Wealthy heiresses like Paris Hilton, Kelly Osbourne, and Nicole Richie have dominated the airwaves for the past two decades. Infiltrating every corner of pop culture till it is uniquely theirs. However, there was one heiress from the early 2000s who was born from a richer empire than the previous three heiresses combined.
Casey Johnson would escape from the top of the New York City social chain to the bottom of the Beverly Hills one. And be completely cut off from the billions of dollars she was set to inherit. And fall in love with a completely unexpected MTV star who would lead her down the path of no return. Hi, I’m Shelby. And I’m Jake.
Welcome to Deep Dive. Where we dive into told and untold stories with extreme detail. If it happens, it’s probably in a Deep Dive. Today, we’re going to dive into the tragic life of Casey Johnson. And just how she lived life in the fast lane to her very last breath. Now, if you’d like to enter our AirPods Max giveaway, be sure to follow us both on TikTok, subscribe, and comment your username so we can get in touch with you. Good luck.
Now, let’s get into the video. Casey Johnson was born on September 24th, 1979 to her father, Robert Wood Johnson IV, who goes by Woody, and her mother, Sale Johnson, a former model from St. Louis, Missouri. While Johnson is the second most common last name in the United States, Casey isn’t any old Johnson. She is a part of one of the richest families in the world, the Johnson & Johnson family.
Johnson & Johnson is the second largest healthcare company in the world, currently worth $432.21 billion. J&J was founded in 1886 by three brothers, Robert Wood Johnson, who was Casey’s great-great-grandfather, Edward Mead Johnson, and James Wood Johnson. They got their start selling medicated plasters, sterile surgical products such as gauze and sutures.
They also commercialized the first aid kit. By 1894, they were producing the well-known Johnson’s baby powder, which was their entry into the baby product market. As one of three siblings, Casey will likely inherit at least a billion bucks. But the best part of being heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune? Baby powder with your name on it.
I represent, okay? Casey grew up in Manhattan with access to anything a girl could ever want or need. Her life was filled with travel, private chefs, summering at her father’s Hampton estate, and of course, parties thrown by her family where the wealthiest of the wealthy would get together. This is a party for a one of the Johnson & Johnson family members.
They are of Johnson & Johnson. You may not know that some of these people are actually Johnson family members, so treat everyone as if they are. While other kids were playing dress-up, Casey was wearing real snakeskin pumps, sporting Chanel bags, and getting to go to New York Fashion Week. But by age eight, Casey was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Casey said this diagnosis made her grow up extremely fast, having to monitor her health, blood sugar, and insulin injections. At age 13, Casey co-wrote a book with her parents called Managing Your Child’s Diabetes, and Woody Johnson started the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation in honor of Casey. Through the years, Casey was described by her mom as a child that was not easy to deal with.
Sale continued saying Woody, Casey’s father, was not a warm, cuddly kind of person. And because Casey was more complex, he didn’t know what to do with her. So he often overindulged Casey by buying her anything she could ever want, even purchasing her a new car when she didn’t have a driver’s license. Sale said all Casey wanted was her father’s approval.
She lived for that, and she was broken down because she didn’t get it. kind of legacy, I guess, you know, this family name that you’ve Is it I know it must open a million doors, and it’s got to be a great thing, but is it ever a hindrance? Is it ever something that that works against you, do you think, in your life? Um Well in two ways.
One is you really have to get to know why someone wants to be your friend. And I’ve learned that the hard way. I’ve had a lot of people use me. And um I’m so unaware of things like that that I just let things happen, and then I find out, “Oh my god, they’re totally taking advantage of me.” There are unspoken rules for these trust fund kids who come from insanely wealthy families.
They are to keep quiet about their level of wealth and avoid bringing public shame or embarrassment to the family name. However, this generation of heirs and heiresses were ready to break all of the rules. Casey’s cousin, Jamie Johnson, would make a film called Born Rich, where many heirs and heiresses described what it was like being born into so much money they would never even have to work.
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At midnight I’m going to inherit more money than most people could earn or spend in a lifetime. I’ve been waiting for this night for as long as I can remember. The thing is now that it’s here I’m not really sure what to make of it all. I live in a country that everyone wants to believe is a meritocracy. We want to think that everyone earns what they have.
I guess if it makes you feel better, keep telling yourself that. This firm, we have represented your family for years. For years. I I can’t I can’t in good conscience recommend to the kinds of people you want to talk to about the kinds of things you want to talk about that they participate in the film. They’d have to be nuts.
I mean, you’re dealing with families that have always made it gospel that, you know, talk about your money. And now you want to put them in a film that Um I don’t know how I You know, I’m not surprised that you’re having trouble getting people. Giving the public insight into how the rich lived back then was very taboo, but it was just the beginning.
Like her cousin, Casey Johnson wasn’t going to go down the traditional heiress path. She was in search for something money couldn’t buy. Together with her lifelong best friends, the Hilton sisters, they would hit the Manhattan scene, make headlines, and create a new kind of celebrity. The new up-and-coming millennial generation of rich kids would completely transform the way the world views socialites.
Due to the tabloids, paparazzi, and gossip columns all taking interest in the lives of the rich, spawning an entire new breed of celebrity. It’s It’s It’s I think in recent times, not only are we obsessed with um you know, celebrities, and that’s nothing new. But suddenly, it’s this new set of celebrities, you know? It’s the girls with the famous last names, you know, the Hiltons, the you know, Richie, Johnson.
