The #MeToo Movement has become instrumental in unmasking one of Hollywood’s deepest,
darkest secrets—a longstanding culture of sexual abuse fueled,
perpetrated, and kept hidden by power imbalance.
Oprah: Speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.
For once, victims have become empowered to speak up and share their stories, consequently exposing
a number of high-profile personalities capitalized on their influence and celebrity to get away with
sexual misconduct. Let’s deep dive into the 7 Biggest Sex Scandals That Rocked Hollywood.
What’s up, fact-natics! This is Discovery Amuse,
serving up your daily dose of the most outrageous, outlandish, and out-of-this-world fun facts!
Our number one pick will go down in history as one of Hollywood’s most
sinister predators, so stay tuned for that.
Trigger warning: this video contains real accounts of sexual violence.
#7. Bill Cosby
Award-winning comedian Bill Cosby was well-loved for his endearing
role as Dr. Cliff Huxtable in “The Cosby Show.” But the man who was
“America’s Dad” by day turned out to be a serial rapist by night.
In 2005, Andrea Constand filed a police report with the Durham Police,
claiming that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her at his house in Montgomery, Pennsylvania.
Andrea: I didn’t think anybody would believe me. It was Bill Cosby.
It was Dr. Huxtable. I thought I was the only person that he did this too.
In the same year, Constand filed a civil lawsuit that included depositions
from 13 other women who claimed they were once drugged and sexually assaulted by Cosby. However,
in 2006, the civil lawsuit was settled for more than $3 million.
The controversy was buried for almost a decade. Until in 2014,
a video of stand-up comedian Hannibal Burress went viral.
HB: Bill Cosby has the f*cking smuggest old black man persona that I hate. He gets on TV, ‘Pull your
pants up, black people! I can talk down to you because I had a successful sitcom! Yeah,
but you rape women, Bill Cosby, so turn the crazy down a couple notches.
This opened a pandora’s box as more people spoke up about the horrors they experienced with Cosby.
One of his victims, Barbara Bowman wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post
detailing why she kept silent about Cosby raping her for 30 years.
Barbra: He was gonna be that vehicle for me, that I had to learn to trust him.
Being sexually assaulted comes in different levels. And I can say all levels happened with me.
In the following months, more and more women surfaced, claiming they were drugged and raped
by Cosby between the late 60s well into the 80s. The accounts were eerily similar;
the women being drugged with drinks laced with Quaaludes until they get paralyzed or pass out.
Woman: When he was raping me, and I was telling him to stop,
I was screaming, then I remember he put his hand on my mouth and he was yelling “shut up, shut up.”
By December of 2015, more than 50 women have come forward to tell their story. The criminal
investigation on Cosby was reopened, and a trial was held. In April of 2018,
Cosby was found guilty of three counts of assault and was given a prison sentence of 3 to 10 years.
Keep watching ‘til number one to know more about this film exec’s
ultimate fall from grace. #6. Kevin Spacey
The two-time Oscar winner and House of Cards star was once considered one of the
finest thespians of his generation.
But his illustrious career came crashing down like a house of cards when he was fired from
his Netflix show, was removed from the cast of the movie “All the Money in the World,” and
was dropped by his agent and publicist. And his spectacular downfall was triggered by a
2017 BuzzFeed article where actor Anthony Rapp’s accused Spacey of sexual assault.
Rapp: I hope that everyone who’s dealing with these sorts of situations feel the courage to
come forward.
Rapp said that back in 1986, when he was only 14,
Spacey made a sexual advance on him while they were during a party. Spacey tweeted
a statement, saying he doesn’t remember the incident, but apologized for quote-unquote
“…what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.” But the second half of his
statement made matters worse, when he came out as gay. Instead of gaining sympathy,
he drew the ire of the LGBTQ community as he seemed to conflate homosexuality with pedophilia.
Rapp’s allegations encouraged more than 30 other people to share their troubling
encounters with Spacey, around 20 of which came forward at the famed London Theater the Old Vic,
where Spacey served as artistic director from 2004-2015.
