Scandal Queen

Five outrageous sagas that made Elizabeth Taylor notorious
By Eric Kohanik, ReMIND Magazine

Elizabeth Taylor was the subject of much gossip throughout her life. Here are five scandals that made her particularly newsworthy:
Homewrecker
Taylor was a close friend of actress Debbie Reynolds from the time they were teenagers. But things took a turn when Reynolds’ husband, singer Eddie Fisher, and Taylor sparked one of Hollywood’s biggest scandals. Fisher had been a good friend of Taylor’s third husband, producer Mike Todd. After Todd died in a plane crash in 1958, Fisher reached out to console Taylor. The gesture blossomed into an affair that caused public uproar and branded Taylor as a husband-stealing homewrecker.
Another Affair To Remember
With fans still reeling from the Taylor/Fisher/Reynolds saga, Taylor was soon the focus of another worldwide scandal, this time with Richard Burton. She had married Fisher in 1959, while Burton had been married to actress Sybil Williams since 1949. Burton joined the cast of 1963’s Cleopatra in the summer of 1961, when the problem-riddled production moved from England to Rome. An adulterous fling began on set, triggering moral outrage that went all the way to the Vatican, with the pope accusing her of “erotic vagrancy.”
Alcoholism/Painkiller Addictions
Taylor waged a long battle with alcoholism and an addiction to painkillers arising from longstanding hip and back pain. There was also a dependence on sleeping pills to overcome insomnia. Her heavy-duty partying and booze-filled tussles became legendary as well. Taylor’s addictions led to stints at the Betty Ford Center in 1983-84 and again in 1988, in addition to multiple other hospitalizations. And yet, her wild lifestyle never really subsided. In fact, in later years, Taylor still often boasted of her unrelenting desire — and ability — to out-party everyone.
Nudity Shockers
Several of Taylor’s scenes in Cleopatra caused mouths to gape. They also helped make it 1963’s highest-grossing movie. Among the shockers were a nude massage scene and a nude bath. There were also scenes of Taylor in see-through clothing or revealing plenty of cleavage. Playboy magazine jumped on it all. An eight-page pictorial in the January 1963 issue highlighted those scenes, sparking interest in the movie’s upcoming release and boosting Taylor’s roguish reputation. No wonder she was the highest-paid film star at that time.
Michael Jackson
It was one of the oddest friendships ever. Taylor and Michael Jackson met in 1984 and shared a bond that grew out of similar troubled childhoods and adult addictions. As the years progressed, their relationship became very close, with them often spending afternoons sipping tea and watching Disney movies. They reportedly also engaged in food fights and other childlike horseplay. And they showered each other with extravagant gifts. When Jackson and Taylor showed up together at the 1986 American Music Awards, the media noticed they were more than casual friends. Jackson’s death in 2009 had a big impact on Taylor — so much so that, when she died in 2011, she was entombed in the same mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif.
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