When you’re in Hollywood, everything is possible. Aside from the glitz and glamour, chart-topping movies, and numerous celebrities being idolized by the youth today, Tinseltown is full of secrets revealed, sex, violence, and scandals that can break or (usually) make a celebrity’s career. Despite the public humiliation and thousands of outbursts, scandals even boosted a celebrity’s popularity, paving the way to hundreds of opportunities.
As people always say, as long as there are celebrities and as long as Hollywood is around, there will always be scandals. The majority of Hollywood’s biggest names are no stranger to this – from drug abuse to suicide attempts to police chases to aggressive behaviors towards the press and fans – everything can be found there. Nonetheless, here are 5 of Tinseltown’s biggest names that grabbed headlines and definitely changed the Hollywood landscape.
1. Marilyn Monroe – John F. Kennedy Affair
Even the president of the United States has no escape to the beauty and charm of Marilyn Monroe, Hollywood’s most glamorous sex symbol. It’s no wonder that even President Kennedy, United States’ most dashing president ever to live in the White House, fell into the trap.
Despite the protection from the Secret Service, it is hard to conceal the fact that the president and Marilyn Monroe had an affair. According to the many observers, various encounters between the two will show flirtatious acts towards each other. It was even reported that the president invited Monroe in his Palm Springs home when the First Lady was not around. Several rumors also circulated that even the president’s brother, Robert, is helping in arranging the ‘meetings’ between the two, even inside the White House.
And of course, who could forget Monroe’s performance during the president 45th birthday celebration in Madison Square Garden? Aside from her tight-fitting dress where she wore nothing under it, observers believe that there was really something going on between them, thanks to her seductive rendition of Happy Birthday, Mr. President.
2. Robert Lowe Sex Scandal
Long before YouTube or any other celebrities who had sex scandals scattered all over the Internet, there was Robert Lowe, one of the members of “Brat Pack,” a group of young and attractive actors who dominated the cinemas during the 1980s. Back in 1988, 25-year old Lowe attended the Democratic National Convention and was supporting presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. Feeling playful, he met two young women in an Atlanta bar and invited them to go with him to his hotel room where they committed carnal acts. Worse, Lowe videotaped himself with the two girls while doing it.
After going out of the bathroom, Lowe found out that the two women disappeared, one of which is only 16 years old, together with the videotape and his money.
A portion of the video was eventually leaked to the press, causing Lowe public humiliation and criticisms. Nonetheless, he was able to settle with the teenager and avoided sexual misconduct charges and at the same time, performed community service for 20 hours.
3. Lindsay Lohan and Her Troubled Behavior
This once innocent little girl who played Annie and Hallie in The Parent Trap is definitely not so innocent anymore. The rollercoaster ride is not even enough to describe what this former Disney star has been through. Over the years, Lohan had a reputation for bad breakups, high tolerance for parties, numerous mug shots, arrests for DUI charges, possession of cocaine, relationship with DJ Samantha Ronson, continuous violations of her probations, rendered numerous hours of community service, and going in and out of rehab. Because of this behavior, producers dropped her as one of the leading casts and even received the ‘Worst Actress’ award from Razzie.
And just when Lindsay’s about to make a comeback by appearing in numerous TV shows, she has done it again, colliding with a dump truck on her way to the set, getting arrested for assault, and her publicizing her fight with her mom.
4. Paris Hilton’s ‘One Night in Paris’
Another living proof that scandals do work wonders in your career, Paris Hilton definitely made a name for herself and not just an heiress of the Hilton Hotel Empire. The video, One Night in Paris, features Hilton having sexual intercourse with her then-boyfriend, Rick Salomon. Although it was not intended for release, several clips from the video were leaked to the press and went viral on the web.
Upon the release of the video, both Hilton and Salomon filed cases against each other. Rumors even speculated that the release was intentional in order to help promote Hilton’s reality TV show, The Simple Life. Hilton denied such rumors, arguing that she knows nothing and has no hand about the release.
5. Michael Jackson’s Post-Thriller era
The King of Pop is no stranger to scandals. In fact, he has been involved in various outbursts including a child molestation charges filed against him by a 13-year-old boy back in 1993 where he allegedly paid $15 million for settlement and divorce cases from Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe. He was also involved in controversies involving plastic surgery which radically changed the King of Pop’s physical image and his admission to a British reporter about him sleeping in bed with young boys. And of course, who will forget the November 2002 incident when Jackson was caught dangling his 11-month old son, known as ‘Blanket,’ from his hotel balcony that outraged millions of people around the world.
Even his death remains a mystery and a shock. Weeks before his concert, which marks as the ‘final curtain call’ of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson was found dead in his Los Angeles home, no longer breathing and had barely a detectable pulse.
Despite their status symbol, Hollywood celebrities are still humans, capable of making mistakes. Although they are able to bounce back from public humiliation that ruined their name once upon a time, they will always be living proof that everybody deserves a second chance.