If anything celebs know how to get a good scandal going. Over the course of the past 30 years there have been some celebrity scandals that are still talked about today. Every year the number of celebs caught in celebrity scandals increases; this probably has to do with all the advancements made in technology, more than it does with the number of celebs caught in celebrity acts. Celebrity scandal has been around for as long as the celebs themselves, however it is only recently that they have become such s hot commodity.
Starting off the list of is Rob Lowe. This celeb was one of the first have a sex tape leaked to the press. During the 1988 Democratic convention in Atlanta, Rob Lowe picked up two gals, ages 22 and 16 at a club, invited them back to his hotel, and videotaped the romp. Naturally, the home movie leaked out and grainy footage of the celeb in action made the tabloid-TV rounds. The underage girl’s mom sued Lowe, but it was settled out of court, and no charges were filed. He agreed to perform 20 hours of community service. The nature of this celebrity scandal will be seen again and again over the years by the likes of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian.
Next on the list of celebrity scandals is Seinfeld’s Michael Richards and his Racist Rant. When Michael Richards took the stage at L.A.’s Laugh Factory on Nov. 17, 2006, the audience was probably hoping for Kramer-ish pratfalls and plentiful arm-flailing. What they got instead was a racist tirade directed at a group of African-American hecklers. Thanks to a cell-phone camera, the tirade immediately hit the Web, earning the celeb nationwide criticism. Three days later, Richards appeared via satellite on David Letterman’s show, apologizing and pledging to seek help.
Another of the history making celebrity scandals was when the Milli Vanilli lip-synch lie was exposed. This celeb twosome were caught for the unspeakable. Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan a.k.a. Milli Vanilli were stripped of the award after producer Frank Farian revealed that the two men were professional lip-synchers who hadn’t sung one note on their chart-topping debut album. Apparently, 11 million fans can be wrong.
A recent celebrity scandal that makes the list is because of ex- Grey’s Anatomy star Isaiah Washington. Just when you thought the drama on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy couldn’t get more overwrought, it did behind the scenes. It began with an October 2006 altercation between Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey in which the former allegedly referred to gay costar T.R. Knight as a faggot. The incident was close to fading from public memory until Washington dropped the f-bomb again (as part of a denial) in front of reporters at the Golden Globes in January.
Rounding out the list of celebrity scandal was the infamous Super bowl half time show involving celeb singers Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. Feb. 1, 2004, halftime show when celeb, Justin Timberlake tore off part of duet partner Janet Jackson’s leather bodice, revealing a nipple-shield-adorned boob. With nearly 90 million people watching, many of them children this became one of the ultimate celebrity scandals.