Infamous Scandals

by Anne Williams

  Oral sex in a car

  Four Weddings was a huge success, and became the highest grossing British film ever. After its release, Grant became a major star, not only in Britain but internationally. He was seen as a golden boy and he and his partner, the glamorous Liz Hurley, became one of the most feted couples in Hollywood. However, the good times were about to end.

  On 27 June 1995, Grant went for a drive down Sunset Strip, one of the main thoroughfares of Los Angeles. That evening, he was arrested by an officer of the LAPD as a black prostitute, Divine Brown, performed oral sex on him in his car. He was taken to the police station for identification, and when it became clear that he was one of the biggest film stars on the planet, his photograph was released to the newspapers. Grant was fined $1,180 and was put on two years’ probation. Later, he explained what had happened. He had given 12 interviews that day for his newly released film, Nine Months, and had emerged in a state of confusion. Not surprisingly, few regarded this as a persuasive explanation of his behaviour.

  Immediately after the incident, Hurley was reported to be very upset, and asked the media to give her some time to herself. Grant did the opposite, however, appearing on chat shows and giving interviews, in a move that – in retrospect – possibly saved his career. Instead of going into hiding, or blaming his childhood problems, as most Hollywood stars would have done, Grant decided to issue a full apology and to take the blame for his bad behaviour. On one show, Larry King Live, he said, ‘In the end you have to come clean and say I did something dishonourable, shabby and goatish’. To Jay Leno he remarked, ‘I think you know in life what’s a good thing to do and what’s a bad thing, and I did a bad thing, and . . . there you have it’.

  Fall . . . and rise

  Curiously enough, the film that Grant had just made, Nine Months, featured a character, Tom Arnold, who constantly got into trouble with the tabloid press, and Grant remarked that his ‘nemesis’ helped him through a difficult time. However, although the public forgave him – one woman even turned up to see him with a banner reading ‘I would have paid you, Hugh’ – Hurley did not, and the relationship came to an end.

  Fortunately for Grant, the incident on Sunset Strip did not damage his career and, despite the scandal, the parts continued to come in thick and fast. Another major film triumph was Notting Hill, in which he starred with Julia Roberts, a movie that confirmed his increasingly stereotypical image as a British upper-class twit. Other successful romantic comedies followed, such as Bridget Jones’ Diary, in which he began to emphasise the more selfish aspects of his screen personality, but like so many of Grant’s movies, the film continued to rely on portraying stereotypes for its comic effect. In 2002’s About a Boy, Grant extended his range somewhat by sporting a more modern hairstyle, and playing a disaffected wealthy bachelor who helps a young boy to mature, and in the process, grows up himself.

  Today, Hugh Grant is one of Britain’s most popular, highly paid actors. He continues to maintain a public image of bewilderment and ambivalence about his success, remarking in one interview that the only film he had starred in that didn’t make him cringe was About a Boy.

  Since his relationship with Hurley, his name has been linked romantically with several other women, including celebrity Jemima Khan, but he currently remains a bachelor. He affects a disdain for the film world and says he is writing a novel in case his acting career falls apart in the near future. However, that seems unlikely to happen: the self-deprecating, charming, yet selfish bachelor is a character that the public love, and that Hugh Grant plays to perfection. As Julia Roberts once said of him, ‘His silliness has grace. He could say, “I have foot fungus” and it would sound charming. It’s the accent, the manner, the Oxford education.’

  Hugh Grant is one of the few victims of scandal that has emerged unscathed, largely because of the stylish way in which he handled this crisis. Since then he has had to face allegations of attacking members of the paparazzi, but in true Hollywood style Hugh Grant has come out without losing any credibility.

  Winona Ryder

  Winona Ryder is an American actress who has achieved notoriety for the portrayal of her roles, receiving a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actor’s Guild Award and two Academy Award nominations in 1993 and 1994. She has her own Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is also known for her high profile romance with actor Johnny Depp in the early 1990s. In 2001, however, Ryder took on her most challenging role as a real-life defendant when she was arrested in Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills, suspected of taking several thousand dollars’ worth of designer merchandise.

  climbing the ladder of success

  Winona Laura Horowitz was born on 29 October 1971, being named after her hometown in Minnesota. When she was seven years old, the family moved to a commune in the town of Elk in northern California, where they lived with several other families. There was no television and Winona became an avid reader, losing herself in the characters from the books. From time to time movies were shown in the main barn on the commune and it was from these that Winona developed a strong desire to act.

  Three years later the family were on the move again to Petaluma, just north of San Francisco. These were not happy days for Ryder as she suffered bullying at school, and life didn’t improve until her parents gave her permission to enrol at the American Conservatory Theatre. Ryder was serious about carving herself a career in acting and luckily success came quickly. At the young age of 13, she was spotted by a talent scout and given a role in the film Lucas, starring alongside Charlie Sheen and Corey Haim. When asked how she would like her name to appear in the credits, she thought for a while and then chose the surname ‘Ryder’, after Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, which was one of her father’s favourite bands.

