People have always been fascinated by celebrity gossip, but the 21st century has taken that fascination to the level of obsession. There are tabloid newspapers, TV shows, magazines, and hundreds of websites devoted to celebrity news – giving us ordinary folk a glimpse into the lavish and luxurious lives of the rich and famous.
Even though sales of celebrity magazines are starting to fall, that doesn’t mean that our appetite for gossip is diminishing. It just means that we are getting all the hottest news from another source-the internet.
5.
PAM’S STARRING ROLE
These days news that a celebrity’s bedroom antics have been leaked online is barely enough to raise an eyebrow. Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian have even used the so-called sex tapes to launch their celebrity careers. Back in the 1990s, Baywatch star, Pamela Anderson, and her rock musician husband, Tommy Lee, became one of the first celeb couples to have their sex tape leaked online when a workman at their home, angry over a pay dispute, stole their x-rated home movie and sold it to the highest online bidder. While it is difficult to say if the scandal had any impact on either of their careers, it did see the couple become the butt of jokes and comedy routines for many years afterwards.
4.
BROWNED OFF
Music stars Rihanna and Chris Brown were once a Noughties power couple, the envy of fans all over the world, until the fateful night of the 2009 Grammy awards. After attending a party together, the duo got into an argument, which then led to Brown slapping, punching, and even choking the Umbrella singer. Rihanna not only broke up with Brown, but also reported him to the police. He was later sentenced to five years probation for felony, assault, and the photos of a bruised and battered Rihanna have become one of the most famous celeb gossip images of recent years.
3.
NATALIE’S TRAGIC DEATH
Natalie Wood was a huge movie star in her day, starring alongside James Dean, in the iconic ‘Rebel Without a Cause,’ and taking the lead role of Maria in ‘West Side Story.’ When she and her husband, Robert Wagner, joined their friend Christopher Walken on a yachting trip, no-one had any idea of the tragedy that would follow. Natalie’s body was found the next day in the water, having apparently drowned. However, her death has become the subject of Hollywood legend, with many suspecting that Wagner became jealous of his wife’s friendship with Walken and pushed her off the boat. Some specualte that perhaps Walken had a hand in her death. Or maybe it was a freak accident.
2.
THE ACTRESS AND THE PRESIDENT
There has been so much speculation about the nature of the relationship between starlet Marilyn Monroe, and US President, John F Kennedy. Their rumoured romance has been the subject of countless books and movies, and the story is only made more tragic and scandalous by Marilyn Monroe’s early death, apparently due to an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. Even her tragic death has been tainted with scandal, with some suggesting that Monroe took her own life after Kennedy ended their relationship – and others suspecting that the powerful Kennedy clan had her killed because she posed a threat to JFK’s political career.
1
DRIVEN TO DRINK
Mel Gibson had always enjoyed a reputation as one of Hollywood’s good guys, thanks in part to his strong religious beliefs. However, this goody-two-shoes image was lost forever the night a police officer pulled him over for suspected drink driving. Not only did he make sexually explicit comments towards the female officer, but also went on an extremely un-Christian rant about Jewish people, claiming on camera that they were responsible for “all the wars in the world.” His claim that the incident was completely out of character was shown to be false when he was recorded a few years later verbally abusing his then girlfriend, and threatening to burn down her house.