I mean, cuz you’re right in the middle of all of that. You you know. I think for people outside of Los Angeles and New York, our lives seem a lot larger than they are. Nicky, for instance, Nicky Hilton lives in a one-bedroom house with one bathroom. Small house filled with clothes and bags and shoes. But and really well decorated.
But and she would drive a Range Rover, but she’s not It’s It’s nothing, you know, she doesn’t have her around. You know, I live in a three-bedroom house that is a really nice size. I don’t live in some $30 million mansion. You know, it’s extravagant in one way, but it’s not as extravagant as you would think. Cuz yeah.
Yeah, the headlines we see are, you know, Paris having 18th birthday parties and jumping out of limos and Yeah. yachts. Well, Paris lives Paris does live a very extravagant life, I must say. I mean, when she goes out at night to a club, she takes a Hummer limo. You know, we’ll go into a store and just buy everything in it.
We’ll go into Chanel and just buy 30 purses, you know? But she can do that. She’s worked really hard. She’s made all of her own money. She has a fabulous place, but again, it’s not too big. But it’s really well decorated. But she’s She is the person that lives the most extravagantly out of all my friends. The socialites who emerged from every generation before may have been gossiped about at high society events, but now family gossip was being syndicated throughout every grocery store in America.
An entire new industry was emerging that relied on third-party photographers mobbing young socialites and chronicling their family drama for all to see. Casey Johnson was no stranger to this, as Page Six even dubbed her the baby oil heiress. Casey was usually painted by the tabloids as a dumb blonde who toted her dogs in a Birkin bag through all of New York City.
Stories about Casey dropping out of Brown University her freshman year because she couldn’t have her poodle named Zoe in the dorms would make headlines. The front page of the New York Post would chronicle Woody, Casey’s father, having to pay $20,000 because Casey’s baby chihuahua Tacos pooped all over the hotel suite.
All this was just a regular run-of-the-mill day for Casey and this over time would begin to take its toll as Page Six was relentlessly attacking Casey Johnson at every chance they could. Casey was completely fed up with the way she was being treated so she pleaded to the publication to stop. If they are writing about my god damn [ __ ] thong when I’m going to get coffee at 8:00 a.m.
across the street from where I live, I need to [ __ ] move. At the time Casey was working as a beauty editor for the Manhattan File but the magazine folded in 2001. The same year Casey’s parents Woody and Sally Johnson divorced. Casey took these events as her sign to move to Los Angeles, California to start a brand new life with a new identity.
She loved that no one knew who she was in Los Angeles. She said, “LA has celebrities. They don’t care about people from moneyed families.” She wanted to put a distance between her and her family so she would stop being known as the Johnson & Johnson girl and she could truly begin to seal her own legacy. And then once at a party I was walking by and as I walked by these two girls, it was an MTV movie after party or something like that.
One girl said to the other, “Oh, that’s the Johnson & Johnson girl.” And my heart just sank. Because I don’t want to be identified like that. I’m Casey Johnson. Yeah. I’m not the Johnson & Johnson girl. I mean, I am but it was just like It’s not a label and then Yeah, it really hurt me for some reason. I’ll never forget it.
Now 23 years old living in Beverly Hills, Casey was ready to fully embrace the Hollywood lifestyle. She had aspirations of becoming an actress and was featured alongside Nicky and Paris Hilton in a documentary called It Girl released in 2002 about the lives of rich young heiresses. We’re making a movie about It Girls. It’s about Casey Johnson, Elizabeth Kieselstein-Cord and and all these other It Girls and It Women.
There’s a special like spark or something that each of them has that ordinary people on the street don’t have. You know that when she walks in a room, everybody stops talking? Lara Bingle, baby. She’s the only It Girl was and and whatever It Girl is. An It Girl is like the girl that I have right behind me. AN IT GIRL? IT’S BEAUTIFUL coral section.
Whatever It Girl is, it’s not me. I call Lady Gaga the original It Girl. The It Girl is the girl of the moment. Your moment, the world’s moment, the universe’s moment, a moment. Casey was besties with Nicky and Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and Bijou Phillips. So naturally, they all started partying in LA together.
Magazines began referring to the group as Heiresses Gone Wild. This represents a complete shift in the direction of Casey’s career as it wouldn’t be long before feuds began and the gossip columns were ready to print every moment of it. In 2002, Nicole Richie and Casey Johnson were at Bungalow 8 when Casey saw her former boyfriend Steven Daquackauski and said to him, “Why don’t you start dating someone who has past puberty?” This allegedly sparked a brawl in Bungalow 8 where Nicole Richie ended up accidentally cutting Casey’s
ex-boyfriend in the face with a piece of broken glass. Reality TV producers knew these heiresses would make incredible entertainment. Paris Hilton was already slated to be the star of Fox’s new hit reality show The Simple Life but she just needed another heiress to join her as the co-star.
When Paris asked Casey if she would star in The Simple Life with her, Casey declined as she wanted to pursue her acting career and thought The Simple Life would prevent her from being taken seriously. Now we all know Paris would eventually ask Nicole Richie to star alongside her in The Simple Life and the show would debut to millions on Fox.
Now if you want to know all the details behind Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s split, make sure you watch the deep dive gossip on it. This would turn out to be one of Casey Johnson’s biggest regrets as after The Simple Life took off cementing Paris and Nicole as icons, Casey would say, “The stupidest mistake of my life was to turn down Paris Hilton’s invitation to co-star in The Simple Life.
