Scandalous Facts About Hollywood Celebrities
Plenty of other forums attract their fair share of scandal—from politics to music to high society—but no one does scandal better than Hollywood. The mix of beautiful people, big egos, and obscene amounts of money is a winning combination that has kept gossip rags afloat from the very first days of silent film. Whether it’s fiery feuds, steamy affairs, tragic deaths, or just plain bizarre behavior, Hollywood stars just seem prone to scandal. So air out your dirty laundry to these outrageous facts about Hollywood’s most scandal-stricken celebrities.
1. Charlie Needs to Mediate this One
Movie sets are full of ego, but what happens when one actor blatantly criticizes another in the middle of production? In Charlie’s Angels, Lucy Liu allegedly attacked Bill Murray, screaming and throwing punches at his face. Was she justified? Moments before, Murray had stopped a scene in progress, apparently in order to compare Liu to her co-stars Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz. He praised the two other actresses, then pointed to Liu and asked, “What in the hell are you doing here? You can’t act!” Nice Bill, real nice. He was replaced by Bernie Mac for the sequel.
2. Quit Joking Around
Suicide Squad was a critical flop of a film, but the cast seemed to be having a blast on and off set—except for the presence of Jared Leto. Leto insisted on staying in character as the Joker, which involved sending fellow cast members used condoms and anal beads. “The Joker is somebody who doesn’t really respect things like personal space or boundaries,” Leto explained to the media. Oh, that excuses it then.
3. My Bloody Valentine
It seems like eons ago that Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton were still together. And wearing necklaces of each other’s blood. According to Thornton, it was Jolie’s idea that “it would be interesting and romantic if we took a little razor blade and sliced our fingers, smeared a little blood on these lockets and you wear it around your neck just like you wear your son or daughter’s baby hair in one.” In terms of romantic gestures, we’d have gone with the hair thing; more Victorian, much less painful, and way more hygienic.
4. An American Purveyor of Ladies in Paris
Before James Lipton hosted Inside the Actor’s Studio, he spent a year in Paris working as—to put this sensitively—an agent for escorts. He is fairly open about his past, insisting that the French treat their women well, and referring to this job as one of those “rites of passage, no question about it. It was a great year of [his] life.”
5. Banned from China
Pitt has been barred from entering China. His role in the movie, Seven Years in Tibet, was apparently controversial for the Chinese in terms of their beliefs. On October 13, 1997, Time Magazine spoke to Pitt who explained: “Reporters ask me what I feel China should do about Tibet. Who cares what I think China should do? I’m an actor! They hand me a script. I act. I’m here for entertainment.”
6. Terrible Loss
Very tragically, Mark Ruffalo’s brother Scott was shot in the head on December 1, 2008. Despite attempts to save his life, Scott passed away a week later. The case remains unsolved as of 2018.
7. Unshaven Efforts
In 2009, Joaquin Phoenix tried to convince everyone that he had “lost it.” Donning a full mangy beard, sunglasses, and long hair, Phoenix announced that he was quitting acting to pursue a more fulfilling career in rap music. This erratic behavior was later revealed to be part of a long-term performance art piece for a mockumentary he was making with Casey Affleck titled I’m Still Here. That film made less than $570,000 in worldwide box office, so we’re not sure if all that off-putting acting-out was worth it.
8. You Get a Broken Heart! And You Get a Broken Heart!
Matt Damon dated his Good Will Hunting co-star Minnie Driver for a year, but the relationship ended when Damon denied having a girlfriend on the Oprah Winfrey Show. What happened to the chivalry of sending a text?
9. Just Don’t Do It
Even Stevens and Transformers star Shia LaBeouf provides no shortage of eccentric content for his fans. Just see his “JUST DO IT” and “Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf” memes, his “I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE” paper bag performance art, and his live streaming of reactions to his entire filmography. Much less whimsical—and more scary—were stunts like when LaBeouf chased down a homeless man down Times Square over a McDonald’s bag, and then harassed people at a performance of Cabaret. This was all in the same day.
10. The Real Story
Long before she married John Travolta, Kelly Preston was engaged to Charlie Sheen—until one night, when he accidentally shot her in the arm. Well, as the story goes, she was accidentally shot somehow, and shortly after, they broke off their engagement. For decades, there’s been wild speculation about that night, and Sheen has finally addressed the rumors and revealed what really happened that night.
He claims that while he was downstairs making coffee one morning, she picked up a pair of his pants and his revolver fell out of the pocket, going off. She was apparently clipped by shrapnel, and he helped her wrap her arm and called 911. We hope at least he got a gun safety lecture from the first responders out of it. Of course, that’s all according to Sheen—we’d love to hear Preston’s side of the story.
