Wife abuse is variously known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, family violence, battery and intimate partner abuse. Intimate relationships include marriage, but do not exclude other relationships like cohabitation and dating. Interestingly the term wife abuser is also used for tight sleeveless shirts, usually worn by men. Wife abuse or domestic violence applies to various violent acts including physical aggression like hitting, biting, kicking, pushing away, slapping and throwing objects. Wife abuse may also include sexual or mental abuse including domineering, intimidation, neglecting or depriving economically. Wife abuse also means unlawful imprisonment, harassment, coercion, trespassing or kidnapping. Whereas wife beating is generally considered illegal in U.S., developing countries may take a lenient view in this case. A UNICEF survey revealed that 90% of women aged 15-49 in Jordan considered that a husband was justified in beating the wife under certain circumstances. In 2010 the United Arab Emirates Supreme Court ruled that a man could physically discipline his wife as long as no physical mark was caused by the act.

1. Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard Tyson, better known as Mike Tyson, was born on June 30, 1966. He is the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. He has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. He was known for ferocious and controversial behavior in and out of the ring. He was married thrice and had eight children from different wives. His first wife, Givens, was with him from February 7, 1988 to February 14, 1989. At the Larry King Live show, Givens told the host, Joy Behar, about Tyson’s wife beating. Givens, who is also the spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, said ‘It’s been torture. It’s been pure hell. It’s been worse than anything I could possibly imagine… He shakes. He pushes. He swings. He — sometimes I think he’s trying to scare me. There — there’s — there’s — there are times when — or there were times when it happened when I thought that I could handle it’. The world champion had been defeated by his own anger.

2. O.J.Simpson

Orenthal James Simpson, better known as O.J. Simpson and nicknamed The Juice, was born on July 9, 1947. He is a retired American football player. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. He was probably the most famous wife abuser. On June 13, 1994 Simpson’s ex wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman were found murdered in the Brentwood area of Los Angles. On June 20, 1994 he was accused of these murders. Breaking the normal practice of using only guilty or not guilty in the court, Simpson pleaded “Absolutely, one hundred percent, not guilty.’ He was acquitted of the murder charges after a lengthy and highly publicized criminal trial known as ‘People vs Simpson’.

3. Charlie Sheen

Carlos Irwin Estevez, better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, was born to Martin Sheen and Janet Templeton on September 3, 1965, in New York City, New York. He has performed in numerous films and was the highest paid TV actor. He was paid US $1.8 million per episode of Two and a Half Men. On December 25, 2009, Christmas morning, he was arrested in Aspen, Colorado, for assaulting his wife, Brooke Muller. He was charged with felony menacing, third degree assault, and criminal mischief. He was released from the jail the same day after posting a $8,500 bond. On August 2, 2010, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in a drug rehab center, 30 days of probation, and 36 hours of anger management.

4. Carlos Monzon

Carlos Monzon was born to Roque Monzon and Amalia Ledesma on August 7, 1942 in San Javier, Santa Fe, Argentina and died on January 8, 1995 at the age of 52 years. He was an Argentine professional boxer. He held the undisputed Middleweight championship for seven years. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He was very popular in Argentina but he was also known as a wife beater. While vacationing with Alicia Muniz, with whom he had had a child, he threw her out of balcony from the second floor. After throwing her, he jumped from the balcony and was hurt. He was found guilty of murder in 1989 and was sentenced to eleven years imprisonment.

5. Elvis Aaron Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S. and died on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42 years. He is commonly known as Elvis and is a cultural icon. He is considered the king of Rock and Roll. He won a Grammy Lifetime Award at the age of thirty-eight years. His personal life was troubled and his wife reported of his sexual, mental and physical harassment. The couple became more distant after Presley came to know of her affair with a Karate instructor.

6. Sean Justin Penn

Sean Justin Penn was born on August 17, 1960. He is an American actor and film director and a social activist. He has won the Academy Award twice for his outstanding performances in Mystic River and Milk. He has also won the Golden Globe Award. He married pop star Madonna in 1985. In June 1987, Penn hit Madonna on her head with a baseball bat. Madonna visited the Cedars Sinai hospital for an X-ray. Penn was charged with felony domestic assault for which he pleaded to misdemeanor. Madonna and Penn were divorced in 1989, primarily on account of Penn’s being a wife abuser.

7. Tommy Mottola

Tommy Mottola, the music mogul, married Maria Carey in 1993 and divorced her after five years. Prior to marrying her, he ensured that she broke up from her current boyfriend, and he also took control of her songwriters. He was too obsessive and isolated her from family and friends. In 2009 she admitted that she had been victimized emotionally and mentally by her husband. She told Larry King, ‘Abuse has several categories’¦ emotionally, mentally, in other ways. It’s scary. I just think you get into a situation and you feel locked in’¦ For me to really get out of it was difficult because there was a connection that was not only a marriage, but a business where the person was in control of my life.’

8. Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Kim Coppola commonly known by his stage name Nicolas Cage, was born on January 7, 1964 at Long Beach, California, U.S. He has appeared in more than sixty films, including Moonstruck, Raising Arizona, and Leaving Las Vegas, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Cage very often mistreated his wife Alice Kim. He was arrested on April 15, 2011 for domestic abuse. He was found disturbing the public peace, grabbing his wife’s upper arm, as if he was intoxicated. He was taken into police custody until a bail of $11,000 was posted. He was asked to appear in the court on May 31, 2011. He was arrested on account of domestic abuse.

9. Chris Brown

Christopher Maurice Brown was born to Joyce Hawkins and Clinton Brown, on May 5, 1989 in Tappahannock, Virginia. His self-titled first studio album was a double platinum hit. He is considered as one of the most famous wife beaters. In 2009, media focused upon his beating the famous singer and his intimate partner Rihanna. He beat Rehanna very badly, and her face was swollen. Rihanna sued him and he was sentenced to five years of probation and six months community service. He publicly apologized for his misbehavior.

10. Ike Turner

Ike Wister Turner was born to Beatrice Cushenberry and Isaiah Luster Turner on November 5, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S. and died on December 12, 2007 at the age of 76 years in San Marcos, California, U.S. He is best known his works with his former wife Tina Turner. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and into the St.Louis Walk of Fame in 2001. In her autobiography, Tina Turner mentioned Ike Turner’s beating and this damaged his repute. He confessed to his erratic behavior. He was addicted to cocaine and was sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment for drug abuse.

Conclusion

Prior to 1800s, wife beating was not uncommon in western societies. An exception was when the 1641 Body of Liberties of the Massachusetts Bay Colonies declared that a married woman should be ‘free from bodilie correction or stripes by her husband’. With the changed times, social norms too have changed. In old western societies some practices like wife beating, abhorred in modern times, were not uncommon, but some of the modern norms, like gay marriages, were unheard of in those days. It is different viewpoint, that at times makes things look weird for some people, while they are considered just normal by others.