In 2018, Spacey was charged with indecent
assault stemming from a groping incident with an 18-year-old busboy at a bar in Nantucket,
but in 2019, the case was dropped after the accuser chose not to testify in court.
Another federal case filed by a massage therapist against him was dismissed after the
accuser died unexpectedly. Spacey’s camp says the incident with the masseur was consensual.
#5. Matt Lauer
“breaking news from our viewers out west as you mentioned, NBC’s Matta Lauer
has been fired over inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.”
In 2017, NBC promptly sacked its long-running “Today” show anchor,
Matt Lauer, which was sparked by Variety’s damning report about his
alleged sexual misconduct towards certain female colleagues. These include making sexual remarks,
locking them inside his office, and showing one staff his private parts.
Andy Cohen: You co-hosted the Today Show with Matt Lauer for
15 years. What was Matt’s most annoying habit? Katie Couric: He pinches me on the ass a lot.
Brooke Nevils, one of Lauer’s accusers,
claimed that he raped her in a hotel room in Russia during the 2014 Sochi Olympics coverage.
Ronan: the facts of her case which are backed by documentations and eye witnesses
suggest that there was an encounter here that she consistently described as non-consensual.
Two more victims spoke to the Times, one claiming she had sex with Lauer in his office back in 2001,
but didn’t report the encounter because she didn’t want to lose her job.
While Lauer insists that the encounter with Nevils was consensual, in his statement,
he apologized to the victims, his family and his co-workers at NBC.
#4. Michael Jackson
MJ: Before you label or condemn me, don’t treat me like a criminal. Because I am innocent.
The King of Pop released this statement In 1993, following a lawsuit filed against him
by Evan Chandler who accused him of committing sexual battery against his son, Jordy Chandler,
at the singer’s Neverland ranch. However, the victim refused to testify, so the case was
ultimately closed, but not before Jackson and the Chandlers reached a settlement for $23 million.
Fast forward to 10 years later, a 2003 documentary called “Living with Michael
Jackson” saw Jackson holding hands with a 13-year-old named Gavin Arvizo, who was
living with the singer in Neverland at the time. And the kid shared this encounter with Jackson.
The all-access documentary triggered a criminal investigation, and 2 years later,
Jackson was indicted on several counts of child molestation, intoxicating a minor, and conspiring
to commit extortion, among others. The King of Pop was ultimately acquitted of all criminal charges.
“The thing is with the whole thing is that you know,
they go, “Ohhh, you slept in the same bedroom as him” it’s like,
I don’t think you understand. Michael Jackson’s bedroom is two stories.”
Jackson passed away due to cardiac arrest in 2009. But the ghost of his past misbehavior continued
to haunt 2 of his victims, James Safechuck and Wade Robson. The two came forward about Jackson’s
abuse via a 2019 HBO documentary titled “Leaving Neverland.” Both admitted that during those years
they were being molested by Jackson, the singer made them feel complicit about the sexual acts,
and it didn’t feel strange at the time. They were both minors during the time of abuse.
James: And so we would have sex in those rooms, that was a bit dangerous,
there is a bit excitement.
Wade: Michael just sort of starting to
touch my legs, and touch my crotch over my pants and then it kind of kept progressing from there.
The Jackson estate sued HBO for 100 million dollars for releasing the documentary.
#3: R. Kelly
Between 1996 and 2002, R&B singer R. Kelly battled lawsuits left and right, filed by women
who accused him of sexual violence in varying degrees. One accuser claimed Kelly impregnated
her when she was underage while another said she was treated by Kelly as his personal
sex object. These cases all ended in court settlements, but they were only the beginning.
In 2002, when a sex tape of Kelly with a 14-year-old girl surfaced, he returned
to court after being charged with 21 counts of making child pornography in Chicago. Later on,
he was slapped with 12 more counts of the same offense in Florida. After 6 years, Kelly was
found not guilty in Chicago, while the charges in Florida were dropped due to insufficient evidence.
