There is no doubt that celebrities should not be role models. There also is no doubt that they are role models whether we like it or not! From battling drug and alcohol addiction to theft, celebrities are continuously setting a bad example.

If you are old enough you might know Farah Fawcett. There was a time when she was one of the most recognizable people on the planet – for a number of years! Do recall her being arrested for shoplifting?

As a counselor for both in-class and online theft classes I often discuss celebrities as role models with my students. It was in one of my recent classes a 60-year-old gentleman pointed out that Fawcett had been arrested for shoplifting.

An expert on the subject I disagreed. It took only moments for him to Google it and prove me wrong.

Not only was Farrah Fawcett arrested once for shoplifting, she was arrested twice! Both incidents occurred in 1970. Both offenses were for clothes in fashion boutiques.

In her defense Fawcett claims she was only taking the merchandise because the stores refused to give her credit for clothes she had returned. Either was I am glad to see she quit her theft-like behavior once she hit it big on Aaron Spelling’s “Charlie’s Angels.”