” She went on further to say she kicks herself in the butt for it every day as it was a clear lost opportunity to jump-start her acting career. And another thing she says her biggest regret in her entire life was not doing The Simple Life with Paris Hilton. You have to remember this is one of Paris’s best friend and went to Casey first to ask her if she wanted to be on it and Casey said she didn’t want to and I think, you know, she’s regretted that from the day that she said no.
But I think she regrets it for the wrong reason. I think she regrets it because Paris at one point felt lost too and I think through fame Paris found an outlet. Paris found something to do. Nicole Richie found it through her kids and her husband. Casey never found an outlet. She never found a hobby. In 2004, Casey’s house was broken into where hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry was stolen.
Bijou Phillips and Casey Johnson were attending a 2004 MTV party at X’s. Casey Johnson would end up accusing Playmate Nicole Lenz of having taken part in the burglary of her home. This would lead to a physical altercation where Bijou Phillips allegedly slapped and punched Nicole Lenz. Nicole would inevitably file a $1 million defamation suit against Bijou and Casey.
However, Casey’s lawyer Robert Shapiro had the case settled for allegedly $25,000 or under. In regards to the feuds, Casey said, “Drama seems to kind of surround me. There is a lot of feuding going on around me between Hilton and Lohan and between Hilton and Richie but I am not in a feud with anyone.
” Meanwhile back in New York City, Casey’s parents who absolutely hated when the Johnson name was in the headlines tarnishing their image were becoming increasingly worried about Casey’s partying, alleged substance usage, and feuds. So they decided to attempt to take control over their adult daughter’s life. They hopped on a plane to California to stage intervention in hopes Casey would agree to go to rehab but Casey told Sale and Woody Johnson she is sorry they wasted a trip but she is fine and doesn’t need help.
This is when Woody Johnson, Casey’s own father, would quote wash his hands of Casey but it would take just one more headline that would make Woody Johnson fully cut Casey off from the family and her portion of the Johnson fortune. In 2006, Casey had taken a trip with her aunt, a famous socialite and one of the richest women in New York, Libet Johnson.
John Dee, Casey’s boyfriend, accompanied her on this trip to Srei Vong Komar, an orphanage Libet had established. Shortly after the trip, Casey would break up with boyfriend John Dee. Somehow Page Six obtained emails with Libet Johnson and John Dee but before publishing them, called Casey, read her the emails, and asked her to comment.
The emails definitely had an intimate tone but didn’t prove that Libet was having an affair with John Dee. However, Casey at the time strongly felt they were as she had been suspicious even prior to the Cambodia trip. Casey initially wasn’t going to make a comment to Page Six but she was so upset she just unloaded saying, “I feel sorry for her.
She’s single. She’s been divorced umpteen times. She’s afraid to go out in public. She was sleeping with my boyfriend who I was in love with. An old woman with a lot of money is a very powerful aphrodisiac.” This scandal sent shockwaves through the New York elite. It was all anyone was gossiping about for months.
Libet Johnson, much like her brother Woody Johnson, kept very low profiles. Libet had never spoken about herself to the press and anyone in her circle was forbidden from doing so. A feud within one of the richest American families who normally have very little press about them had the public eating this story up. The Johnsons were mortified but more than anyone, Woody Johnson was angry.
He said Casey was using the tabloids to get revenge. So with that, Woody Johnson cut Casey Johnson off from her trust fund that held millions. Obviously a couple of years ago, huge headlines. Everybody was talking about it but uh the headlines with you and your aunt and your ex-boyfriend. Um what did you learn from that experience? Or was that a huge impetus for change, you know, coming out of that experience? It was so hurtful.
Um it was hurtful that my aunt did what she did. And it was even more hurtful that the whole world found out about it. And it was on the cover of the post. Page Six items are never on the cover of the post. There it was on the cover. And it just was totally humiliating and it taught me to be very wary of the press.
And um cuz I was told that this was going to be a puff piece in Vanity Fair and it was anything but. So it’s just taught me to be very wary of the press and who I talk to and what I say. Um and to really examine why people want to be with me because this guy was not in love with me at all. Casey was on a journey to find her identity and what she wanted to do with her life.
Despite being estranged from her father, she still had her relationship with her mom, Sale Johnson, and things were really starting to look up for Casey. She already actively supported her father’s juvenile diabetes research foundation, but she wanted to spend more time fundraising for children’s charities such as the Sharp orphanage in Kenya and the Malawi project.
Casey said the work had helped to give her focus. Quote, “It’s so boring to do nothing. Believe me, I’ve tried it. It’s like how many days a week can you actually go shopping? You get burned out and you feel like [ __ ] You think, what have I ever done to alter this world? What will people say? Oh, she had a lot of shoes.” She once described her family’s money as golden handcuffs.
me that once we were at the Chateau way to describe things. sharp. But this shows you this wasn’t a stupid girl. This was a smart girl who just hadn’t found what she was looking for. But when she said it was the golden handcuffs, I asked her, “What do you mean?” And she said, “I live in the lap of luxury, but it’s a prison.
” Casey was searching for her purpose and also for love. She felt like she was ready to become a mother. Ever since her trip to Cambodia, Casey had a longing to adopt a baby. Sale Johnson didn’t agree that Casey was ready since the chaos in her life was just beginning to calm down.