In 2017, the R&B star became the subject of intense scrutiny once again. This time for
allegedly trapping 6 women in a sex cult. Her usual victims were aspiring models and musicians
whom Kelly promised to help. Instead, the singer brainwashed, manipulated and sexually abused them.
Tracy: I didn’t know if this was normal, I didn’t know if this is how adults acted,
I just didn’t know.
The campaign #MuteRKelly called for record labels, concert organizers, and streaming services to drop
the singer. In 2019, another sex tape showed up of Kelly having sex with a 14-year-old,
which led to him being charged with 10 counts of criminal sexual abuse in Chicago. Prosecutors
later on filed 11 more charges of sexual assault and abuse against the pop star.
In 2019, Kelly was hit with sex trafficking charges in Illinois
and Brooklyn for allegedly transporting underage girls over state lines for child porn production.
Prostitution charges were also filed against Kelly in Minnesota. History repeated itself.
But only time will tell if the outcomes would be different this time around.
#2: Woody Allen
The Woody Allen versus Dylan Farrow saga has been one of Hollywood’s most
notorious scandals for almost 3 decades.
It all started in 1992, when actress Mia Farrow broke up with Allen after she found
nude photos of Soon-Yi Previn in his home. Soon-Yi is Farrow’s adoptive child with the late musician
Andre Previn. It turns out that Allen and the then 21-year-old Previn were already having an affair.
A few months later, their then -year-old adoptive daughter
Dylan Farrow dropped a bombshell when he accused Allen of sexually abusing her.
Allen denies the accusations and claims that Mia coached Dylan to turn against him.
WA: If I wanted to be a child molester, I had many opportunities in the past. I could’ve
quietly made it a custody settlement on me and done it in the future… you know, it’s so insane!
The New York Social Services didn’t find any credible evidence to support Dylan’s allegation,
but Dylan would continue to repeat her claims several times as an adult.
He instructed me to lay down on my stomach and ply with my brother’s toy train, and he sat
behind me in the doorway and as I was playing with the toy train, I was sexually assaulted.
In 2021, the controversy came to light once again after the release of the HBO
documentary “Allen v. Farrow” where Mia Farrow spoke publicly for the first time in decades.
Mia: There’s so much misinformation,
it doesn’t matter what’s true, what matters is what’s believed.
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#1. Harvey Weinstein
When The New York Times detailed the sexual harassment allegations of several women against
film executive Harvey Weinstein in 2017, it created a ripple effect and encouraged
other victims to speak up, essentially giving birth to the #MeToo movement.
The disgraced movie mogul repeatedly raped women, touched himself in front of them,
and forced them into humiliating sexual acts. Accusers include
actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, and employees from his production company.
Rose: Every single place he ever stayed,
there are people set up there to help him rape. This is how it went, this is what it was.
Eventually, other high-profile A-Listers also spoke against him. Kate Beckinsale said he once
opened the door on her wearing just a bathrobe. Gwyneth Paltrow claimed he asked for a massage
from her. Angelina Jolie accused Weinstein of making sexual advances on her. And Salma Hayek
called him a “monster” for threatening to shut her movie if she refused sex scenes with a woman.
Weinstein’s accusers have reached more than 100 people in total.
In a video released by one of his accusers, businesswoman Melissa Thompson,
Weinstein can be seen inappropriately touching her.
In 2015, the NYPD worked with model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez after she
filed a complaint that she was groped by Weinstein.
They put a wire on her and the police successfully recorded incriminating audio.
The case against Weinstein was slowly built, and more women came forward. Weinstein tried to settle
his way out of most lawsuits. In January of 2020, the trial against him finally started in New York.
The jury found Weinstein guilty of criminal sexual acts, but he was acquitted on some of
the charges. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.
So, which of these scandals did you think was the
most appalling? Let us know in the comments section below!
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From the most shocking, now let’s look at some of the most inspiring Hollywood success stories.
Don’t miss our roundup of the 10 Famous People Who Used to be Homeless!
‘Til then, always speak your truth, fact-natics! And see you in the next video!