Shocking Facts About The Biggest Scandals Of The 1980s
Celebrities behaving badly. Sports drama. Political scandals. Bad boy televangelists. The 1980s were a truly wild time. Here are shocking facts about the biggest 1980s scandals.
1980s Scandals Facts
1. The Controversial Cannibal Holocaust
The 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust created a wave of controversy due to its graphic content. Some even alleged that the movie was a quasi snuff film and claimed that the flick contained scenes of people being killed. While that wasn't true, the movie's overwhelming brutality led several countries to ban it. The film became particularly infamous for maiming real animal on screen.
2. From Hero to Zero
Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was riding high in the 1980s. He followed up his first place finish in the 100-meter dash at the 1987 World Championships with an Olympic Gold Medal in 1988.
However, only a few days after winning the Gold, his doping test came back positive for steroids. Johnson lost his Olympic medal and world record. He later admitted to cheating during the 87 World Championships. He lost that medal too.
3. Televangelist Transgression
The world of 1980s scandals is full of televangelists and for their many transgressions. One of the most prominent? Jim Bakker who, along with his wife Tammy Faye, hosted the popular television show The PTL Club. Despite Bakker's proclamations of living a clean Christian life, it turned out that Bakker embezzled funds from his church’s fundraising efforts. Even worse, some of that money bought the silence of Jessica Hahn. The former church secretary alleged that Bakker drugged and assaulted her.
_Ruggero_Deodato_-_Villaggio.png){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}