10 Forgotten Celebrity Scandals Of The ’90s
Published on May 11, 2016. Updated August 22, 2017The ‘90s had its fair share of scandals, most of which are forgotten now. So much has happened since then and we all know that there is still lots more to come. We decided to take a walk down memory lane and visit some of these forgotten celebrity scandals from the ‘90s. Warning: some of these are pretty sordid!
10 . Eddie Murphy Found with a Transsexual Prostitute
In 1997, Eddie Murphy found himself in hot water when police caught him in the wee hours of the morning with a transsexual prostitute, Atisone Seuli, in his car. He tried to convince police that he was just being a Good Samaritan and giving the prostitute a ride; however, police noted that Murphy had picked Seuli up on a Hollywood strip that was notorious for its homosexual prostitute trade. When Murphy had picked up Seuli, police had been already been watching this particular prostitute because he had broken his probation by failing to take an HIV test. The A-list actor – who was married at the time with three children – was eventually released and not charged with any crime but, man, he still looked pretty guilty!
Everett Collection9. TLC’s Left Eye Burns Down Her Boyfriend’s House
TLC’s Left Eye (real name Lisa Lopes) and her one-time boyfriend Andre Rison had a pretty tempestuous relationship back in the ‘90s. There were reports of physical abuse and, according to her, he was clubbing all of the time and stopped coming home on most nights. On June 9, 1994, he came home at 5 a.m. to a to a very livid Left Eye. They fought and he left, and that’s when she put his shoes in his bathtub and set fire to them. She also went outside and smashed the windshields of his Toyota truck and two Mercedes-Benz cars. By the time Rison got home at 9 a.m., his home and his belongings were all burnt to the ground. She was charged with felony arson and was sentenced five years probation and therapy at a halfway house, in addition to paying a $10,000 fine.
Everett Collection8. Milli Vanilli Stripped of Their Grammy
Milli Vanilli shot to fame thanks to their debut album Girl You Know It’s True; however, it was short lived. In 1990, they were stripped of their Grammy after it was revealed that the duo, Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan, didn’t actually sing any of their hit songs. Instead session musicians and vocalists, including rapper Charles Shaw and two middle-aged American singers, Johnny Davis and Brad Howell, were the ones doing the singing. Unfortunately, physically they weren’t marketable, hence the need for Pilatus and Morvan, who were both models and backup dancers. By the time they came along, the album had already been recorded and they were so poor and desperate that their producer, Frank Farian, was able to coerce them into keep their lip-synching a secret.
Everett Collection7. Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s Sex Tape Leaked
Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee made a sex tape on their honeymoon and it was stolen from their home in 1995. It turns out that they had pissed off the wrong person. They had hired a handful of people to do renovations at their Malibu mansion and then had refused to pay the crew for the work that was shoddily done. When they were packing up their tools, Lee had pulled a shotgun on them, which prompted one of the men to come back and steal a giant safe that was tucked away in the garage. Anderson sued the video distribution company, Internet Entertainment Group, and both Anderson and Lee entered into a confidential settlement agreement with IEG; however, she has since claimed that she never made a penny from the video.
Mirrorpix/Courtesy Everett Collection6. Pee-Wee Herman’s Arrest
Children’s television star Pee-Wee Herman – whose real name is Paul Ruebens – was arrested and charged with exposure of a sexual organ back in 1991 when he was caught exposing himself in an adult movie theatre. As a result, CBS stopped airing Pee-Wee’s Playhouse; Disney-MGM Studios suspended a video that featured him explaining how voice over tracks worked for its studio tour; and CBS canceled its reruns of Pee-wee’s Playhouse. Reubens pleaded no contest and the charge was kept off his record; however, he had to spend 75 hours performing community service and make an anti-drug public service announcement that he would write, produce and finance.
Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com5. Charlie Sheen Shoots Kelly Preston
Back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Charlie Sheen and Kelly Preston were a couple and it was just as dramatic as all of his other relationships. Most people believe that Sheen accidentally shot Kelly back in 1990; however, he claims that wasn’t the case. According to him, she was lifting his pants off the floor one morning when a tiny revolver fell out, went off, hit the toilet and then some shrapnel hit her in the wrist. According to him, he was so perplexed by what happened, he didn’t know whether to call 411 or 911.
Source: www.carbonated.tv4. Michael Jackson’s Trial
In 1993, Evan Chandler, father of 13-year-old Jordan Chandler, accused Michael Jackson of molesting his son. Jackson had befriended the child and his mother the year before. A criminal investigation was opened; however, it stalled because a separate civil suit, charging sexual battery, seduction, willful misconduct, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud and negligence was filed by Evan. Despite denying any guilt, Jackson settled with the family out of court for approximately $25 million. Because of the settlement, the criminal investigation couldn’t proceed, so the case was suspended.
Source: www.wizzed.com3. Backstreet Boys and ‘NSync Sue Their Manager Lou Pearlman
During the ‘90s, Lou Pearlman discovered two of the most successful boy bands, Backstreet Boys and ‘NSync. Despite the success of both groups, the members saw very little money even though they were touring and selling lots of records. Members of the Backstreet Boys were the first to sue Pearlman in 1997 and 1998. During discovery, they learned that Pearlman was being paid as a sixth member of the group and that, while they had only made $300,000 for all of their work, Pearlman and his record company had made millions. He settled with individual members of the group in 1998. ‘Nsync was having similar issues with Pearlman soon followed suit and they settled with him the following year.
Source: www.dailystormer.com2. Sinead O’Connor Tears Up a Picture of the Pope on SNL
Sinead O’Connor caused some serious controversy back in 1992 when she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II while singing a cappella version of Bob Marley’s “War” Saturday Night Live. She was trying to draw attention to the child abuse within the Roman Catholic Church (and changed the lyrics in the song to reflect that); however, she hadn’t told producers that she was planning to do this (and many people weren’t aware of the Church’s role in covering up child abuse), so a huge firestorm ensued that nearly ended O’Connor’s career.
1. Hugh Grant Caught with a Prostitute
In 1995, during the peak of his career, Hugh Grant was arrest for engaging in lewd conduct with a prostitute in a public place. He pleaded no contest and was fined $1,180, placed on two years’ probation and was ordered to complete an AIDS education program. Grant was dating Liz Hurley at the time and, surprisingly, this indiscretion didn’t end their relationship. They managed to work it out and date for another five years and, to this day, they remain great friends.
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