Tapes are sort of dime a dozen in Hollywood, or at least the rumors of their existence are. It seems like plenty of people have trusted their partners to put them on film doing the deed. A tape is literally what put Kim Kardashian on the map and launched her entire extended family to extreme fame and fortune, so depending on how you think about it, they have had their merit. But for many people having a tape released is more than a little embarrassing or even devastating and not seen as a career-boosting tool. This is exactly why some of them have never made it out and seen despite supposedly existing somewhere out there. Some of these stories are a little more scandalous than others, and a couple of them were incredibly scandalous at the time it happened before tapes became trendy so you might not have heard about them yet. Here are 15 celebs who have confirmed or rumored tapes of their intimate bedroom activities.
15 Tyson Beckford
Model Tyson Beckford has a tape of sorts, although he is the only one featured in it... if you know what we mean. Apparently, this happened over video chat with a female model and it ended up being recorded by the person, or so the story goes. He has reportedly admitted that it isn't exactly a masterpiece and it didn't get much traction anywhere when it was released. Tyson did not seem to be too thrown off by the experience either. He has said, "I don’t even care… life goes on. Sad that it was a woman who had it to release it! Happy mothers day! Lol. Don't even faze me. We all do it, just mine got caught on film. Not much of a tape lol." Tyson seemed a little more relaxed about the whole thing than many people would, which might have something to do with the fact that he's spent a lot of time showing off his body as a model already. Or maybe he's just very comfortable with these things and doesn't think it's anything to be ashamed of.
14 Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe had a tape way back in 1988, which made it one of the first commercially available tapes. It was a bit scandalous for many reasons, one being that there were two unidentified women featured in the video... and oh yeah, there's the fact that one of them was underage at the time. The video also featured Rob's friend Justin Morrit sleeping with another model, so there was a lot of action on this footage. Justin this year made Rob's tape the topic of a Comedy Central roast which in stride despite the serious implications of doing it with a minor. At one point, Rob told Oprah that he was incredibly grateful for the incident since it put him on a path to recovery. He has said, "It ends up being the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Because what it ends up doing is accelerating my alcohol [addiction] to where I finally get sober. I have been able to have the rest of my life that I'm so blessed with, which is now 20 years of sobriety."
13 Kendra Wilkinson
Kendra Wilkinson may have chosen a life of purposefully removing her clothes to pose for Playboy, but she probably wasn't hoping for a private tape to be released against her will. The reality star had a tape leaked in 2010 that was filmed back when she was only 18. She did everything in her power to stop this tape from getting out there but it didn't end up working. Kendra said that the release was heartbreaking and that it would take some time to get over the incident. She has said, “That was me, but that’s not me now. It broke my heart because how can [someone] do that when I have a baby? It just sucks. It’s the hardest thing to deal with right now.” She also stated that she made the tape with her high school boyfriend because she believed that she was going to marry him back then. But since the incident was so jarring, she felt that it would ultimately help her become a better mother in the sense that she can properly teach her kids right from wrong.
12 Paris Hilton
Back in the day, Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton were BFF's, and they also both had tapes. In fact, some people say that Paris' tape was the inspiration for Kim's release as well. Hmmm... One Night in Paris details an evening with Paris' then-boyfriend Rick Salomon, which was shot in 2001 and released in 2004. Paris' tape was unique at the time because a lot of it was shot using night vision, giving it that eerie green tinge. Paris was incredibly famous at the time, so the tape was also very popular. Rick is the one who released the tape, but Paris said she didn't approve, Rick sued her for defamation, she countersued and settled with him out of court. Rick later married and divorced Pamela Anderson. Twice. Paris has expressed pain over the betrayal of the whole thing: "It was devastating because that was someone I was with for a few years. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully trust any man again after that. It was just the most hurtful and awful thing that anyone could do to a little girl. I was very young, it wasn't my fault."
