In December 2001, Winona Ryder was arrested for shoplifting nearly $6,000 worth of designer clothes from Saks Fifth Avenue, sparking one of the most bizarre celebrity trials of the 2000s. The '90s indie queen claimed her director told her to shoplift for a role, but the jury convicted her of felony grand theft anyway. From the iconic "Free Winona" t-shirt movement to Marc Jacobs making her their campaign face after she stole their designs, this is the scandal that made Winona disappear from Hollywood for a decade—until her Stranger Things comeback proved we should've freed her all along.
We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:
Vogue UK - "A grass roots campaign to 'free' Winona Ryder" (2002)
Recordnet - "Ryder's try at humor not defusing scandal" (2002)
W Magazine - "Winona Ryder: Ryder on the Storm" (2002)
Interview Magazine - "Winona Ryder" (2013)
YouTube - "free winona: the winona ryder shoplifting scandal" (2024)
Disgraceland Podcast - "Winona Ryder: Drowning, Designer Theft, and a Deadly Kidnapping" (2025)
…
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