But in March 2007, Casey Johnson started the adoption process. So, let’s talk about this adoption. This is Okay, so how long has this been in the works now? Um I went to Cambodia a year almost 2 years ago and I fell in love with this little girl, a 2 and 1/2 year old named Lavisa. Since you can’t adopt anymore from Cambodia and I got the referral 2 months ago. Mhm.
And a referral means you get the picture of the child that’s yours. Mhm. And I can say it was probably the best day of my life Yeah. to see her photos. I mean, I was hysterically crying and you know, just out of joy. So, I don’t plan on lavishing her with inappropriate things. Right. But when she gets to be like 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, you know, when she says, “Mommy, I want this.
” She’s not going to get everything she wants. Yeah. And I did Yeah. growing up and when it was my turn to handle my own money, it became a problem because I’m I was like, well, I’m used to going to Bergdorf’s and having a personal shopper and buying whatever I want and just charging it to my dad. And when I was given my money to handle by myself, which I do now, you know, I have to watch what I spend.
I can’t go buy 12 pairs of Manolo Blahniks at once. Right. Casey named her baby Ava Monroe after her lifelong idol, Marilyn Monroe. Nicky Hilton was the baby’s godmother and Kathy Hilton threw Casey a huge baby shower. She was really starting to fully embrace motherhood, but the estrangement from her father Woody would still be a very sore spot.
Wanting to mend the relationship, in 2008, Casey hopped on a plane to New York so her father could meet his grandchild. Casey knocked on the door of her father’s Hampton estate and was greeted by Woody’s much younger new fiance, Suzanne Ircha. Husband Woody Johnson owns the Jets, heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune. He’s reportedly worth 3.5 billion dollars.
Suzanne gave us another taste of her jet-set life, her helicopter. Here we are. Let’s go. It brought her to Woody’s sky-rise office above Rockefeller Plaza. That’s where he gushed about his wife. Energetic, passionate, gorgeous. With her job, her husband and their two boys, Suzanne is one happy, powerful woman.
My definition of power is, you know, being able to make a change or a difference. I thank God every day. I’m I’m the luckiest girl in the world and I have to tell you, uh you know, it’s I’m blessed. Suzanne reportedly opened the door and said, “What are you doing here?” Casey explained she was there to see her father when Suzanne allegedly said, “This is my house, so leave.
” Casey stood her ground and refused to leave until her father arrived home to meet her daughter. Suzanne called the police. Woody would show up around the same time as the police officers and reportedly told Casey to get off his property, stay off, and never come back. Casey was absolutely heartbroken. She told a family member, “He won’t have anything to do with me.
If I go to his house, he tells me to get off his property.” It was really heart-wrenching. After this altercation, according to Sale Johnson, Casey would send love letters to her father and leave him voicemails, but he chose to never respond. Within a year of this incident, Casey started to sink back into a dark place and she would inevitably begin spiraling.
That’s when she began dating Courtney Semel, who was the daughter of the former CEO of Yahoo. Courtney is also known for allegedly dating Lindsay Lohan and being in a very public relationship with MTV reality star Tila Tequila. Right here, together again, huh? Love never ends. Not too long. You got to stay away. No, sex is amazing.
Casey and Courtney really connected and understood one another on a deeper level. They both were cut off from their fathers. They were both trying to find themselves and going out in Hollywood was their escape. They even began working on a reality show about heiresses in love so they could make their own money and escape their families’ control.
But their relationship was very tumultuous. In early 2009, it was reported that they had a huge fight leading to a physical altercation where Courtney lit Casey’s hair on fire. But this altercation didn’t stop them from continuing their on-and-off-again relationship. By summer 2009, Casey was fully back in the Hollywood socialite partying lifestyle.
It’s my girl, CASEY JOHNSON. IT WAS GOOD. How was your night? It’s your birthday, no? It was my birthday. I got a lot of drinks with my friends. of that. So, you had fun tonight, had drinks spilled on you. Yeah. You know, you’re looking good both from head to toe, still. I actually went shopping today. I bought this and I’m going out tonight.
You weren’t planning on going out. So, this is something that you threw on. Who’s tracking? All right. Well, happy birthday, birthday girl. Thanks. Good night. Sale Johnson was concerned for her daughter and her granddaughter. Casey was scheduled to be hospitalized at the Cliffside Malibu clinic, but she ended up kicking her mom out and called the police stating her mother was attempting to take her baby.
Sale Johnson said Casey knew in her heart she couldn’t take care of Ava, but she couldn’t ego-wise or illness-wise say, “I know I can’t take care of her like she needs to be cared for.” In August of 2009, Casey was hospitalized due to her diabetes. It was reported that alcohol and drug use was preventing Casey from properly caring for her diabetes as heavy drinking is associated with insulin resistance.
This is when Casey agreed that Ava could be taken care of by family and friends. Kim Richards, known from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and is also Paris Hilton’s aunt, would agree to take care of Ava for a while. British socialite and Casey’s friend, Jasmine Lennard, would also help take care of Ava. Casey would be hospitalized more than once due to her diabetes over the course of the summer and early fall.
Sale Johnson, trying a tough love maneuver, told Casey that she would no longer have access to any money until she entered a rehab program. The stories coming out of the press today say that her family had started to try tough love. They’d had consequences. We’re going to have no contact with you unless you go back to rehab.
