Bling Ring leader Rachel Lee opens up about robbing celebs in new documentary
Los Angeles, California - In a new HBO documentary, Rachel Lee of the infamous Bling Ring burglary gang tells the story of her rise and fall as leader of the notorious celebrity-targeting group.
The Ringleader: The Case of the Bling Ring is an upcoming documentary from HBO. In it, Lee (33) will open up about the case for the first time since she served prison time for the string of robberies.
The robberies took place from 2008 - 2009 when Lee, who was 19 at the time, led a group of teens to burglarize the homes of celebrities by tracking their whereabouts via social media.
Victims of the Bling Ring included Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox, Brian Austin Green, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Audrina Patridge.
In total, the gang managed to get away with over $3 million worth of cash, jewelry, and other personal and luxury goods.
"If you go into a celebrity home, most likely you're going to see a lot cooler things or nicer things," Lee explains in the film. "But going up to Paris Hilton's home, I felt like my heart was going to combust [outside] of me."
"Being inside the home, it was almost like I was on a set; It didn't seem real," she said. "People actually live like this?"
Lee recalls how she became addicted to performing break-ins as they began to give her a rush of adrenaline, adding, "When the crime was over I felt so high and clear-headed. I really liked that feeling a lot."
As the gang began to gain some notoriety in Hollywood, the pressure became too much for those involved to deal with and their crime wave inevitably came to an end.
What is Rachel Lee's life like after the events of the Bling Ring?
Lee was eventually sold out to police by friend and accomplice Nick Prugo. She ended up accepting a plea deal wherein she was sentenced to serving four years in state prison.
Since her release from prison, Lee has achieved sobriety, entered into a new career in hairdressing, and considers herself fully reformed.
Director Erin Lee Carr admitted to USA Today that it was a challenge getting Lee to agree to the film, as she was unsure that enough time had passed.
"She had started robbing these homes from an ego place, and she felt like if she were to speak to somebody at the time, it would just be going back to her own bad ways," Carr explained. "She's more settled in her job as a hairdresser now, and she's out about her life at work. So she finally, finally felt comfortable doing it."
The Ringleader: The Case of the Bling Ring will premiere this Sunday, October 1 on HBO at 9 PM, and will also be available to stream on Max.
Cover photo: Arturo Holmes / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP