Top 50 Rumors That Turned Out to Be TRUE
#50: Selena Gomez & Justin Bieber Were a Couple
You could write an entire novel about the drama between these two child stars. But back in 2009, everyone was wondering if the pair was a romantic couple or just friends. Frequently spotted together, Selena and Justin played off their relationship, with Selena even calling Justin her “little brother.” It wasn’t until they stepped out together at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2011 that their romance was confirmed. The pair dated off and on until 2018, when they finally split. Justin married model Hailey Baldwin the following year, sparking rumors that she had stolen Justin from Selena. The women have since squashed those rumors, but that doesn’t stop fans from speculating about pretty much every move these three make.
#49: Macaulay Culkin’s Violent Parent
If you were a movie fan in the 90s, you couldn’t avoid seeing this child actor brightening a cinema screen. With his iconic role as Kevin in “Home Alone” and his traumatizing funeral in “My Girl,” Macaulay Culkin became a household name before he was even a teenager. Unfortunately, this successful career came with a price. Rumors soon began circulating that Culkin’s father was abusing his power and overworking his young son. In 2018, Culkin appeared on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast and confirmed his dad’s physical and mental abuse. Thankfully he successfully sued to remove his parents’ control of his trust fund. But he and his dad have been estranged ever since.
#48: Drew Barrymore’s Wild Childhood
Who doesn’t love Drew Barrymore? She’s had a decades-long career in Hollywood since her first film, “E.T.,” at age seven. But in the 80s and 90s, rumors swirled about her being the ultimate wild child. Drew published her memoir, “Wildflower,” in 2016, confirming many of the rumors. These included attending Hollywood parties with people triple her age, going to Studio 54 when she was only nine, and being addicted to drugs by 12. She even did a few stints in rehab as a teenager. Thankfully, Drew has cleaned up her act and her image over the years. She’s now sober, hosts a daytime talk show, and recently launched her own magazine. We’re rooting for you, Drew!
#47: Neil Patrick Harris Voiced Disney's California Screamin'
Anyone visiting Disneyland in November 2010 may have heard a familiar voice. Visitors noticed the safety announcer before the California Screamin’ roller coaster sounded a lot like Hollywood actor and Broadway star Neil Patrick Harris. Fans were convinced that grown-up Doogie Howser, M.D. was narrating the ride. NPH himself even tweeted a cryptic clue around that time. It didn’t take long for Disney Parks to confirm that, yes, it was the “How I Met Your Mother Star”’s voice. Sadly, California Screamin’ shut down in 2018 to make way for the Incredicoaster, an Incredibles-themed ride. So, Harris’ big announcement is now a thing of the past.
#46: Aaliyah’s Teenage Marriage
She’s been dubbed the Princess of R&B. But Aaliyah’s influence hasn’t stopped her from being followed by a rumor for over 25 years. Did she really marry R. Kelly with forged documents when she was underage? Regrettably, the answer is yes. Aaliyah was 15, and Kelly was 27. The marriage was later annulled, and Aaliyah refused to talk about the relationship. Unfortunately, she was tragically killed in a plane crash without ever telling her side of the story. R. Kelly, on the other hand, is paying the price for his many misdeeds, serving 30 years for bribery, sex trafficking, and additional charges. Thankfully, we still have the legacy of Aaliyah’s music, which continues to inspire artists to this day.
#45: Nikki Sixx’s Near-Death Experience
As the co-founder and bassist of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, Nikki Sixx was a rock music staple throughout the ‘80s. But at the peak of his career, Sixx struggled with substance use disorder, which gravely affected his personal and professional life. In fact, at one point, it was rumored that the musician had overdosed on heroin and died. This was technically true… for two minutes. According to reports, on December 23rd 1987, Sixx was rushed to the hospital after overdosing on the substance. He was pronounced clinically dead for two minutes before a paramedic pumped him with two shots of adrenaline and revived him. The out-of-body experience reportedly inspired Sixx to write the band’s 1989 anthem “Kickstart My Heart”.
#44: Prince Evangelized Door-To-Door for Jehovah’s Witnesses
For the better part of his remarkable career, Prince was known for defying societal expectations with his brazenly provocative music. For that reason, many were shocked when he decided to become a Jehovah's Witness in 2001. The iconic musician was said to have taken his newfound faith very seriously and it was once reported that, like many members of the religion, he practiced door-to-door evangelism. While that remained a rumor for years, a Minnesota couple later confirmed that Prince once knocked on their door to proselytize to them. Apparently, the purple star would wear disguises and introduce himself as “Brother Nelson” to evade being recognized. But when you’re as famous as Prince, that can be a pretty daunting task.
#43: Michael Jackson Wrote Music for “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”
The video game “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” was released in 1994 to critical and commercial acclaim. While many fans were in awe of the much improved gameplay, some others noticed striking similarities between the music and that of pop icon Michael Jackson. Jackson’s involvement in the “Sonic” soundtrack remained a rumor for years, until it was seemingly confirmed by one of the game’s creators, Yuji Naka, in 2022. Apparently, Jackson and his team had recorded complete tracks for the soundtrack, but just as production on the game was underway in 1993, the musician was hit with assault allegations. This seems to have played a part in Jackson receiving no credits for his involvement.
#42: Ozzy Osbourne & the Ants
Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne has admittedly done a lot of outrageous things throughout his long, storied career. But this one takes things to a new level of extreme. While on his “Bark at the Moon” tour in 1984, Osbourne stopped over at a Florida hotel alongside opening acts Mötley Crüe. The story goes that on one particular afternoon, the former Black Sabbath frontman took a straw and snorted a line of ants with it. While this may horrify the average person, it probably won’t be much of a surprise to anyone familiar with Osbourne’s antics. The rumor was confirmed in the band’s autobiography “The Dirt” and depicted in the same-titled Netflix film.
#41: BloodGate
In 2009, rugby union side Harlequins were losing to Leinster in the European Rugby Champions Cup. After Nick Evans was subbed off due to injury, his replacement also had to go off. This left the team without a good kicker. But the problem was resolved when Tom Williams got a blood injury, allowing Evans to return. This caused the Leinster staff to go livid. They knew something was up. And boy, was it. Williams was handed a blood capsule to feign injury and was purposely cut later to mask the deception. Yet Harlequins still lost the match! Williams was banned for four months after an appeal, the physio was struck off for two years, and then-director of rugby Dean Richards was banned for three years.
#40: Match-Fixing Wrestlers
For years, the world of sumo wrestling has been connected to rumors of match-fixing stemming from organized crime. Even the suspicious passing of Kōtetsuyama Toyoya in 1996 was speculated to involve the Yakuza. In 2000, the legendary wrestler Itai Keisuke publicly claimed that match-fixing was rampant in the sport. By 2011, the proof came out. After several wrestlers were found to have been involved in a yakuza-run betting ring, the police found evidence of sumo match-fixing on their cell phones. Those involved conspired to script the ending of bouts, even choosing the final moves, in exchange for cash. Many wrestlers and trainers were found guilty of the deception and were forced to retire from the sport.
#39:Spain’s Paralympic Basketball Team
As Spain entered their men’s intellectually disabled basketball team in the Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia, in 2000, they started really strong…too strong. Soon, there were rumors that the Spanish team wasn’t what they said they were. Regardless, the team went on to win the gold. Then, Carlos Ribagorda, a member of the winning squad, as well as a journalist, leaked the truth. Fernando Martín Vicente, the then-president of the Spanish Sports Federation for People with Intellectual Disability, had smuggled non-disabled athletes into the team. Only 2 of the 12 players had a disability. The Spanish side was stripped of the gold. This scandal also caused intellectual disabilities to be banned from the Paralympics until 2012.
#38:SpyGate
Shortly after Bill Belichick became the head coach at the New England Patriots, the NFL side began a dominant run in the early 2000s. While most credit it to great tactics, some other franchises thought something else, more deceptive, was going on. And in September 2007, after the Patriots beat the New York Jets, the truth was discovered. A video assistant was spotted in an unauthorized place filming hand signals by the Jets’s defensive coaches, breaking the league’s rules. The NFL was livid. They fined the Patriots $250,000 and were stripped of their first-round draft pick in 2008 if they made the playoffs, while Belichick was fined the maximum of $500,000.
#37: Mass “Grave”
“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982)
The awfulness of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” for the Atari 2600 is positively legendary. The game is nearly single handedly responsible for the video game crash of 1983. Atari planned for the game to do much better than it did and ended up with many unsold copies. One long-held gaming urban legend was that the unsold copies were all buried in the desert in New Mexico. In 2014, an excavation in Alamogordo, New Mexico confirmed that “E.T.” cartridges were buried there, along with over seven hundred thousand other Atari games. While “E.T.” may not have been the only “bodies” buried there, this “mass grave” was still plenty to “phone home” about.
#36:KISS Inject Their Blood Into Comic Books
In the 1970s, New York band KISS took rock music by storm. The original four-man lineup was known for their signature white-and-black make-up and comic book-style costumes. In 1977, at the height of their popularity, the group teamed up with Marvel’s Stan Lee to create a series of KISS comic books. Seemingly as a marketing ploy, each member of the band was reported to have drawn a bit of their blood, which was then mixed with the printing ink for the comics. Turns out this was in fact true, as confirmed by KISS founding member Paul Stanley, and Lee himself. If that’s not the most shock rock-esque thing to ever happen in the comic book universe, we don’t know what is.
#35: Cass Elliot & Keith Moon Died in the Same Apartment
While their paths may never have crossed, Cass Elliot and Keith Moon shared more similarities than they could imagine. Not only were they members of music groups, but they both met their untimely demise at age 32. Even weirder, this reportedly happened in the same apartment, only four years apart. The Mayfair, London flat belonged to Harry Nilsson, a singer-songwriter mutual friend of theirs who was mostly on the road and rented it out to his musician pals. Elliot died there on July 29th 1974, while in London for a concert. Four years later, Moon moved into the apartment, where he also passed away from a drug overdose. Unsurprisingly, Nilsson moved out of the flat and sold it off.
#34: Mick Jagger & David Bowie’s Intimate Relationship
Two revered icons, Mick Jagger and David Bowie are both regarded among the most influential musicians of the 20th century. The two were first linked in the early ‘70s and soon grew so close that rumors of an intimate relationship between them filled the media. They even released a duet cover of the song “Dancing in the Street,” which hit number one in their home country of the UK. In 2012, journalist Christopher Andersen released a shocking biography of Jagger, in which he seemingly confirms rumors of an affair. According to the book, Bowie’s then-wife Angie found both men naked in bed together. While she didn’t seem to interrupt - ahem - anything, Angie was “absolutely dead certain” something had, in fact, happened between them.
#33: Charles Manson Wrote a Song for the Beach Boys
Before he founded and led the infamous Manson Family cult, Charles Manson was a struggling musician hoping for his big break. After leaving prison in the late 1960s, Manson made the acquaintance of the Beach Boys’ drummer Dennis Wilson, who hoped to sign him to a recording contract. Although that never came to fruition, Manson actually wrote a song titled “Cease to Exist” for the band. The lyrics were eventually reworked and released in 1968 as “Never Learn Not to Love”. This served as the B-side to their moderately successful single “Bluebirds over the Mountain”. In the end, Manson received no writing credit for the song, and a little over two years later, he was convicted of the Tate and LaBianca murders.
#32: Katy Perry Collected Celebrity Hair
Alright, this one is straight up unusual. Katy Perry was always rumored to do odd things, but this is strange even for her. The word on the street was that Katy collected hair from her fellow celebrity BFFs. Well, as weird as this seemed to be, the rumor turned out to actually be true and it was confirmed by Katy herself. She said that she got to share a dressing room with Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift one day and just casually asked each of them for a lock of their hair. They agreed, and then according to Katy, she even put little bows on the locks and put them in her purse!
#31: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Illegitimate Child With His Maid
Around the time Schwarzenegger left office as Governor of California in 2011, there were reports that he had an affair with his longtime housekeeper, Mildred Patricia Baena, and even fathered a son, Joseph, who bore a striking resemblance to the action star. These rumors were later confirmed by Schwarzenegger himself, and it was also discovered that he secretly gave money to his maid to support his son. Prior to these revelations coming out in May 2011, Schwarzenegger separated from his wife, Maria Shriver, and Shriver later filed for divorce in July.
#30: Taylor Swift & Jake Gyllenhaal’s Entanglement
Okay, Swifties, this one’s for you. Before Taylor released the 10-minute version of her popular song “All Too Well,” Swift fans had their own theories about who this song was about. While Taylor and Jake were in a relationship, neither of them spoke publicly about their dating life or their breakup. Well, that is until the 10-minute version was released and Swifties got to hear exactly what happened in their short-lived romance. And it’s safe to say that we all had a collective breakdown when the “I’ll get older but your lovers stay my age” line came on. A true heartbreak masterpiece.
#29: The Feud Between Sarah Jessica Parker & Kim Cattrall Was Real
It’s heartbreaking when you hear reports that the cast of your fave show actually didn’t get along on set. Rumors of the feud between Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall were running rampant for years. However, they were finally confirmed in 2018 when Kim addressed Sarah publicly after Parker reached out when Cattrall’s brother passed away. Kim posted on Instagram, saying she doesn’t need Sarah’s love and support. She warned Sarah to stop exploiting the tragedy and claimed she was only doing so in order to restore her nice girl persona. It was pretty clear that the behind the scenes of “Sex and the City” were full of drama.
#28: Liberace’s Sexuality
For many years, rumors circulated that famous musician, Liberace, was gay. Liberace fought this rumor the best he could by being seen in public dating various women. In 1959, when the Daily Mirror ran an article that suggested he was gay, the singer sued the tabloid for libel and won 8,000 pounds. However, even after ex-lover Scott Thorson sued Liberace for palimony, he still refused to admit he was gay. Though Liberace never came out during his lifetime, celebrities who knew him, such as Betty White and Debbie Reynolds, later confirmed what people had long suspected.
#27: The 1988 Olympics Fallout
Shortly after Ben Johnson won the 100-meter race at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, grabbing the moniker of “the world's fastest man” as he smashed records, it was discovered he was doping. With the Canadian stripped of his accomplishments, murmurs began to erupt about other athletes. Before Johnson’s deception was discovered, Bulgarian weightlifters Angel Genchev and Mitko Grablev were already stripped of their gold medals. But after the Canadian, Judo athlete Kerrith Brown from the UK had his bronze medal taken away for failing, Afghan wrestler Ali Dad was disqualified, and Hungarian weightlifter Andor Szanyi had his silver medal removed, among several other athletes who were also doping. It was a pretty dark time in Olympic history.
#26: Rosie Ruiz
Having finished in a respectable place in the 1979 New York marathon and securing her position at the 1980 Boston event, newcomer Rosie Ruiz did the impossible by winning the race. To top it off, her time meant she was the fastest woman in its history! But as soon as she finished, there were doubters. Ruiz didn’t look too tired after running the grueling 26 miles. Then, her resting heart rate was 76, much higher than the average top marathon runner, which would be closer to 50. With this in mind, investigators discovered that Ruiz only appeared in images in the last stretch of the race. So, they stripped her of her Boston win and later her New York result from her.
#25: Hans Niemann
In September 2022, world champion chess player Magnus Carlsen suddenly resigned from the Sinquefield Cup tournament. Immediately, the chess world lit up with murmurs that the Norwegian was hinting at the American’s cheating. When the two faced each other again, Carlsen withdrew after one move. He then hinted at something untoward going on. This was confirmed when Carlsen came out and accused Niemann of cheating. Then, Chess.com released a report that claimed Niemann cheated in over 100 matches, sometimes with prize money involved. The American grandmaster denied the allegations and issued a lawsuit against Carlsen, Chess.com, and others for $100 million in damages.
#24: Alex Rodriguez
In 2009, after years of denial, baseball legend Alex Rodriguez publicly admitted he used steroids during his tenure with the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003. From there, his reputation was in tatters. So much so that when the Biogenesis of America scandal happened in 2013, where several baseball players were found to be using performance-enhancing substances, A-Rod was immediately linked to it. With enough evidence, the MLB banned Rodriguez for the 2014 season. He publicly and strongly denied the allegations by unsuccessfully appealing the ban. He even went so far as to sue the MLB before dropping the case. But then, in 2014, A-Rod admitted to using PEDs.
#23: Russian Athletics
While there had been secret speculation for a few years in the sporting world that Russia was running a mass doping scheme, the spotlight really shone on the nation after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. At that point, the host nation topped the table by winning a whopping 33 medals. In 2016, Grigory Rodchenkov, who was the director of Russia's anti-doping agency, came forward with proof that the country had been using performance-enhancing substances for years. In 2017, the International Olympic Committee banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics. This was followed by a four-year ban in 2019, which was reduced to two years, for Russian athletes at major worldwide events.
#22: Tiger Woods’ Infidelity
Tiger Woods’ cheating scandal became international news in 2009. But before then, these were nothing but rumors, as both Tiger and his wife Elin Nordegren refused to speak about the issue. Elin allegedly chased him out of the house with a golf club after she found out about the affair on Thanksgiving night after snooping through his phone. A few weeks later, Tiger confessed. Afterwards, many women came forward and claimed to have been involved with Woods while he was still married to Elin. Tiger confessed to serial infidelity and the scandal took a huge toll on his public reputation.
#21: Caitlyn Jenner’s Transition
In 2014, rumors started to circulate that the culturally prominent former athletic star was a transgender woman. These rumors were dismissed by close family members who assured the media it was all nonsense, but in April 2015, she came out as transgender through a highly publicized interview with Diane Sawyer. In the interview, Jenner told Sawyer about all of the struggles with gender identity she had to go through all of her life. After coming out, Jenner also changed her name to Caitlyn.
#20: Prince Charles Cheated on Princess Diana
In 1981, Prince Charles married Lady Diana when she was 20 years old, despite a 13-year age gap. On the outside, things looked pleasant, but secretly, Charles was having an affair with ex-girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles. The alleged relationship was written about in the 1992 book “Diana: Her True Story,” but in 1994, Charles admitted his misdeed in a documentary. The marriage was also rocked with another affair, this one between Princess Diana and Major James Hewitt. Unable to put aside their differences, the two divorced in 1996, and one year later, Diana tragically died in a car crash.
#19: Accusations Against Bill Cosby
Given Bill Cosby’s wholesome image from movies and TV shows, the accusations against him were a horrifying shock in every way. It all started to come to light in 2014 when stand up comic Hannibal Buress brought up Bill Cosby’s alleged past behavior during a show in Philadelphia. When this stand-up segment went viral, it became a story in the public conscience. Soon after, more and more women started coming forward with terrible claims about Cosby. He was convicted of aggravated indecent assault in 2018, but then the conviction was later vacated in 2021.
#18: The Brangelina Affair Broke Up Jennifer Aniston’s Marriage to Brad Pitt
Shortly after the filming of “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” Jennifer Aniston separated from Brad Pitt in January 2005 and filed for divorce in March. One month later, the media reported Pitt was dating “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” co-star Angelina Jolie, leading the public to believe an affair between the two actors broke up Aniston’s marriage. For years, Brad denied having an affair with Angelina during production, though Pitt admitted in a 2008 interview that he fell in love with her while they were making the film. However, one of their bodyguards told US Weekly in 2016 the two of them fooled around while on set.
#17: Lance Armstrong Was Doping
Even though his legacy is tarnished, there is still no bigger name in cycling than Lance Armstrong. This athlete broke through the cycling community to become a bonafide celebrity. A big part of that was his cancer survival story and seven consecutive Tour de France wins. But many believed that he was a little too good and accused him of doping. In fact, allegations began almost immediately, with rider Christophe Bassons writing about widespread cheating within professional cycling. Armstrong denied the rumors for years until the United States Anti-Doping Agency revealed that Armstrong was heading a massive doping conspiracy. Bassons was proven right, and Armstrong was stripped of all his accomplishments.
#16: Jeffrey Epstein Was a Predator
While he’s now a household name, Jeffrey Epstein didn’t make mainstream news until the mid 2000s. For a long time, Epstein was a nondescript owner of a brokerage firm. But around 2005, rumors started spreading that Epstein was a sexual predator. They began in March of that year, when a Florida woman accused Epstein of targeting her stepdaughter. This accusation drew the attention of the FBI, who discovered that Epstein was running an extensive sex ring. However, Epstein only spent one year in custody, after agreeing to a plea deal negotiated by the infamous Alan Dershowitz with state attorney Alexander Acosta. Epstein was famously arrested again in 2019, but died in prison before he could be convicted.
#15: Russia Interfered in the 2016 Election
The 2016 presidential election was a historic one, with billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump riding populist, nationalistic sentiments to a shocking victory. Rumors soon emerged that Russia had interfered in the election. It sounds made-up … but turns out it was true - and U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, FBI, and NSA, had the proof. Russian agencies hacked into Democratic email accounts and computer networks, and created thousands of fake social media accounts to sow discord in the United States, criticize Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and support Trump. A Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee concurred with these conclusions.
#14: The Government Is Spying on Us
There are a ton of kooky conspiracy theories out there. For a while, “the government is spying on us through an intricate global surveillance program” sounded like one of them. Well, in 2013, whistleblower and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed mass surveillance programs undertaken by the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence alliance - consisting of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Leaked documents revealed that data was being harvested through covert wiretaps, commercial partners, servers, and even undersea cables. The information obtained ranged from metadata to actual text messages, emails, images, and video chats. Yeah, browsing history is the least of your worries. U.S. officials cast Snowden as a traitor, while public opinion was divided, with some seeing him as a hero.
#13: The Catholic Church Scandal
For years there have been rumors of rampant sexual misconduct within the Catholic Church. It’s the type of rumor that no one wants to believe. After all, the Church is supposed to represent the divine will, an institution of benevolence and safety. Rumors of this sort began in earnest throughout the 1980s, although the alleged abuses go back even further. The rumors picked up steam throughout the ‘90s before The Boston Globe blew the story open in 2002. Their investigation proved that there were systemic issues within the Catholic Church, and the work led to numerous criminal prosecutions. The team would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for their journalism.
#12: Politicians Used Stolen Facebook User Data
Is our social media for sale? A rumor suggesting this began in December 2015 when journalist Harry Davies reported that Ted Cruz was using Facebook data harvested from a British consulting firm called Cambridge Analytica. Reports in a similar vein followed, and the rumor that American politicians were using stolen Facebook data quickly gathered traction. The truth was uncovered in 2018 when whistleblower Christopher Wylie came forth and revealed that, yep, those reports were bang on the money. Cambridge Analytica had harvested nearly 90 million Facebook profiles and sold them to the political campaigns of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. With that, social media - and our trust in it - was never the same.
#11: U.S. Let Guns Flow Into Mexico
In January of 2011, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley wrote to the acting director of the ATF, or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Rumor was that the ATF were allowing assault weapons to cross the Mexico border. An investigation involving ATF whistleblowers confirmed the rumor. It was called Operation Fast and Furious, and it saw the ATF selling guns to purchasers who would then give them to Mexican cartels. The hope was that these guns could be traced to high-ranking members, thereby leading to their arrests. However, the project was an unmitigated disaster. Most of the guns were lost, no cartel bosses were arrested, and the guns were used in violent crimes, including the killing of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
#10: There Are Mysterious Goings-On at Bohemian Grove
Powerful leaders, politicians, and media executives get together and hatch nefarious plots about world domination. It’s one of the most popular conspiracy theories out there, and it’s true - well, kind of. There’s a place called Bohemian Grove, and it’s where powerful leaders, politicians, and media executives - all male - get together every July for a summer retreat. As far as we know, nefarious plots about world domination do not occur there. In fact, the retreat is designed as a get-away from their high-stress jobs, and business talk is strongly discouraged. Unfortunately, we don’t really know what goes on there. Attendees are sworn to secrecy, membership is highly exclusive, and the press is not allowed in.
#9: Bill Clinton Had Relations with Monica Lewinsky
[“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”] It’s one of the most famous lines in American history, and it was a complete load of baloney. Rumors of an affair between then-President Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky had been circulating before the story broke in January 1998. The aforementioned quote was spoken at a press conference soon after. Debate raged for the next couple of months, but the story was put to rest on August 17, when Clinton admitted to the affair in a televised statement. This admission came after the FBI had found traces of Clinton’s DNA on Lewinsky’s dress. Clinton subsequently became the first President in over a century to be impeached.
#8: The Government Made Alcohol Unsafe to Drink
There’s no getting around it: Prohibition was a mess. Few people supported it, it led to a rise in organized crime, it ruined the economy, and people died from drinking poisoned alcohol. Yep, knowing that bootleggers converted industrial alcohol into moonshine, the government mandated that manufacturers add toxic chemicals to their alcohol. Bootleggers knew their sources had been poisoned, but they continued to make moonshine anyway. This led to a 600% increase in alcohol-related deaths, with some sources claiming that up to 10,000 people lost their lives. “The government poisons your booze” sounds like a wild and baseless conspiracy theory, but in this case, it was at least partly true.
#7: Bernie Madoff Was Running a Ponzi Scheme
For a long time, Bernie Madoff was a respected financier. He ran Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities and even served as chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange. But his reputation came under question thanks to persistent rumors that he wasn’t so above-board. Whistleblowers, including an executive named Harry Markopolos, had continuously claimed that Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme. Madoff was even investigated six times by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but they never found anything. It wasn’t until his own sons, Mark and Andrew, came forward that action was finally taken. Madoff was arrested and a Ponzi scheme worth nearly $65 billion was eventually uncovered. Markopolos was vindicated and has fiercely criticized the SEC, even publishing a book called “No One Would Listen.”
#6: America Sold Guns to Iran
In 1979, Nicaragua underwent a revolution, leading to a battle between the socialist government and a group of rebels called Contras. This battle lasted throughout the ‘80s, and the Contras were directly funded by the American government. And where exactly did this money come from? If the rumors were to be believed, it was through the secret selling of weapons to Iran, despite that country having an arms embargo. People had been whispering about this possibility for years, and a Lebanese magazine called Ash-Shiraa wrote about the secret business dealings in 1986. It was this report that broke the story open, and President Ronald Reagan admitted to the initiative ten days after its publication.
#5: #5: The White Sox Threw the World Series
It was October 9, 1919, and the Cincinnati Reds just beat the Chicago White Sox to win the World Series. This wasn’t just an upset - many people literally couldn’t believe it, and rumors abound that the Sox had intentionally thrown the Series. The rumor continued to swell until 1920, when a grand jury uncovered the truth. Jewish mafia crime boss Arnold Rothstein made tons of money on the series through his illegal gambling syndicate, and eight members of the team received kickbacks for throwing the games. The integrity of baseball was utterly shattered and the players were banned from both the sport and future Hall of Fame eligibility, including the iconic Shoeless Joe Jackson.
#4: Enron’s Numbers Didn’t Add Up
If there’s a single name that evokes corporate malpractice, it’s Enron. This Texas energy company was huge in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, with massive stock price gains that made people tons of money. This rate of growth was substantially higher than that of the S&P 500. But it wasn’t all champagne and yachts. Some believed that the company was valued way too high, and even professional economists couldn’t make sense of their balance sheets and financial statements. Nothing added up, and rumors of malfeasance began to circulate. Everything collapsed in 2001, when it was revealed that Enron was cooking their books and hiding debts and losses for financial gain. With the fraud exposed, Enron filed for bankruptcy.
#3: Harvey Weinstein’s Predatory Practices
For decades, producer Harvey Weinstein was a Hollywood titan. But in 2017, bombshell articles in The New York Times and The New Yorker reported dozens of accusations of sexual abuse and assault. More and more women courageous came forward, sparking the #MeToo movement. In March 2020, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years behind bars. But rumors had actually circulated for years. Gwyneth Paltrow alluded to Weinstein as being ‘coercive’ back in 1998. Other celebrities like Courtney Love and Seth MacFarlane dropped public references, and “30 Rock” included not-so-subtle jabs about it. It was less ‘rumor’ and more ‘open Hollywood secret.’ Justice eventually prevailed and Weinstein’s crimes were finally acknowledged and punished.
#2: The Second Gulf of Tonkin Incident Never Occurred
On August 2, 1964, North Vietnamese forces attacked the USS Maddox, which was on patrol in North Vietnamese waters. Two days later, a second attack allegedly occurred against the USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy. President Lyndon B. Johnson used this incident to justify open warfare in Vietnam. However, many questioned whether the second attack had ever happened. This was finally confirmed decades later, when it was revealed that the second ‘attack’ was based on wrongly interrupted communication intercepts. Even though the evidence was dubious at best, Johnson ran with it and never looked back.
#1: Nixon’s Role in Watergate
Not a crook eh? On the night of June 17, 1972, five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters, having already wiretapped phones in a previous break-in. Naturally, suspicion fell on Republican President Richard Nixon’s administration, despite strong denials. Subsequently, a Senate committee, journalists at the Washington Post, and audio recordings of Nixon himself exposed his administration’s complicity. The burglary had been orchestrated by Nixon’s Committee for Re-election. Nixon had obstructed justice by attempting to cover it up. Facing certain impeachment, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. He was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, who had been his Vice President.
Did you buy into any of these from the get-go? Let us know in the comments!