11 Farrah Abraham
The Teen Mom star didn't have a tape accidentally leak like many people do. Nope. She actually willingly starred in one. So we're talking more like a movie. She shot not one, but two movies with James Deen who is in the "industry." However, Farrah later claimed that the only reason the initial tape happened in the first place was because she was put under the influence. She also said that she was forced into sleeping with someone and that this period was a very "dark time." James Deen, on the other hand, the man that starred in the film with her, said that they were hired by Vivid Entertainment to shoot it. Whether or not Vivid initially went to them with an offer or merely picked up the footage on the flip side, Farrah reportedly made $1.5 million from the deal. She has said that the tape "ruined" her life and that it "made it hard to have friends and a private life and to trust family, who I feel use me for money." The second tape in the series used more unaired footage from the same period.
10 Dustin Diamond
The Saved By The Bell star not only had a tape made, but he directed and released it himself. The tape was called Screeched – Saved by the Smell and it's hard to imagine how popular it was with a cringeworthy name like that. He later claimed that it wasn't actually him featured in the tape, but that he had a stunt double that resembled his likeness. Who knows. Dustin later sat down with his former castmate Mario Lopez to discuss the incident. He said that "I had to take a chance. What if that thing had made $3 or 4 million?" Dustin's next attempt at making a big buck didn't go over real well either. Dustin wrote a tell-all book about his time on Saved By the Bell and it would be an incredibly juicy read, except for the fact that it isn't true. He admitted that a ghostwriter wrote most of it and that this person "fabricated a whole bunch of stuff... It wasn't me, I didn't write this. I was just as shocked and appalled."
9 Tonya Harding
Tonya Harding was once famous for being an Olympic champion ice skater... and then even more famous for attacking fellow ice skater Nancy Kerrigan. Well, she actually hired a hitman to take down her competition, which is probably even crazier than doing it herself. This was planned. Listen, 1994 was pretty nuts. Tony pleaded guilty to the whole thing which effectively banned her from the beloved sport for the rest of her life. Tonya and her then husband Jeff Gillooly were looking for a new opportunity after that, so they chose to sell their own tape to Penthouse while the interest was still high to cash in on the notoriety. They each made about $200,000 from the deal. The video was rumored to be shot on their wedding night but they were actually in Halloween costumes. Since then, she's done all sorts of weird things like wrestling and once even saved an old lady who collapsed playing video poker. Perhaps that was her karmic contribution to the world.
8 Minka Kelly
The Friday Night Lights star Minka Kelly shot some intimate footage with an ex and he threatened to release said footage back in 2012. The footage was supposedly shot in a "semi-professional" manner in Mexico, which means that the camera was on a tripod and set up in a way that they could watch the video on a TV while they were recording it, and that she was fully aware of the camera. It was unclear when the video was made but suspected that she was underage when it was shot, which of course would be a big no-no as far as releasing goes. That fact seems to have saved Minka from having to deal with its actual release since it has never seen the light of day. Interestingly the time of the video has been attempted to be placed by the music playing the background, which included two songs from Brandy's Never Say Never album. That album was released 16 days before Minka turned 17, so it's possible that she was only 17 at the time of filming.
7 Eve
The rapper made a tape with former boyfriend/first love Stevie J back in the early 2000s. They were engaged at one point but broke it off because of his infidelity. When the tape was released in 2005, Eve suspected that Stevie J might have had something to do with it, but he claims to have not. She expressed her extreme regret over the release and later found out that it was a former girlfriend who sold the footage. Stevie J tried to say that the video made Eve "hot," be she disagreed. "It definitely didn't. When that happened, tapes weren't 'hot' like that, and I got the FBI involved. So that's not something I wanted to happen." She also regrets the pain that the scandal caused for anyone in her family "It hurt my heart that anyone who was in my circle — whether it be him [Stevie] or anybody else — it hurt my heart that that went out there," Eve said. "That wasn't my thing."
6 Jennifer Lopez
Supposedly Jennifer Lopez and her ex-husband Ojani Noa made a tape on their honeymoon way back in 1997. At least that's the story that he continues to tell. J Lo has never been interested in talking about it much, and if it does exist she has no interest in letting it get out so there are several lawsuits in place that aim to keep it under wraps for all of the time. In 2015 Ojani's business partner Ed said the following:"The videos contain salacious material and are going to shock her fans... We have unfinished business." They sound like nice guys. Ojani and his business partner Ed Meyer have continued to make efforts to do so, and 2015 they said they think they found a way to do it, which would involve producing "a DVD and also have a streaming release of the J Lo home video footage." It seems unlikely that Ojani would get away with that, however, so lucky for Jennifer it seems like she can leave that tape (and that guy) in the past where they belong.
5 Colin Farrell
Actor Colin Farrell shot a tape with his then girlfriend and Playboy model Nicole Narain, and the 14-minute film ended up leaking in 2006. He didn't waste any time filing a lawsuit, claiming that the release would irreparably damage his career. However, Nicole then turned around and claimed that the lawsuit he filed was preventing her from getting work since she was cited as a codefendant in the case. She also challenged his claim that they had agreed to keep the tape private, to begin with. Colin's lawyer went on to say that Nicole was asked to "join us in stopping the tape from being exploited . . . and she refused." Colin has recalled that “The whole thing was horrifying. I was deposed for four hours explaining why I didn’t want it to be released. God forbid, it’s an on-demand movie in a hotel room and my mother says, ‘Oh, I haven’t seen this work of my son’s,’ and hits purchase.”
4 Verne Troyer
Verne Troyer had a tape released in 2008 that featured him with his ex-girlfriend Ranae Shrider. He ended up suing. Verne and Ranae first met at a party at the Playboy mansion and then dated for about six months. They shot the tape while enjoying a romantic getaway at the L’Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills and then was reportedly stolen from their home which is how it got the release. Instead of staying quiet and moving on from the whole thing, Ranae has instead spoken out a lot about the details of their relationship, including talking explicitly about their intimate relationship and making it work with the height difference. Verne is only 2'8", and Ranae is 5'5." She has said that "I never imagined one day I’d date a man who barely came up to my kneecaps. But as soon as I met Verne I was so captivated by his personality, his size didn’t seem to matter."
3 Gene Simmons
KISS frontman Gene Simmons had a tape released in 2008 on a website that was specifically created for that purpose and his lawyers confirmed that the tape was, in fact, real. The tape was released by a woman named Traci Anna Koval, who starred alongside him in it as well as manned the camera while they shot it. Gene's lawyer called for a cease and desist of the video, and besides the intimacy part he also seemed pretty worried about the video's use of "stylized printing which is the registered trademark of KISS Catalog Ltd." In response to the video, the only thing that Gene really said was "You may have heard or seen garbage that has sprung up from my past. Rest assured the proper legal team is looking at all ramifications and options." Some people speculated that the release of the tape was a publicity stunt because it happened soon before a new season of his A&E show Gene Simmons Family Jewels.
2 Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan's tape release was a pretty crazy one since the tape was of him sleeping with his friend's wife... and the guy was there, too. That guy, who's legal name is Bubba the Love Sponge Clem (um, what?) was also responsible for leaking the tape. It gets even crazier by the fact that Bubba's wife Heather Cole claimed that she didn't know that she was being filmed while sleeping with Hulk. She did, however, admit that Bubba liked to make videos of her and that he also liked to choose who she would do the deed with. Sounds like a hot mess. Hulk has said that “I’ve got a ton of regrets about it. It’s the worst decision I’ve ever made in my life.” He has explained that he was at a low point in his life because of challenges in both his career and his marriage and that at the time Bubba was "my only friend… I wasn’t wrestling, I wasn’t around the camaraderie of the guys in the locker room. I was in a really bad spot. And I knew it was wrong, it felt wrong, but I made a horrible decision.”
1 Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson and then husband Tommy Lee had a tape released against their will, and it ended up becoming extremely popular. The footage was actually shot on their honeymoon, so naturally, they were feeling pretty amorous. The tape was stolen from them in 1995 and released when she was pregnant with her son Dylan. It was actually stolen by a disgruntled electrician named Rand Gauthier who was angry at the couple for firing him. He stole an entire safe thinking that he would be gaining access to some money and jewelry, and then felt that he hit the jackpot when he found the tape in there as well. He effectively sold the tape, which was released as Pam & Tommy. The video was quite the hit, Howard Stern said that "It's the greatest tape I have ever seen in my life." But despite its popularity, Pamela herself has never seen it. She told Andy Cohen, "I've never seen it. I made not one dollar. It was stolen property. We made a deal to stop all the shenanigans."
Sources: Mtv.co.uk, Usmagazine.com, Mirror.co.uk, People.com
