Culiacan was and still is a cartel stronghold.
02:15 Sanchez's killers were never identified,
02:17 but his music and influence continue to expose urgent issues.
02:21 [SINGING IN SPANISH]
02:25 Kenyan conservationist Joan Root was a groundbreaking voice
02:34 in environmental documentaries, a prominent activist who took
02:37 on corrupt industries and poachers.
02:39 As a result, the nutrients that would otherwise
02:41 be locked up in the dead wood are rapidly
02:44 recycled into the system, making it a richer and more varied place.
02:47 This likely contributed to four men killing her
02:50 in her home with AK-47s.
02:53 But no one knows who exactly was behind the killing.
02:56 It could have been any number of criminal figures and syndicates,
02:59 with some evidence pointing to disgruntled or corrupt associates
03:02 hiring the killers.
03:04 She didn't know Naivasha.
03:06 She didn't know the area.
03:07 She didn't know the people.
03:09 Four men were eventually arrested, with robbery
03:11 as a suspected motive, only to be acquitted
03:14 due to flimsy evidence.
03:15 For all of Root's work behind and away from the camera
03:19 to bring justice, she has yet to receive any herself.
03:22 Really, in her life story, it was a microcosm
03:26 of what is happening, not just to Kenya and Africa,
03:31 but to the rest of the world.
03:33 Giuliano Meir Chamis.
03:35 Yeah, the animal of racism is covered there
03:39 with nice, democratic discourse.
03:43 Actor and filmmaker Giuliano Meir Chamis
03:45 was beloved in Palestine and Israel,
03:47 a citizen and outspoken peace activist of both states.
03:51 His proudest achievement was establishing the Freedom Theater
03:53 in the Jenin refugee camp.
03:55 We have a translator, too.
03:57 Let's go outside.
03:59 He was driving home from this cultural center
04:00 when a masked gunman shot him five times
04:03 in front of his son and babysitter.
04:05 Though no one was ever convicted,
04:06 it's suspected that the killer was a refugee
04:09 and Islamic fundamentalist.
04:11 Meir Chamis was always aware of the risks involved
04:14 in trying to unify cultures with progressive ideals.
04:17 Just as he brought together Palestinians
04:19 and Israelis in life,
04:20 he united them in mourning his senseless death.
04:23 Andres Escobar.
04:25 Sports fanaticism can become dangerous.
04:27 In a case like Andres Escobar's, it can become fatal.
04:30 The Colombian footballer was a hugely popular defender
04:33 and public figure.
04:34 Alas, his reputation plummeted after a 1994 World Cup match
04:39 between Colombia and the United States,
04:41 in which Escobar accidentally deflected the ball
04:43 into his own team's goal.
04:45 This helped seal Colombia's defeat and Escobar's fate.
04:49 Five days later, he was shot once for each of the six goals
04:52 called during that unfortunate game.
04:54 Humberto Castro Munoz, a cartel enforcer
04:57 whose boss allegedly bet big on Colombia,
04:59 was later convicted on a guilty plea.
05:02 Theo Van Gogh.
05:03 A descendant of Vincent Van Gogh's brother,
05:06 Theo Van Gogh was a prolific and enlightening filmmaker.
05:09 But controversy erupted around the first installment
05:12 in his documentary series "Submission,"
05:13 which dealt with violence against women in Muslim societies.
05:17 "Oh Allah, most high, life with my husband is hard to bear,
05:23 but I submit my will to you."
05:25 The short film was written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali,
05:28 a Somali-born former Muslim who's been accused of Islamophobia.
05:31 The backlash culminated in Islamic extremist Muhammad Buhairi
05:35 shooting and cutting Van Gogh to death.
05:37 He then pinned a death threat against Hirsi Ali to the body.
05:40 The very public assassination and murder trial gripped Dutch media.
05:44 Van Gogh is now considered a defining figure
05:47 of the importance of modern documentary filmmaking
05:49 and a reminder of its dangers.
05:51 Dino Bravo.
05:52 "Dino Bravo!"
05:55 Adolfo Bresciano was an icon of Canadian pro-wrestling
05:59 under the name Dino Bravo.
06:01 But he was also swept up in violent enterprises outside of the ring.
06:05 After retiring in 1992,
06:07 he became a rising star in Canada's untaxed cigarette trade.