And I think that’s a mistake that a lot of families do. They They say, “Hey, we’re not going to talk to you ever again.” And they walk away. Um my my approach is we invite them into a family meeting and that we try to use love as the motivator. I think that’s a much better motivator. thing to do to just walk away from But I think that’s the prevailing wisdom is families, you know, they ask somebody to accept help and when the person says no, they say, “Okay, we have to go to consequences right now.” And they say so often, “I
will never talk to you again unless you do what I tell you to do.” And then they walk away. Sale then took custody of Ava and brought her back to New York. Sale Johnson was really upset because she was handling this all alone. Woody didn’t want anything to do with Casey. Sale said, and quote, “It was too much trouble, but fathers are supposed to take a bullet for their kids and he went the other way.
I can’t defend his behavior for that. I thought it was appalling, but that’s who he is. He doesn’t have the emotional makeup to deal with it.” While Johnson was the heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, there were reports that her father had recently cut her off because she had repeatedly failed at rehab. In 2007, the heiress adopted her daughter Ava from Kazakhstan, but lost custody to her mother when she was found to be living in squalor.
In fact, it’s reported she was recently living off the charity of friends. She had a 2-year-old daughter that she adopted. However, you know, reports are that Casey’s mother actually got custody of the daughter because she was worried that Casey was doing too many drugs. Casey had been running a home in LA, but could no longer make the rent and was on the verge of being evicted.
Her power was shut off and she was hiding the Porsche in the garage to avoid repossession. Her living situation was getting very, very bad. A friend said there were dishes everywhere, rats in the house, and the pool was a swamp. Casey did an interview with US magazine saying her life had been a total nightmare.
She said, “I have tried to be successful and it’s all gone nowhere. I’m a mess over it.” She continued saying that Paris Hilton is her best friend and that she loves her, but hates that she has everything and that everything has gone her way. Shortly after in November of 2009, Casey’s mental health really started to suffer, and she attempted to take She sent a text to Courtenay Semel, her on-and-off-again girlfriend, saying, “I’ve taken a lot of pills, and I’m going to sleep forever.
” Courtenay called an ambulance, where Casey would be admitted into intensive care for 3 days. Sometime in November, after being released from the intensive care unit, Casey broke into Jasmine Lennard’s home. This was the same friend who had cared for Ava previously. Jasmine was allegedly out of town when Casey stole clothes, jewelry, and underwear.
Courtenay Semel recognized some of Jasmine’s clothes when Casey was getting into bed with her and texted Jasmine to call the police. When the police arrived to Casey’s home, they found all of the stolen items, and in the end of November 2009, she was arrested for grand theft. In November, Johnson was arrested for grand theft for allegedly stealing an ex-girlfriend’s clothing and jewelry.
Casey Johnson ended up in prison for some kind of weird robbery. I’m not sure of what or why. Yeah, she actually ended up in prison because or jail because someone accused her of stealing 22 Entering a home, stealing $22,000 worth of lingerie, stealing other items such as mail, and the the woman also accused her of using her All right.
I mean, this is like everything regarding Casey Johnson was just complete scandal and absurdity. Her life just sounded like this huge drama-filled saga. Casey’s friends and family hoped the arrest for burglary would be the catalyst to getting Casey help at a facility, but unfortunately, that would not be the case. Casey was lonely, unhappy, losing her home, and every friend at this point was seemingly pushed away.
Casey appeared to be angry with her ex, Courtenay Semel, for turning her in, leading to the arrest. So, with nowhere else left to turn, Casey wound up on Courtenay’s ex-girlfriend, Tila Tequila’s doorstep. According to Tila, Casey just showed up a mess talk. Almost immediately, Tila was flashing a huge ring, announcing her engagement to Casey in an online video.
According to sources, the engagement ring Tila was wearing was actually the ring Casey gave to Courtenay Semel when they got secretly engaged at the Sundance Film Festival. Recently, Casey Johnson made news for an engagement to reality star Tila Tequila. However, many questioned whether the engagement was real.
Tonight, my beautiful girlfriend has just asked me to marry her, check out this rock. Bam! Look at how beautiful that is. So, who proposed to who? It’s blinding, you watch out, put on your sunglasses. Hey, Tila, who proposed to who? Um of course. Uh this saga is to be continued. Okay. You’ll be seeing a lot more of us.
So, what were you saying about tomorrow? Is there going to be an arrest tomorrow with Courtenay Semel? Yeah, the girl who put my girlfriend to jail. I actually have a police warrant arrest out for her since a year ago. So, I’m going to call the police tomorrow and get her arrested for putting my girlfriend in jail. Uh dirty, okay.
Bam! Don’t mess with the me. Many believe the engagement was a publicity stunt or some kind of stunt to make their ex-girlfriend, Courtenay Semel, jealous. Tila Tequila has no regard for anyone other than herself. Look, when she first announced that she was engaged to Casey Johnson, she made a video with her on Ustream, right? And in the video, she was constantly talking about how rich Casey Johnson is.
Do you know how rich this girl is? She’s really rich. Look at this 17-carat diamond ring. Oh my god, my girl is balling. She’s such a baller. No one gives a [ __ ] She had a little bit of She had a little bit of that in that video. She did. Bam! Yeah. You You got to wear sunglasses. Like, just shut your mouth, Tila Tequila.
Like, I can’t stand her. I can’t stand anything about her. On December 29th, Tila and Casey would allegedly get into a huge fight. Casey would leave her dogs at Tila’s house and go to a family friend’s guest home. From what was known, she spent New Year’s Eve, when she would usually be out all night celebrating with friends, alone in bed.
On January 4th, 2010, Casey Johnson tragically passed away alone guest house of a family friend at just 30 years old. The autopsy and toxicology reports showed that Casey did not have any in her alcohol in her system. The Los Angeles Coroner’s Office released a statement confirming Casey died of natural causes due to her diabetes.
She suffered from diabetic ketoacidosis. Now, DKA is most common amongst people who have type 1 diabetes like Casey had. It is usually caused by missing insulin shots, a clogged insulin pump, or the wrong dose. However, if left untreated, it can lead to diabetic coma and death. The 6-month spiral leading up to Casey’s passing had been chalked full of mental health struggles, financial struggles, drug and alcohol usage, and complete estrangement from her parents.
She couldn’t even see her own daughter, and her friends reported she had a difficult time taking care of her health and would fail to take her insulin correctly, which led to her being hospitalized with diabetic comas on multiple occasions. Another source said that it had nothing to do with Casey not taking her insulin, as she had an insulin pump that delivered her medicine automatically.
They said recently her diabetes had become brittle and hard to manage, which is what led to the diabetic comas. The last known person to see Casey Johnson alive would be a psychiatrist on December 31st, 2009. According to the coroner’s report, Casey’s family requested that she be evaluated. She had an evaluation that Thursday, and the psychiatrist concluded Casey was not And individual, how old are they? 30.
Male or female? Female. You think she’s passed away? I’m pretty sure she’s ice cold and her hands are turning blue. She very often, you know, her medication gets all screwed up, so uh it’s probably because of that. Okay then, okay. All right. Okay. She was young, beautiful, and an heiress to an empire. Now, Casey Johnson’s sudden death has many asking how and why.
It was devastating. It really was very sad. The 30-year-old was found dead at her Los Angeles home Monday. So far, foul play is not suspected. Johnson had diabetes, but it’s unclear whether that had anything to do with her death. It was sad. She was really smart. She was a really smart girl. And you know, they can call her the heiress all they want.
She didn’t act like an heiress. While she may not have acted like an heiress to some, she fit the part. Her great-grandfather founded Johnson & Johnson. Her father is New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. Headlines show Johnson to be a wild child. This video shows her with her bisexual fiance, reality TV star Tila Tequila. has just asked me to marry her, check out this rock.
It could take weeks to determine the cause of death of socialite Casey Johnson. The 30-year-old heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune struggled with personal demons in the last years of her life. Michelle Gielan has more. Casey Johnson was found at her Los Angeles home Monday morning. Police say it appears she died of natural causes.
According to the celebrity website TMZ, she had been dead for several days before her body was discovered. The family released this statement. “The Johnson family is mourning its tragic loss and asks for privacy during this difficult time.” Now, while long-time friends and family were mourning the loss of Casey Johnson, her recently betrothed, Tila Tequila, was in the headlines non-stop.
So, Tila Tequila went outside her Hollywood home and informed the world that she’s got an interview all set with Larry King. Watch. I’m not doing any interviews. I just wanted to Larry King. Hi, Larry. All right. Give him a nice smile for you. Hey, it’s very nice. Can I get a nice smile right here? Right here.
You’re so beautiful. Well, Tila, sorry, but we’ve got some breaking news for you. We confirmed today that you’re not going to be on Larry King. The interview has been canceled. Steven, I’m actually though starting to feel sorry for Tila, and I I really don’t understand how she doesn’t get what an embarrassing spectacle she’s been making of herself since Casey’s death.
Yeah, I I really feel bad for her, and she’s I think in a way making light of such a tragedy. Yeah, they had a relationship. Yes, her death it was awful, and I feel for her, but she doesn’t know how to express her feelings, and in front of a camera is all she’s ever known. So, this is how she’s handling grief. I I just don’t buy it, and I think she needs some help.
Yeah, and a lot of people are having sympathy for Tila. In fact, Valerie in Pennsylvania called into Showbiz on Call to say that she thinks Tila’s behavior is just her way of dealing with the loss of a loved one. Listen. I believe that that Tila Tequila girl, I feel bad for her. She and this Casey were in love.
It was very public, and I feel bad that she doesn’t have anybody around her, and she’s in I believe shock and crazy from the grief. And prematurely, people she does have around her are the paparazzi, and she’s doing what she knows best, and it’s to play a part. Kim, do you buy what Valerie is saying about Tila, or do you think that Tila has really been making an embarrassing spectacle of herself? That she’s just been humiliating herself? You You know, it just looks like Tila is making this all about her. I mean, even that video
that you just showed, she’s posing for the camera, she’s smiling. She doesn’t look really depressed. Yes, it’s possible this is how she’s dealing with it, but you know, the fact is since Casey’s death, since we learned about this, I’ve learned more about Tila Tequila and her childhood and the bad things that happened to her years ago than I have about Casey.
I she’s made it all about her and I think that’s why people are not feeling a lot of sympathy for Tila. You know, I just want to let you know that I never felt this way about anybody else. I I I think I love you. So, don’t think I’m crazy when I tell you this, but if you ever hurt me, I’ll I’ll kill you. Tila Tequila, a popular reality television star from the early 2000s, who only knew Casey for a few weeks, was garnering a lot of media attention with her tweets and her new self-run gossip blog posts about Casey immediately after her death. She would
tweet that she was seeking custody and adopting Casey’s daughter, Ava, whom Tila had never spent time with. Tila would speculate the cause of death was prescription drugs prior to the autopsy and toxicology being released, which disproved this claim. Police is saying apparent natural causes, but others are saying apparent drug overdose.
