Leaked photos, bombs, acid: how stalkers stalk stars and make their lives hell

First, let’s define terms. Stalking is unwanted obsessive attention towards and harassment of one person by another person or group of people, often with sexual overtones. A stalker is a person who engages in this stalking. The word comes from the English verb stalk – to hunt, to chase.

It cannot be said that stalking is a new phenomenon and a sign of our time. For at least the last 40 years, the problem has been quite acute, and the actions of obsessed fans of stars go beyond the limits of the criminal code and have long since become not just an annoying nuisance, but also a real threat to life. Let’s recall at least the high-profile murder of Beatle John Lennon – Mark Chapman was a fan of the musician and asked him for an autograph shortly before the murder.

It is worth noting that it is not necessary to be a star of the first magnitude to become a victim of a stalker. Private people may be haunted by rejected lovers or secret admirers.

One thing unites stalkers: no matter who their attention is directed to, they try to intimidate and gain control over the victim, to emotionally conquer them.

John Moore, author of Confusing Love with Obsession, noted that stalkers are usually people with low self-esteem and limited social connections, simply put, withdrawn loners.

Victims of stalking are both men and women, but according to studies, the majority of stalkers are men. However, in the case of stars, female stalkers are not uncommon.

There have been several high-profile stalking episodes in Russia recently – let’s start with them.

While the problem of stalking is real, few star victims have openly shared their experiences. That is probably why the revelation of Buro 24/7 editor-in-chief Ekaterina Darma in the summer of 2022 caused such a stir and became one of the most discussed topics in the press and telegrams.

Katya told in detail how she has been stalked for two years by a woman named Mira Miru, whom she met at one of the social events and who at first seemed very harmless. The lady introduced herself as an aspiring designer and wanted to show her work to the editor-in-chief of a fashion publication. But then she went on the attack.

“The girl started sharing her personal story with me about how hard it is for her because she doesn’t feel appreciated. Then she started insulting me, I blocked her, but she decided that we were made to be together, and the only thing that stands in my way is my stubbornness. I didn’t know how to behave, “Katya recalled.

Meera followed Dharma at events, texted and called her. The stalker often sent his victim scary pictures – for example, a picture with Katya’s tombstone.

The editor admitted that she tried to endure what was happening and even find an excuse for the stalker’s actions, because she had no idea what to do in such a situation. In the end, however, she decided to talk about everything publicly because “there is no other way to build a shield against such situations, apart from public distrust and a culture of cancellation”.

The ploy seemed to work after all. After the story was published, Mira admitted her guilt, stating that she “did it on purpose to make Katya feel bad”.

Popular blogger Alexei Zhidkovsky was also stalked by a stalker for several years. According to him, the woman, a teacher from St. Petersburg, threatens to kill him and his mother and also writes messages to his underage brothers and sisters. Zhidkovsky first spoke in detail about the pursuit in 2021, noting that he has been receiving messages from the subscriber since 2019. Alexei admitted that the fan imagined a romantic relationship with him and often “throws tantrums” in comments and private messages, creating new accounts after being blocked.

However, in June 2023 it was revealed that the same fan had written a statement against Zhidkovsky to the police, accusing the blogger and his PR director of defamation. Allegedly, after the revelation of Židkovský, she was harassed by the blogger’s fan community, and Alexey only PR for the story. The woman completely denies her guilt, although Zhidkovsky previously presented screenshots of correspondence with threats from a fan.

If Dharma and Zhidkovsky face the obsessive attention of complete strangers, then model Sofia Martynova, who worked with Dior and other major brands, is forced to endure the threats of her ex-lover Danila Filippova. The rejected man is one of the most typical representatives of stalking, so the story itself is very revealing and may be familiar to many women.

The ex-boyfriend also behaved predictably: often such people do their best to hurt the victim, and therefore often turn to revealing intimate details of her life.

So does Filippov. The young man hacked into the model’s accounts, began to publish candid shots of Sophie on thematic pages, and even “leaked” a sex video that the model had secretly filmed before. He sent links to these materials to Sophie’s family and friends and even to representatives of her agency.

The guy began to show noticeable signs of a potential stalker even during his relationship with Martyn: he was pathologically jealous and constantly accused the girl of cheating, and soon began to use physical violence. He also justifies his current behavior as revenge for his girlfriend’s alleged betrayal.

The stalking has been going on longer than their relationship: Sophia and Danila have only met for four months, and the stalking after the breakup has been going on for almost six months.

“My life is like hell, now I suffer and worry about my loved ones, and he has fun and feels strong when he makes fun of girls,” admits Sofia.

The girl, who is still working abroad, plans to sue the perpetrator after returning to Russia.

Soviet times are still mostly remembered as completely peaceful in terms of crime – children could walk alone and the key should be left under the carpet. But of course there were crimes – and stalkers too. Although such stories were not of a mass nature, some Soviet stars were in real danger.

For example, a real maniac Anatoly Nagiev hunted Alla Pugacheva. In the 1970s, a man committed a series of rapes, served six years and was paroled, after which he took on the old man again.

In 1979, Nagiyev again began to commit crimes, and Pugacheva was his obsessive image, according to which he chose his victims. However, the external similarity of the innocent women with the Primadonna soon diminished – an ardent criminal decided to kill the singer herself. And he almost came close to her!

Nagiyev thoroughly learned all the details: the artist’s address, her tour schedule, her circle of acquaintances and even her daily routine. The maniac was guarding the singer at the house. The gatekeeper saved Pugacheva – she did not let a stranger in the entrance. As a result, Nagiyev was detained right on the train, where he committed another series of rapes. This time the criminal faced the highest measure.

In Soviet times, I learned what stalking is, and a popular actor and one of the main hotties of cinema Alexander Abdulov. He always had enough fans, but while most bought only postcards with the idol’s portrait, another unrequited lover decided to commit a crime. Realizing that the romance with the star was not bright for her, the woman decided to follow the artist at the service entrance of the theater.

That evening, according to the memories of his colleagues, Abdulov seemed to feel something and instead of slowing down at the ventilator, he rushed towards the car. And not for nothing – these fractions of a second saved Abdulov from getting splashed with acid that a fan tried to throw in his face.

Stalking in Hollywood is a separate topic of conversation. It is unlikely that there will be at least one more or less famous person who was not subjected to obsessive persecution. Therefore, we will not list all the cases, but we will focus on a few of the loudest and most glaring ones.

In addition to the above-mentioned murder of John Lennon, the story of the murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer in 1991 also shocked the world. It was then that the pursuit of stars began to flourish and the term stalking was coined.

Rebecca fell victim to an admirer named Robert Bardo, who first stalked her for three years and then shot her on her doorstep in Los Angeles. As in the Chapman story, Bardo first came to his idol to chat and get an autograph, then came back and killed her. Rebecca was only 21 years old.

Shots also struck in the story of Jodie Foster’s pursuit – this time, fortunately, the actress herself remained safe, but others suffered. Her stalker, in order to impress and terrify his victim, first decided to “train” on US President Ronald Reagan. On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley Jr., who was being treated for a mental disorder, attempted to kill the head of state. He explained his act by saying that he was obsessed with actress Jodie Foster.

Hinckley especially loved the movie Taxi Driver and saw it at least 15 times. The man identified with Robert de Niro’s main character, who took care of a teenage prostitute played by Foster and ended up brutally killing her pimp and client.

After the release of the film, the stalker pursued Foster for a long time – he even entered Yale University, where the actress was studying at the time. Later, the stalker bombarded the actress with letters and even talked to her on the phone several times, but always received a polite refusal from other relations. After the assassination attempt on Reagan, Hinckley wrote Foster a letter stating that he hoped to impress her with the enormity of his act. As a result, the offender was declared insane and placed in a psychiatric hospital, where he remained until 2016. After that, he was released, but with certain restrictions – he does not have the right to contact Jodie Foster.

Björk once received a bombshell from an obsessed fan (!), and then a videotape of his suicide.

Supermodel Cindy Crawford somehow caught on with her obsessive fan. The star of the catwalk agreed to a date with the stalker, but she did not come alone, but with the police – there the stubborn man was detained.

But as the stories from our material show, not all encounters with stalkers have such a funny ending. And it is certainly not always possible to solve such problems with your own hands. Therefore, it is simply necessary to create a serious perception of the problem of stalking in society. Then the victims would not be afraid to publish their stories, and the stalkers themselves would understand that pretending to be romantic would not work and you should not count on enjoyment.

It should be remembered that the behavior of a stalker falls under several criminal articles at once, including threatening to kill and cause bodily harm (from two to five years in prison), hooliganism (fines, forced labor or up to eight years in prison) and violation of privacy (up to two years in prison ).

And also under a simple common truth: you will not be forced to be nice.

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