The A – Z of Rock & Roll Sex Scandals
These superstars put the “dic” in dictionary
Anderson, Pamela
Model and former Baywatch star, sometime consort of Kid Rock, Poison’s Bret Michaels, Michael Bolton, Fred Durst. Most famous within rock circles for co-starring in 1996 sex tape made with then-husband and father of her children Tommy Lee (see also Huge Genitalia) in which he masturbates over his wife’s Zeppelin-like breasts and honks the horn of a speedboat using his penis.
Asphyxiophilia
Practice of heightening sexual pleasure by applied self-suffocation. INXS vocalist Michael Hutchence’s 1997 death in an Australian hotel room (official cause: suicide) is widely believed to have been a kinky asphyxiophilia misadventure. Hutchence’s partner, Paula Yates, initially disputed the rumors about Hutchence’s death—“he was not having a wank on a door”—but then changed her mind; he was having a wank on a door, after all. David Carradine recently brought this one back into the spotlight.
Beverly Hills Police Department
Upscale Los Angeles law-enforcement bureau. Responsible for the 1998 arrest of George Michael for “engaging in a lewd act” in a public restroom. Michael put a romantic sheen on events, saying a “slightly inebriated pop star on a lovely summer’s day” was coaxed by a “well over six foot, fairly attractive” stranger. Then they looked at each other’s penises.
Bisexuality
Attraction or behavior directed toward more than one sex. David Bowie met ex-wife Angie when they were both “fucking the same bloke” (record executive Calvin Mark Lee). Angie later lectured on bisexuality at posh English private school Eton. Also doubling their chances: Madonna (see also Fake Lesbians; Vanilla Ice), Michael Stipe and Elton John, who explained, “People should be very free with sex. They should draw the line at goats.”
Crack-Smoking
Ingestion of potent crystalline form of cocaine, the drug of choice of funk singer Rick James. In 1991, 24-year-old Frances Alley claimed that an intoxicated James ordered her to strip naked, tied her to a chair and burned her with a hot pipe, after which she was hit in the face with a handgun and forced to perform cunnilingus upon James’s girlfriend. Alley went to the police and—following a separate, drug-fueled assault on another woman—James was put on trial. Charges included false imprisonment, torture, forcible oral copulation and aggravated mayhem.
Dildo
Object shaped like an erect penis used for sexual stimulation. For fans unable to experience the real thing, Duran Duran guitarist Warren Cuccurullo (see also Web Site, Personal) marketed an 8” dildo, the Rock Rod, modeled on his own genitalia, in 2002. In general, such sex toys are not recommended for use outside the bedroom: In 1999 two members of German industrial metal outfit Rammstein were arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior during a concert in Worcester, Massachusetts, for simulating sodomy with a large dildo that emitted milk.
Durst, Fred
Fleshy Limp Bizkit mouthpiece. Notorious for chronicling romantic liaisons via overwrought blog entries and, more graphically, a widely circulated rear-entry nookie video (see also X-Rated Video) co-starring an unidentified model and Fred’s ample stomach. The three-minute clip—allegedly taken from Durst’s computer while it was being repaired—is the latest in a career-long obsession with proving to the public that he has, despite common sense indicating otherwise, had sex with a woman.
Explicit Album Art
Commonplace controversy-starter among conservatives and Wal-Mart executives; banned or altered covers have depicted: naked underage girls (Blind Faith, Blind Faith; anything by Bow Wow Wow); visible nipples (Jane’s Addiction, Nothing’s Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual); trace amounts of pubic hair (The Black Crowes, Amorica); and, worst of all, wildly unkempt pubic hair (John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Two Virgins).
Fake Lesbians
Perpetrators of pseudo-sapphic acts, often employed as pop publicity stunt. Especially ingenious were entirely heterosexual teenage Russian duo t.A.T.u., who promoted their 2002 album, 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, with a doe-eyed make-out session on The Tonight Show—cut by network censors—and massed girl-on-girl action at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards. Madonna (see also Bisexuality; Vanilla Ice)—after a same-sex dalliance with Naomi Campbell in her 1992 book, Sex—proved that middle age is no bar to publicity-friendly sexual experimentation by kissing both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at 2003’s MTV Video Music Awards. More recently, honest-to-God lesbian twin sisters and indie-rockers Tegan & Sara were at the center of a small controversy when claims emerged that they were in an incestuous relationship. They promptly laughed off such rumors.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
’80s British dance group whose enthusiasm for S&M outfits, suggestive lyrics and wanton homoeroticism was dimly viewed by the regulators of British broadcasting. Enjoyed short-lived but nonetheless scandalous career, thanks to wise PR and songs like “Rage Hard” and “Relax”—which featured the inquisitive come-on “When you wanna come?” The shocked BBC banned the “Relax” single in the U.K., but the kinky imagery of the video helped it sell more than a million copies.
Girls Gone Wild
Salacious but highly successful home-video series. Employed hip-hop star and herb connoisseur Snoop Dogg to host 2002’s Girls Gone Wild: Doggy Style, a further installment of footage of drunk girls flashing breasts. In 2003, two women filed suit against Snoop, claiming they weren’t aware they were being filmed; the case was settled out of court. Snoop—who in 2002 won two Adult Video News awards for his Hustler-distributed porn movie Doggystyle—has distanced himself from GGW, claiming the tapes hurt his attempts at adopting a more family-friendly image.
Glitter, Gary
Disgraced ’70s arena-rock star with who faced , and was convicted of, multiple counts of child pornography due to images found in 1997 on a computer sent in for repairs. Charges and investigations stacked up over the years, including a 2005 charge for molesting two underage Vietnamese girls (see Underage Girls). Glitter served jail time in Thu Doc prison before being released in 2008. He has been banned from entering practically every Asian country on the map.
Go-Go’s, The
Bubbly girl group, formed in Los Angeles, 1978. Their fresh all-American image was undermined by the post-gig pranks captured in a grainy, heavily-circulated underground video. The tape shows the intoxicated band harassing one of their drunken male roadies, spying on him as he masturbates in a bathroom stall, covering his ass with shaving cream and eventually corking him with a dildo. None of the women appear naked in the hour-long video—but lead singer Belinda Carlisle subsequently posed for Playboy.
Huge Genitalia
Generous endowment that possibly explains much about certain stars: Q-Tip’s lyrical swagger, the self-confidence behind Huey Lewis’ assertion that it was hip to be square, etc. Undisputed cock-rock king remains Iggy Pop (see also Public Indecency), due to willingness to publicly display his enormous good fortune. Stooges gigs were enlivened by unscheduled appearance of Pop member: “He put his dick on the speaker,” remembered one witness. “It was just vibrating around.”
Inflatable Penis
Outsized stage prop typically used to make a statement about the performers’ antisocial credentials and/or relaxed sexual values. Pioneered by the Rolling Stones in 1975, the group’s 20-foot faux genital organ would be ridden by vocalist Mick Jagger during performances of groupie anthem, “Star Star,” often despite prior warnings from law-enforcement officers. Similar device also employed by the Beastie Boys on their 1987 Licensed to Ill tour—only five feet longer and with the addition of a motor.
Jesus Juice
Quasi-religious alias given to white wine by then-46-year-old King of Pop and amateur sommelier Michael Jackson; red wine correspondingly known as “Jesus’ Blood.” Sipping both from cans of soda, Jackson allegedly plied a 13-year-old boy and his brother with the “holy” drink—along with antihistamines—before making them watch pornography. A former associate of Jackson’s claims the Juice once caused Jackson to pass out on the floor of a plane during a flight to Germany.
Judas Priest
1970s “Hellbent for Leather” British metal band whose drummer, 55-year-old David Holland, was sent to prison in 2004 for the attempted rape of a learning-disabled 17-year-old boy. Holland had been giving the boy drum lessons and, according to court papers, had also been providing him with booze and porn in order to win his trust. Holland did 10 years in Priest; he’s been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Kelly, R.
R&B superstar known for an alleged compulsion to seduce and urinate on underage girls, blurrily documented in a 27-minute x-rated video that surfaced in 2002. Charged with 21 counts of child pornography, Kelly quickly released whiny single “Heaven, I Need a Hug” and, while his trial was pending, insisted he wasn’t the urinator in question. (The case finally went to trial in June of 2008, with Kelly being found not guilty on all charges.) Comic Chris Rock expressed doubts: “Motherfucker, we know what you look like. That’s you, OK?. . . [Your] damn Soul Train award [is] right next to the bed!”
Lil’ Kim
X-rated rapper, né Kimberly Denise Jones. The ex and protégé of Notorious B.I.G. pioneered public shirtlessness—usually wearing what appear to be yarmulkes on her nipples. Despite postulating fellatio as morally superior to shopping, surprisingly claims to take her inspiration from Diana Ross, saying, “She touched me, in a way, when I was a young girl.” Ross picked up where she let off at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, squeezing Kim’s breast. One website boasts it has pictures of Lil’ Kim fully clothed.
Love Children
Illegitimate children with paternity claims, often afflicting rock stars with fuzzy memories and dusty wallets. Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger finally admitted being the biological father of baby Lucas in 1999—after his mother arranged a DNA test. Ted Nugent—“Father of the Year at children’s school” according to tednugent.com—doesn’t like paying for his love child. The real downside is their aging effect: Young fans of Bush’s Gavin Rossdale, 43—father to a 20-year-old—realized he was old enough, literally, to be their dad.
Mann Act
Federal statute forbidding the interstate transportation of women for immoral purposes. Initiated Chuck Berry’s career in scandal, when, in 1960, he was sentenced to five years in prison for taking a 14-year-old girl from Arizona to Missouri to work at his Bandstand club. In 1994, Berry settled out of court over allegations that he had secretly placed cameras in the ladies’ restroom cubicles of his Berry Park property later claimed staff there had sold pictures to a porn mag of women playing with his Ding-a-Ling.
“Me So Horny”
1989 rap record—named for sample of prostitute from Stanley Kubrick’s film Full Metal Jacket—by Florida’s 2Live Crew, whose As Nasty As They Wanna Be CD became the first album to be legally ruled obscene in the U.S. Later bids for credibility—a line of Homeboy Condoms and AIDS-consciousness release “Who’s Fuckin’ Who”—undermined by frontman Luther Campbell’s claim to have enjoyed oral sex with fans onstage, and the Clinton/Lewinsky-themed makeover “Bill So Horny: The Presidential Remix.”
Mystikal
Born Michael Tyler, MC (“Shake Ya Ass”) and Operation Desert Storm vet convicted for sexual battery in 2004. An image-conscious sexual assailant, Tyler blackmailed his hairstylist into submitting to anal and oral sex with him and two others, but not until she had braided his hair. Facing life in prison on a charge of aggravated rape, Tyler pleaded guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Neil, Vince
Chubby Mötley Crüe frontman in 2004 sentenced to a 30-day suspended jail term, $1,000 fine and anger-management training after attempting to strangle prostitute TriXXie Blue.
Nipples
Small conical projections on surface of mammary gland; staple of rock outrage. The heavily decorated nipple of Janet Jackson, exposed by Justin Timberlake during 2004’s Super Bowl halftime show, led to the FCC’s fining CBS $500,000. 2004 also saw Courtney Love apparently start to show hers to the world, one person at a time—beginning with a nonplussed David Letterman, then outside a Manhattan branch of Wendy’s, where she invited a 23-year-old man to suck one of them.
Nude Photos
Some recording artists have ignited a firestorm with leaked topless photos; Disney girl-next-door and High School Musical star Ashley Hudgens nearly incurred the wrath of the Mouse after sending nude pics of herself to boyfriend Zac Efron’s cell phone. Meanwhile, pop-rock bombshell Katy Perry was recently the victim of a fake photo of her in her birthday suit.
One Night In Paris
Sex tape featuring knickerless heiress Paris Hilton and then-boyfriend Rick Salomon, filmed in 1999. A three-minute version appeared online, which Salomon said was bootlegged; in 2004 a Salomon-sanctioned 45 minutes became the year’s best-selling porn video, snaring him a reported $7 million. Salomon claimed he had to release it to scotch allegations that Paris was drugged and assaulted. Paris was subsequently awarded a percentage of the profits—and her condition led Conan O’Brien to describe a later hotel-room robbery as “another man who got in and out without her noticing.”
Plaster Caster, Cynthia
Socially awkward Chicago art student/groupie; achieved notoriety in the late 1960s by casting rock stars’ erections in plaster—including Jimi Hendrix ’s menacing phallus (6 1/4 inches in circumference)—comically exploiting male narcissism in a quest for trophy sex. Initially a gimmick to distinguish herself among groupies, her increasingly professional art led to media rumors that she could only orgasm while casting, and to the 1977 Kiss song “Plaster Caster”—written by Gene Simmons, who has yet to merit a molding.
Public Indecency
Criminal misdemeanor that typically involves the whipping out of genitals onstage to express contempt for fans’ blind idolatry (Pop, Iggy) or to solidify a reputation as prankish libertines (Chili Peppers, Red Hot). First popularized by the Doors’ Jim Morrison at a March 1, 1968, Miami concert, during which he blathered drunkenly, screeched “There are no rules!” and allegedly aired his penis. Public outcry (including a Rally for Decency attended by 30,000 shaken teens) led to Morrison’s arrest and conviction, after which he got pudgy, wrote bad poetry and died at 27 in a Paris bathtub.
Queen
British band fronted by bisexual Freddie Mercury, perhaps the most libidinous man in the history of recorded sound. Launch party for 1978 album Jazz displayed Mercury’s trademark subtle approach: naked hermaphrodite dwarves serving cocaine from trays strapped to their heads, transsexual strippers, naked dancers in bamboo cages, nude models wrestling in baths filled with raw liver and Samoan women smoking cigarettes with their genitals.
Rolling Stones
Rock & roll band, formed in London, 1962. Viewed as deviant ever since guitarist Keith Richards’ country home, Redlands, was raided by police in 1967 and reports—since dismissed as apocryphal—circulated that singer Mick Jaggerhad been caught consuming a chocolate bar from between the legs of then-girlfriend Marianne Faithfull. View reinforced by 1972’s sleazy unreleased tour movie, Cocksucker Blues. Pronounced “sinful” by a Tallahassee preacher in 1975, the group has since caused disgust by using bondage-themed images of bruised young ladies to promote the album Black and Blue (1976), been suspected of carnal impropriety with Canada’s first lady, Margaret Trudeau (1977), and raised eyebrows when 52-year-old bassist Bill Wyman married 19-year-old Mandy Smith in 1989, six years after beginning their relationship (see also Underage Girls). Recent misbehavior has been restricted to Jagger’s love children and “love rat” promiscuity.
Shakur, Tupac
Murdered rapper and renowned “player,” Shakur was made to submit to HIV tests before Poetic Justice co-star Janet Jackson would kiss him. Imprisoned in 1995 for felony sexual assault in controversial gang-rape case; he told Mickey Rourke he had been set up by an “FBI snitch” whom Mike Tyson had warned him about from prison. While jailed, Shakur sent enough racy poems to a female pen pal to form her book Inside a Thug’s Heart. Even two-timed behind bars, marrying Keisha Morris while still imprisoned.
Simmons, Gene
Born Chaim Witz (Israel, 1949), Yeshiva-educated rocker noted for elaborate makeup. Claims to have bedded 4,600 women, an allegation he backs with as-yet-unseen Polaroid inventory. His tongue is so long he can apparently perform oral sex “from across the room.” Sells red latex “Tongue Lubricated” Kiss Kondoms featuring Gene Simmons; now everyone can have sex with Gene Simmons for $4.95. Asked what he looks for in a woman, replied “me.” (See also Plaster Caster, Cynthia.)
Smell the Glove
Fictitious metal band Spinal Tap’s 14th album, detailed in Christopher Guest’s 1984 mockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap. Also called The Black Album after record company blacked out original artwork of a greased, naked, dog-collar-wearing woman on all fours being ordered to sniff a man’s black glove. The band objected to charges of sexism, saying they originally wanted her to be depicted smelling a penis.
Teabagging
Traditionally the act of lowering the testicles into another person’s mouth, either as a non-penetrative sexual act or a prank played upon an unconscious or sleeping victim. Recently the definition has broadened to mean bringing the crotch into contact with any part of someone’s head. On two separate occasions Marilyn Manson has appeared in court for making security guards at his concerts unwitting participants in his theatrical teabagging activities.
Trevi, Gloria
Provocative Latin American singer known as the Mexican Madonna or La Atrevida (“The Daring One”). Trevi sold five million albums in the ’90s, but in 1998, facing startling allegations of using her status to procure young girls as sex slaves for her manager, boyfriend Sergio Andrade, Trevi fled Mexico. Arrested in Brazil and imprisoned until her name was cleared due to insufficient evidence in 2004.
Underage Girls
Sexual partners beneath the legal age of consent; a mainstay in the adolescent-fantasy world of the professional musician. After Jerry Lee Lewis was booed offstage during his 1958 U.K. tour due to outrage at his marriage to his 13-year-old second cousin, such relationships have been conducted with discretion. Elvis Presley and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler have all since enjoyed similar dalliances, a sex crime applauded within the entertainment industry: “If I played guitar I’d be Jimmy Page/The girlies I like are underage,” sang the Beastie Boys on “The New Style.” (See also: Kelly, R.; Rolling Stones, The; Zeppelin, Led.)
Vanilla Ice
Also-ran, lip-pouting rapper-dancer-actor who managed to feel up Madonna (see also Fake Lesbians), as evidenced in her 1992 book, Sex. In a series of black-and-white photos, a topless Ice (né Robert Van Winkle) gropes, grinds and scowls semi-thuggishly with an eventually entirely naked Ciccone. He later coyly alluded to a sex tape featuring the two of them, though said video remains undiscovered.
Web Site, Personal
Internet forum usually used by bands for disseminating information on forthcoming albums, appearances and tours. In a mass virtual bonding exercise, former Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro posted images of himself manhandling his penis, asking, “Once you’ve seen a person masturbating, how much deeper can you go?” Equally libidinous guitarist Warren Cuccurullo (see also Dildo) exhibited explicit videos of himself in the “members only” area of his website, though these were removed in 2003, shortly after he became engaged.
X-Rated Videos
Homemade sex-tape footage, often featuring rock star as both director and lead actor (see also Durst, Fred; One Night in Paris; Kelly, R.). Recent notable examples include R&B stars Usher, whose rumored tape features him not only engaged in a threesome but engaged in a threesome while listening to music by a future girlfriend (“Waterfalls” by TLC), and Ray J, whose 2007 romp with then-girlfriend Kim Kardashian was widely circulated. White Stripes drummer Meg White was said to have been involved in a sex tape, which turned out to be a fake. Poor bootlegged footage can make sex tapes an unedifying experience for viewers—but still better than “official” rock-related X-rated videos, e.g. Backstage Sluts 2, which features porn stars bumping and grinding while Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst and Wes Borland leer in the background. Stars such as Naughty By Nature’s Treach have even branched out into the world of adult film as actors.
You’ll Never Make Love in This Town Again
Best-selling tawdry memoir of four Los Angeles prostitutes going by the names of Robin, Liza, Linda and Tiffany, published in 1996. Celebrity “johns” mentioned include Billy Idol, George Harrison and the Eagles—Don Henley being singled out due to his fondness for multiple partners—although this disclosure came as a surprise only to those who assumed that successful rock musicians restrict sexual relations to intercourse with their spouse or long-term girlfriend.
Zeppelin, Led
British rock quartet, formed in London, 1968. Creators of heavy metal, devil-worship, guitar solos with violin bows and the many legends of backstage sexual excess chronicled in Stephen Davis’s salty 1985 bio, Hammer of the Gods. Among the more infamous transgressions: then-28-year-old guitarist Jimmy Page lengthy affair with a 14-year-old groupie (see also Underage Girls) and a 1968 incident in which a dead shark was stuffed into a female fan’s vagina.
Read This Next