The girl had a history, right? Well, yeah, well, first of all, she also had a history of diabetes and she had been in diabetic comas before. So, that’s where everything gets a little gray and her girlfriend, actually her fiance, Tila Tequila, has said from an anonymous source that she thinks that she used way too many prescription drugs.
So, they’re saying, police are saying it’s natural causes, but we won’t know till toxicology report gets back and that’s going to take a few weeks. That’ll take weeks. And what about the autopsy? Yeah, that those reports will probably come back in a few days depending on when her their family says that they can perform an autopsy. We don’t know when that’s going to be.
I would say a couple of weeks. But, this is a woman who on paper had it all, Joyce. She was an heiress to the Johnson & Johnson family. She was beautiful, but she did have erratic crazy behavior going on and so no one really knows right now. Tila would then begin unleashing on Casey’s friends and family.
Nicky Hilton and Bijou Phillips would go to Tila’s house to pick up Casey’s dogs. Tila began accusing Nicky Hilton of trying to euthanize Casey’s dogs so they could be buried with Casey. Nicky, you got a dog? Get back. Get off the roadway. Is that one of Casey’s? Get off the roadway. Get out of the roadway. Nicky, can you say anything why you’re here right now? Why was it important to you? You got a dog, too? Tila.
Are you going to try to get the dogs back? No, because they’re putting the dogs down. They’re putting the dogs down? Tila, did you say they’re putting the dogs down? Yeah. Putting them to sleep? Why? Bury her They’re burying her with them. Is this true? Are Are you saying they’re having the dogs put to sleep now? Oh, wait, here.
Hey, hey, they got one more back. I don’t care about the dogs, but Hey. Tila, this is upsetting you? Hey. I don’t care. I’m telling you they don’t care. Why why they don’t care Tila? It’s all right, babe. Tila. It’s okay, Tila. We’re here. It’s all right. It’s all right. We’re with you, Tila. Oh god, sorry. Tila, what happened, Tila? Tila, come here. Tell them what happened, Tila.
They just WANT TO PUT THE DOGS TO SLEEP. WHY, TILA? Why does Nicky get to take them? I don’t know. I don’t know what resolution they came to. Oh, so they agreed to a resolution? Absolutely. That’s what That’s why we’re here. That’s who was in a dispute over who who’s got the right to the dogs. So, the the problem’s been solved? The You just saw the dogs drive away in that black Land Rover or whatever.
Do you know why Tila was saying that they’re going to put them to sleep or something about putting to sleep? She wasn’t saying that that she feared that that would happen. Tila, how did it get to the point where they actually got the dogs out of your house? Cuz the police said that the family members of Casey needed to take it because those are the rightful ones to do so, but Nicky was able to do it.
Um well, Do you know why the dogs weren’t allowed to stay at your house? They were here last night to stay at my house and they’re totally fine and Casey loved the dogs at my house and that’s where they’ve always been. Right. I don’t But, So, how did they When was the last time Casey was staying here? the dogs’ fate and where they were taking the dogs and um you know, I just agreed to So, dogs left I was worried about the dogs’ fate and where they were taking the dogs and um you know, I just agreed to So, How do you feel about the fact that
that Nicky has taken the dogs? Um I just hope that they don’t put the dogs down. Um Why did they say they’d put the dogs to sleep? Yes. I just They promised me that they wouldn’t, so hopefully they’re not and that’s why I gave them back the dogs. Okay. I don’t want to see the dogs to be put Are you in good terms with Nicky right now? Um I’ve had a long day, guys, so I’ll see you back.
Tila, what are you doing? Tell me how you’re feeling in terms of your grieving. Is it Yeah, it’s been pretty hard here. The dogs Everybody has been blaming everybody. Everybody wants to blame me. They want to blame me. They come to my house. Were you in New York on Sunday? Uh trying to avoid all the happy days.
The dogs were taken to a vet for a checkup and were released to the Johnson family alive and well. The feuding would only continue as Tila, just days after Casey’s death, would write a blog post about Jasmine Lennard, who Casey allegedly stole from. Casey Johnson situation, were you ever dating her? Absolutely not.
Absolutely not. In her dreams, perhaps. In her dreams. In reality, no. So, so what really went on for her to get arrested? What did she allegedly take? Allegedly. It’s not a matter of what she took, it’s a matter of what she left. Let’s put it this way, very little. The television. I still have TMZ. Nice. That’s always good.
That’s all I need, right? Yes. My jewelry and my underwear and go TMZ. She stole your underwear. Jasmine, did you call the police or what? Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. What would you like to see happens to her, Casey Johnson and the Johnson & Johnson family? The Johnson & Johnson family have been completely charming to me and they support me prosecuting her, so Really? I’m very grateful for that.
Wait, is it true that she’s been cut off from the family because she’s a really problematic child? That’s what I heard. Her family business is her family business. As far as I’m concerned, I hope she gets what she deserves. Tila’s blog posts would blame Jasmine Lennard for ruining Casey’s life. Jasmine spoke out saying Casey was a fragile, beautiful, witty, wonderful girl who was desperately looking for love. Did I love her? Yes.