  Ryder gained real recognition when she was chosen by director Tim Burton to play in his movie Beetlejuice. She excelled in the part of Lydia Deitz, who was a gothic bookworm who defied her yuppie parents. The film was a major hit and so was Ryder, putting her firmly on the ladder of success. After Beetlejuice the offers came in fast and she played a teenage bride in Great Balls of Fire, Cher’s long-suffering daughter in Mermaids and another gothic character in The Addams Family.

  troubled love life

  Ryder first met actor Johnny Depp at the premier of Great Balls of Fire. They were immediately attracted to one another and began a love affair which survived three years. Depp was infatuated and even had ‘Winona Forever’ tattooed on his arm. They appeared together in Tim Burton’s next project, Edward Scissorhands, which was a huge box office success and once again secured her popularity with her fans.

  Due to her tempestuous relationship with Depp, although she put it down to exhaustion and overwork, Ryder missed a big opportunity when she pulled out of role in Godfather 3. Ryder took other roles, gradually losing her teenage image, but the pressure slowly started to show. Her relationship with Depp was on the rocks, she was suffering from insomnia, and Ryder decided to check herself into a psychiatric clinic for a short period.

  After a few years of sticking to mainly literary works, Ryder got her life back on track and started a new relationship with the singer from the group Soul Asylum. While working on the set of Alien: Resurrection, the fourth in the Alien saga, Ryder struggled with her part and, to add to her troubles, fell and injured her back. She was prescribed painkillers, but little did she realise at the time that these would cause her no end of problems.

  bad times

  In 2001 Ryder boosted the ratings of the television show Friends, when she was seen kissing Jennifer Aniston in a lesbian embrace. However, the gossip this stirred up in the press was nothing compared to what was happening in her private life. In August that same year, Ryder was forced to go into a clinic suffering from acute stomach pains, forcing her to drop out of her latest movie. The following month she went to visit Dr Jules Lusman, breaking down in his office because she said she was in so much pain. He diagnosed it as a spinal condition that had been caused by the fall during
her filming of Alien, and recommended that she took an opiate-based painkiller to kill the pain. However, the painkiller itself was known to be highly addictive and, added to this he prescribed her Valium, a fashionable drug among the celebrity set. The doctor had been recommended to her by one of her friends, but little did Ryder realise at the time that the physician was not actually doing her any favours. In fact, Lusman had been under investigation for ‘over-prescribing’ since 1997, but it was too late for Ryder, who was already on a slippery slope.

  In December 2001 Ryder was caught up in a scandal when she was caught shoplifting at Saks Fifth Avenue. Having already paid around $4,000 for purchases, she was found to have a further 20 items on her for which she had no receipts. These items included a Gucci dress, five handbags and four hairpieces, valued at around $5,500. It was alleged that not only had she taken tissue paper with her to wrap the goods up, but that she also carried scissors to cut off the security tags. Worse still, when she was searched, the police found she was in the possession a variety of toxic drugs, and couldn’t produce a prescription for one of them.

  Ryder tried to explain her actions by saying that she was just acting out a role for a part in Steve Martin’s Shopgirl. However, but with public opinion high that celebrities could get away with anything, the prosecutors were determined to make an example of her. If found guilty, Ryder could face up to

  three years in jail.

  At the trial, the jury heard a lot of damning evidence and it was said that Ryder had received 37 prescriptions from as many as 20 different doctors between January 1996 and December 1998. Lusman, whose offices had been searched after Ryder’s arrest, was himself being charged for over-prescribing, but backed his patient’s claim that he had actually prescribed her the Endocet. Lusman had prescribed Endocet to relieve the pain, but not only was it a highly addictive substance, it was although known to have other side effects such as impairing a person’s thinking or reactions.

  On the same say that Lusman had his licence revoked – 6 December 2002 – Ryder was acquitted of burglary, but was found guilty of vandalism and grand theft. She was sentenced to 480 hours of community service and three years’ probation. She was ordered to pay $3,700 in fines and $6,355 in compensation.

  For a while Ryder’s life was in disarray, with a string of broken relationships and a struggle to give up the drugs prescribed to allegedly help her health. After a series of either collapsed or delayed projects, Ryder eventually returned to successful film roles in 2006. Although seriously rocked by scandal, it would appear that Ryder eventually survived and has continued to be a hit with her fans. Six years after her infamous shoplifting incident, Wynona Ryder graces the cover of Vogue magazine and proves what a tough cookie she really is.

  River Phoenix

  The tragic death of River Phoenix at the age of only 23 caused a huge scandal in the United States. Firstly, because the young actor had always stressed his healthy lifestyle as a vegan and as a person who stayed away from drugs of any kind. Secondly, because it highlighted how troubled he was, having been a victim of child sexual abuse that he had suffered when he was only four years old. This information did not come to light until shortly before his death. His parents had been part of a cult organisation known as the Children of God, and a scandal had erupted during the 1970s and 1980s when it became known that their leaders advocated sexual contact between adults and children, and even proposed that incest was acceptable. By the 1990s, River Phoenix himself had taken to making angry remarks on the subject of the cult, but it was not until his death that the American press and public realised just how severely disturbed his mental state had become as a result of this, and other pressures.