06:11 It's assumed that he worked for his late uncle-in-law
06:13 Vincenzo Catroni's notorious Montreal Mafia.
06:16 Whatever he was up to,
06:18 Bresciano's wife and daughter found him dead in his home
06:20 with 17 gunshot wounds.
06:22 "I think he was naive, and often money does things."
06:28 Fellow wrestler Rick Martel speculates that his friend was targeted
06:32 after police caught onto a cocaine operation he became involved in.
06:35 Little is known about Bresciano's double life,
06:37 let alone his unsolved murder.
06:39 It's still all but certain that Canada's strongest man
06:42 was finally brought down by organized crime.
06:45 "Many times in that match, we take care of the boss man.
06:47 But he seems to be aggressive, and he definitely has an attitude problem."
06:51 Pierpaolo Pasolini.
06:52 "In a way, he's always in good shape.
06:54 Let's say, not in a confessional way,
06:56 but in a certain way, he's a religious man.
06:59 That's why I invest in my way of seeing things,
07:03 and also in my work."
07:03 Pierpaolo Pasolini's shocking films and writing
07:06 made him one of Europe's most prominent, if divisive, Marxist artists.
07:10 His personal life was also steeped in controversy
07:13 for his involvement with teenage boys.
07:14 After Pasolini was run over and beaten to death,
07:17 teenager Giuseppe Pelosi confessed to killing him in self-defense.
07:21 The slaying quickly became one of the most notorious in film history,
07:25 especially for evidence suggesting Pelosi's innocence.
07:27 After being released from prison,
07:29 he claimed that his confession was coerced by several men
07:32 who likely assassinated Pasolini.
07:34 It's now popularly believed that the left-wing figure
07:36 fell victim to the right-wing terrorism that pervaded Italy by the 1970s.
07:41 In 2023, a formal plea to investigate evidence
07:44 implicating a politically affiliated crime syndicate was submitted.
07:48 "Listen, you insignificant, wretched nothings.
07:50 You are here solely for our pleasure.
07:52 Expect none of the kindness you knew in the outside world,
07:55 like cliberty or the ridiculous idea of showing pity to others."
07:59 Sharon Tate.
08:00 "Oh my God, Sharon."
08:02 The senseless murder of actress Sharon Tate,
08:07 along with several others at the home she shared with director Roman Polanski,
08:11 is a cultural touchstone of the 1960s.
08:14 An eight-and-a-half-months pregnant Tate and four friends had been stabbed to death.
08:19 Police soon arrested members of Charles Manson's bohemian cult.
08:22 While there is debate about their motivations,
08:24 the leading theory is that Manson intended to frame Black people
08:27 for high-profile murders,
08:29 thus inciting an apocalyptic race war he dubbed "Helter Skelter."
08:33 The bizarre incident has since gained an almost mythical reputation
08:36 in the true crime and Hollywood zeitgeists.
08:39 The fact remains that six lives were tragically and brutally lost.
08:43 "Two years ago, the hippie commune led by Charles Manson
08:46 moved it into this old Wild West film set just outside Los Angeles.
08:50 And it was here that they were living on the night the alleged murders took place."
08:55 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
08:57 and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
09:00 You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
09:04 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
09:09 John Lennon
09:12 "We'll all be playing those mind games forever."
09:18 One of the most influential musicians of all time,
09:21 John Lennon was also one of the most outspoken pacifists of his time.
09:25 Mark David Chapman was a devoted fan,
09:27 but resented what he saw as the hypocrisy in the wealthy pop star's humanitarianism.
09:32 The Christian convert was also offended by Lennon's famously misinterpreted
09:36 "more popular than Jesus" comment.
09:38 "If you give me the opportunity, I will do it."
09:44 After months of planning, Chapman flew to New York City,
09:47 followed Lennon into his apartment complex,
09:49 and shot him four times in the back.
09:52 This tragedy has become recognized as a defining symbol of violence in the modern age.
09:56 Chapman himself now deeply regrets his actions.
09:59 He also admits to his true motivation for such high-profile violence,
10:03 to achieve his own fame.
10:06 What entertainer assassinations did you find the most shocking?
10:09 Join the discussion in the comments.
10:21 Check out this other recent clip from WatchMojo,
10:23 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
10:28 Thanks for watching!
10:30 [music fades]
10:32 [music fades]
10:34 [music fades]
10:36 [music fades]
10:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments