Meeks’ mugshot shot him to viral celebrity (Stockton Police Department via Getty Images)

Jeremy Meeks became one of the internet’s most unlikely celebrities in 2014 when a police mugshot, showing his piercing blue eyes and chiseled cheekbones, spread rapidly across social media, earning him nicknames such as “Hot Felon” and “Prison Bae”. That attention would later open doors into modelling and film. But Meeks has now described how the same viral fame made parts of his time in custody harder, including limiting contact with his own family.

From Stockton arrest to global attention

Meeks was arrested in 2014 in Stockton as part of a multi-agency operation involving federal and local law enforcement. He faced five weapons charges and a gang-related charge after police said he was found with a semiautomatic handgun and extended magazines. When the Stockton Police Department posted his mugshot on Facebook, the response was immediate and unusually large, with tens of thousands of likes and comments. According to the BBC, a spokesperson at the time said they had not seen that level of engagement on any previous post.

Meeks’ mugshot shot him to viral celebrity (Stockton Police Department via Getty Images)

The image quickly circulated far beyond police pages, turning Meeks into a viral figure while he was still in custody. He has since said he did not initially understand what “going viral” meant, only realising the scale when he began seeing his own image repeatedly on television inside the jail. In 2015, he was convicted of felony firearm possession and sentenced to 27 months in prison. He was released in March 2016 after serving around 13 months.

Fame inside jail: visits, letters and disruption

During an episode of Inside True Crime, published on Sunday, 22 March, Meeks said the attention translated into constant contact from strangers while he was being held at Sacramento County Jail. He said inmates were limited to two visits per week, but those slots were often taken by people he did not know. “I’m getting random people visiting me and I’m denying them before I even walk up the stairs into the section and I’m like, ‘I don’t know who that person is!’ I could see him through the glass. I’m like, ‘I don’t know who that person is!’” Even when he refused the visits, he said they were still counted. “They’re like, ‘Well, I’m still taking your visit. You can deny it, but I’m still going to take your visit for the week.’ So now my family can’t come because I got f—ing random people coming to see me and it was so frustrating.” The attention extended to mail as well. Meeks said that within days of the mugshot spreading, he was receiving hundreds of letters. “I would say on the third day, that’s when just… floods and floods of letters from all over the world. I was probably getting 300 letters a day,” he said. “It was just too much. I’m getting naked pictures, money orders — just all kinds of money being sent in.” He also described the effect on court appearances, saying media presence surged. “Every time I went into the courtroom there was 100 reporters and everyone was fighting each other for better angles and the judge is screaming. It was like a zoo in there.”