I tried so hard to save her, but I couldn’t. Jasmine was also very upset with Tila and the spectacle she was creating around Casey’s death, tweeting out @officialTila, you never even knew her. You have known her for a total of 1 month. You took advantage of someone in her weakest moment. You enabled her death and prevented her from getting the help she so desperately needed for your own selfish purposes.
She was a classy woman who would have never had anything to do with you had she been in her right mind. Jasmine would then send Tila a cease and desist over Tila’s blog post. Tila’s publicist would even publicly step down after reading the blog posts, stating some matters need to remain private and away from media attention.
And due to the recent events, they needed to part ways. You say, according to TMZ, you last talked to Casey on December 28th. Um Apparently, there was an argument. And okay, then I’ll I’ll just say what I what I’ve been told and you correct me. Apparently, there was an argument. Casey’s last tweet, which has been widely reported, was on December 29th, the next day. Yes.
And of course, she was tragically found dead on January 4th. So, there are those who wonder if you were so close to her and the police say she could have been dead for days, why not try to spend New Year’s Eve with her? Uh there is this gap of time and uh people are wondering, well, if you were that close, why weren’t you around? I actually last spoke with her on the 30th.
Late late on the 30th. And uh we had gotten a fight a few days before that over her dogs because I said, “Casey, your dogs are pooping all over my bed and Elvis is not trained and it’s they’re a bad influence on my dog, which is trained, because once they poop all over the house, my dog, which is trained, she’ll start pooping all over the house and they started peeing on the the pillows.
” So, we got in a little argument about that, but it wasn’t a big deal. And uh the last thing we you know, we made up and the last text I ever got from her was, “Yes, ma’am. I love you.” And that was the last text I got from her. But, I spoke with her on the 30th and then I had to fly back to Texas for New Year’s Eve and I said, “You know what? I am going to leave town for a little bit to take care of the family business.
” Which is something private between Casey and I and my family. Um and I said within those You were out of town on New Year’s Eve, is what you’re saying. Yes, I flew out on the uh the 31st. And you came back I came back immediately when I found out about Casey’s passing. Tila would grow even more angry as the Johnson family would not allow Tila to attend the funeral.
Woody Johnson told a reporter that his long-estranged daughter had been, quote, “trying to find her own identity. She was rebellious. She made some judgment errors. Been there, done that. She had to take responsibility and it couldn’t be me pushing or her mother or her doctor. She would ultimately have to do it herself. You knew the girl.
I did. I did. tell me what you knew about her personally. She was one of the saddest girls I’ve ever met. And and and I don’t mean that in a negative way. She had everything that should have made her happy. a very wealthy girl. and pretty, very pretty. beautiful girl and smart. She was not a stupid girl.
What she had was that awful attitude of so what like everything I do nothing can be bigger than what my family did. Yeah. So she almost was like a cursed by this family name and this family fortune and she would call me when she was in town to have dinner and she really didn’t know me that well but there was nobody else there.
Like she really was by herself. just reading that they didn’t find her body for several days. And that’s why a maid a maid found it like just you know that her maid found it and then the police are saying that she might have been dead for a few days and everyone’s asking everyone’s asking well why didn’t her fiance where was her fiance? Well, they were allegedly fighting.
So Tila Tequila hadn’t spoken to her in a few days and she said that her phone was off. So that’s why they’re saying that no one knew she was dead. She also grew up being alone and she was most comfortable by herself. Like she knew how to be alone. She didn’t know how to have friends. She didn’t know how to have What do you what do you make of this? I I look at it as somebody who has been through rehab time and time again and the stories coming out of the press today say that her family had started to try tough love.
They’d have consequences. We’re going to have no contact with you unless you go back to rehab. Ava Monroe Casey’s daughter was a toddler when her mother passed away. Sale Johnson and her then husband Ahmad Rashad would adopt Casey’s daughter and raise her together and despite divorcing in 2013 they to this day continue to co-parent Ava. Let me ask you Elliot.
You represented Casey Johnson. I did. Tell us about her and what do you think about everything that’s going on surrounding her untimely death? You know um I’ve not talked publicly about my relationship with Casey until this moment but this seems like a fine moment. I felt that she was a tremendously misunderstood young lady.
She was a very unhappy person. I think that part of the message in in the personification of uh is simply this. Um you can be an heir or an heiress. You can be rich. You can have one of those extraordinarily well famous last names and which she did. Um and to quote an old Beatle tune money can’t buy you love, you know.
So 30 years old is too young to have left us. And if there are people who loved Casey um I wish she was missed. Casey’s idol has always been Marilyn Monroe. She once said and quote, I see a lot of similarities between us. Her life makes me sad. I don’t think she was very happy. She was just very very complicated and sort of a deep person and nobody realized that.
They thought she was some dumb blonde and she wasn’t. She was a smart smart broad. I’d love to be like the new Marilyn. She was so fabulous. I just have a soft spot for Marilyn. It girl’s do’s and don’ts. Always say thank you. Always kiss on two cheeks. Bad it girl thing to do don’t go for boyfriends. You can look chic and then be very rude to a waiter and that proves that you’re not an it girl because no it girl or man whatever do that.
Do you want to come at 9:00 to Serafina for drinks? Yeah? For food? Yes, for food. Okay. You think Marilyn Monroe is an it girl? I think they were it girls then and I think they’re still considered it girls now. And I think that sometimes people look at me and think oh Casey Johnson, she’s stupid, she’s blonde, she’s an heiress, blah blah blah.