  The rise of a star

  He was born River Jude Bottom in Metolius, Oregon, on 23 August 1970 to John Lee Bottom and Arlyn Sharon Dunetz. His parents had adopted the name Phoenix and were missionaries of the Children of God and travelled throughout South America, trying to convert people to the cause. River was named after the River of Life in Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, and his middle name came from the song ‘Hey Jude’ by the Beatles. He and his siblings, Joaquin, Rain, Summer and Liberty, grew up without the usual trappings of modern life, and the family lived most of their time with very little money. Travelling around the world, the children witnessed scenes that made them grow up very fast. Legend has it that Joaquin, aged four, persuaded his family to stop eating meat after seeing fishermen killing fish on a trawler by banging their heads against the boat. As an adult, River continued to be a vegan, and refused to wear leather, even using a rope instead of a belt to hold up his trousers.

  All the siblings pursued careers in the entertainment business: like River, Joaquin, Rain, Summer and Liberty became actors, although Liberty gave up acting while still only a child. This path was encouraged by their parents. While still in his teens, River had a major role in the movie Stand By Me, which brought him public acclaim in 1986. After this success, he went on to garner more important roles and at the age of only 18 was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Running on Empty in 1988. River went on to star in films such as My Own Private Idaho, Sneakers, and The Thing Called Love, becoming one of America’s most successful young actors, and making friends with such stars as Keanu Reeves. On the set of The Thing Called Love he met his girlfriend Samantha Mathis, who was present on the night he died.

  an embarrassed idol

  As well as his career as a movie star, River also had his own band, Aleka’s Attic, and became friends with artists such as Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Michael Stipe of REM. According to many sources, it was music rather than acting that was his real passion. However, the income he was making from his movie career was helping to keep his family, so he continued to make films. He was not very happy about being presented as a teen idol, and actually found his fame embarrassing. He very seldom smiled in photographs and was reported to be disgusted by representations of himself as a sex symbol.

  Unlike many young movie stars on the 1990s, River Phoenix was extremely critical of the drug culture pervading Hollywood, and he made a point of discussing the virtues of a vegan diet and holistic medicine when he was interviewed. He was also critical of the political and social system of the United States, at a time when radicalism was very unpopular in the country. He made it clear that he considered the prevailing culture to be morally corrupt and had tried to live differently from his peers by refusing to take drugs, eat meat, or medicate himself in the conventional way.

  Towards the end of his life, he began to criticise the way he was brought up, alleging that he had lost his virginity when aged only four, and saying that he found the Children of God cult disgusting because ‘it ruined people’s lives’. He went on to add that, although the sexual abuse happened when he was still under five, after that he had remained celibate until he reached adulthood.

  Drug overdose

  Although he was so successful, River suffered from depression and was also given to compulsive behaviour at times, which included substance abuse. Commentators have suggested that this was due to his childhood trauma of sexual abuse, although the exact details of what happened have never become clear. After the public outcry that met their views, the Children of God changed their argument and began to teach otherwise, but there was always the suspicion that a great deal of harm had been done while they espoused their bizarre beliefs – just at the time, in the 1970s, when River was growing up.

  Given his adherence to an ascetic lifestyle, the American public were shocked when news came that River Phoenix had died on 31 October 1993 of a drug overdose. According to those present, he had been partying at the Viper Room, a Hollywood nightclub owned by movie star Johnny Depp. He had been indulging in speedballs, a dangerous mixture of heroin and cocaine, and had also been smoking cannabis. After he died, a coroner’s report showed that he also had an unusually large amount of cough syrup in his stomach.

  Scandal breaks

  As details of the evening’s acti
vities came out, it became clear that Phoenix had engaged on a drug spree that Halloween night. Shortly before one o’clock on the morning of 31 October, River had been in the bathroom of the Viper Room doing drugs with some friends who were known dealers. One of his friends offered him a snort of a high-grade drug called ‘Persian Brown’, which contained opiates and methamphetamine. The so-called friends told River that it would make him feel on top of the world. However, almost immediately after he had snorted the drug, River started to tremble and shake and vomited violently after screaming at his friends to help him. One of the men splashed his face with cold water and then offered him a Valium to help him calm down, probably not realising that it was the worst thing they could have done. River staggered back into the bar and then over to his sister Rain and his girlfriend Samantha. He started to complain that he couldn’t breathe and passed out for a few minutes. When he came round he asked his girlfriend to help him outside to get some fresh air. However, once outside the club River collapsed on the pavement and started to have seizures. A photographer, Ron Davis, aware that something was seriously wrong, went to call 911 at a nearby payphone and River’s brother, Joaquin, also called for help. Because River was thrashing around so violently, Rain threw herself on top of his body to try and control the seizure, but it was all in vain because by this time River had stopped breathing. By the time the paramedics arrived at 1.14 a.m. he was in cardiac arrest, his skin had turned blue and all efforts of revival failed.