Leighton Meester is young, rich and famous.
She also has that nasty rumor of a sex tape following her wherever she goes. Apparently, it comes with the territory.
“I don’t want most of what comes along with all of this,” the “Gossip Girl” star tells Harper’s Bazaar in its September issue, out Aug. 18.
Plus, it’s not even true, she says.
“[The tape] is not real,” Meester tells the mag, “so it makes me sort of sad. It’s unfortunate that it got carried as far as it did.
“I definitely understand the nature of people better now and that the mere allegation of something like that could be headline news. People think it’s real because somebody says it is.”
So true, Meester. So true.
– – –
In good/bad company
Leighton Meester’s latest scandal certainly isn’t the first time a celeb has had to address naughty video rumors. Proven or not, here’s a look at a few others who have landed in the sex tape scandal pot.
Rob Lowe
You thought Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee started the whole sex tape thing? Not so. “Brothers & Sisters” star Rob Lowe started a firestorm in the ’80s after footage of him having relations with two women — one of whom was reportedly a minor, according to The New York Times — surfaced.
Pamela Anderson, Tommy Lee
In the early days of DVD, footage of Pam and Tommy doin’ it on a boat took off after it leaked on the Internet in the late ’90s. The couple became synonymous with scandalous sex footage.
Paris Hilton
Who says getting caught on tape is a bad thing? Not Paris Hilton. The heiress saw her career skyrocket after an up-close-and-personal tape of Hilton and a former lover performing the act found its way to the World Wide Web. Without it, the world may have never known “Paris Hilton’s My New BFF.”
Kid Rock, Scott Stapp
The rockers sued a porn company a few years back after it tried to release a video that allegedly showed Rock, Stapp and at least one other woman involved in sex acts.
Dustin Diamond
Word on the street is the guy behind “Saved by the Bell’s” Screech character wants no part of the much-talked-about (though never really confirmed) “Saved by the Bell Reunion.” Also, he has a porn tape.
Kim Kardashian
The socialite also sued a porn distributor a few years back after it started moving toward releasing an intimate tape of Kardashian and then-boyfriend Ray J. The footage never saw the light of day — as far as we know.
Colin Farrell
The actor filed a lawsuit against his ex-girlfriend, who tried to sell a naughty tape the two made in 2003. Like the alleged Kardashian tape, it never gained traction in the pop culture consciousness.
