Top 10 Biggest Hollywood Cover Ups

Do consumers of art possess a mandate to separate that art from the artist? It’s a difficult question, without a clear answer. Such a case can be made for the films of Alfred Hitchcock, an undeniably brilliant practitioner of the medium with a troubled personal history. Specifically, Hitchcock railed behind the scenes against actress Tippi Hedren, after the latter allegedly refused his sexual advances. The director reportedly worked to actively sabotage Hedren’s career after the pair’s turbulent relationship filming “The Birds,” a story that was dramatized in the 2012 film, “The Girl.” Elsewhere, Hedren’s granddaughter Dakota Johnson mentioned how Hitchcock wasn’t “held accountable” during a 2021 appearance on the “Awards Chatter” podcast.

The world of Golden Age Hollywood may have glittered on the outside, but this light was not cast without some deep shadows. Specifically, unplanned pregnancies were often “fixed” by film studios, either through hush-hush abortions or abandonment. Loretta Young gave birth to a daughter, Judy, via an affair with Clark Gable. Judy’s origins were hidden from the public and the press, with the little girl being placed in orphanages. Young would later adopt her own daughter, in an effort to distance the pregnancy from both her own career and Gable’s. In later years, Young’s daughter-in-law, Linda Lewis, asserted that the former had confided in her that the affair was actually non-consensual, although this has not been proven.

The subject of the Britney Spears conservatorship is a difficult one to discuss in such a short time, but it’s certainly a look into the struggles some face within the public eye. Spears’ achieved worldwide fame at an extremely young and vulnerable age, an age where not everyone is emotionally equipped to deal with what might potentially come their way. Spears’ breakdown in the 2000s was followed by a stay at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, after which her financial assets were placed in a conservatorship. This conservatorship was governed by her father and an attorney, yet it wasn’t until recent years that Spears’ fight to escape this conservatorship has come to light, specifically with the hashtag and movement, #FreeBritney.

It wasn’t always easy for LGBTQ+ celebrities to come out into the spotlight. This was doubly true in Old School Hollywood, and it wasn’t out of place for gay actors and actresses to enjoy full careers portraying characters in straight relationships. Rock Hudson was once such actor, even going as far as to play lotharios in films such as 1971’s “Pretty Maids All in a Row.” Rock Hudson’s life as a gay man was a well-kept secret in Hollywood. However, stories about this life were often held over his head as a threat by those in the media, such as Confidential magazine, which desired some high-profile headlines. Hudson’s HIV diagnosis in the 1980s was also kept secret, and the actor succumbed to complications in 1985.

The archetype of the prototypical “Hollywood Bad Boy” could potentially be traced back to Errol Flynn. This was an actor to whom drugs, women, and drinks were no stranger. However, we can also add “controversy” to this list, thanks to Flynn’s alleged involvement with underage girls. Examples of this can be traced back to one of Flynn’s co-stars, Beverly Aadland, whose mother asserted that Flynn forced himself on her daughter. It was further alleged that the “Adventures of Robin Hood” star was a voyeur, and had two-way mirrors installed in his mansion, including the bathrooms.

In October 2022, Kevin Spacey was found not guilty of abusing actor Anthony Rapp. However, Spacey still faces sexual assault charges in a separate series of lawsuits at the time of this writing. This begs the question: how much did Hollywood know about these controversies behind the scenes? A 2017 article from the New York Post insinuated that some in Tinseltown circles were allegedly aware of harassing behavior on the part of Spacey. Around the same time, Spacey came out as gay with many feeling he was trying to shift attention away from his scandal. Still, questions remain about just how much, if any, of Spacey’s conduct was inappropriate.

The Old School Hollywood system possessed an amount of control that didn’t stop at the then-standard and binding contracts. Oftentimes, executives at film studios would ply their stars with narcotics, in order to achieve the best return on their investments. Time is money, and stars like Judy Garland would often be forced to work long hours without a break. In order to facilitate this laborious practice, “uppers” would be given to “pep up” Garland. This also served a double purpose in keeping the actress’ weight down for the silver screen. Then, it was sleeping pills to shut Garland down, only for the cycle to return the next day. Unfortunately, not enough attention was paid to the substance use disorder that Garland would develop, as a result of this practice.

The life of Jeffrey Epstein is notorious for a number of reasons, including his laundry list of questionable activities within the financial sector. More high profile and disturbing, however, was Epstein’s involvement in the sex trade, specifically with the trafficking of girls to high-profile clients. It was the profiles of these alleged clients that served as the crux of The Epstein Cover-Up. This was in addition to Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement for sex crimes committed between 2005 and 2006, as well as the state of New York’s failure to check in with Epstein as a registered, level 3 sex offender. Names of those said to have been involved with Epstein include the Duke of York, Prince Andrew.

Remember what we mentioned earlier about separating the art from the artist? This question comes up once again with regard to Bill Cosby, once thought to be one of the world’s most beloved actors and comedians. The Emmy Award winner was once seen as “America’s Dad,” but all of that came crashing down after allegations of misconduct surfaced in the media. It was alleged that Cosby possessed a long history of inappropriate conduct and behavior, assertions of which never seemed to stick to Cosby’s well-cultivated public image. Bill Cosby would be found guilty in 2018, although this conviction would later be overturned in 2021.

The #MeToo Movement brought to light a lot of predatory and unacceptable behavior against women in the entertainment industry. Film producer and Miramax co-founder Harvey Weinstein was one of the most high-profile targets taken down in the wake of #MeToo’s rise, exposing a career’s worth of allegations. Weinstein reportedly went to great lengths to avoid news of such allegations reaching the media. These included the reported hiring of intelligence agents compiling character assassination dossiers on the accusers, to allegedly asking Hillary Clinton to intervene on his behalf. Weinstein was unsuccessful and was convicted on two charges in February 2020.