I recently read an article about Hollywood cheaters, and it posed the following question: "Have Famous Women Gotten Off the Hook When it Comes to Cheating?"
I want to ask that very question myself. It was never something I realized or thought about - but is it true? Have they? What shocked me about the article was the women listed - I had never heard about ANY of them cheating, and as far as I have read, most media news about them since the cheating events have been relatively positive!
The female adulterers listed were as follows:
1.
LeeAnn Rimes: She cheated on her husband of 7 years with co-star of the Lifetime movie "Northern Lights", Eddie Cibrian. She eventually left her husband for him (and he left his wife of 8 years for her) and they have now been married to each other for a year!! (What????)
2.
Jennifer Lopez: She cheated on Chris Judd with Ben Affleck, and then left Judd to marry Affleck. The wedding never happened because Affleck canceled it, and that ended "Bennifer." She then ran back to Marc Antony, who left his wife for her. Jen Antony now has 2 of her own children.
3.
Jennifer Garner: She traded off three guys for each other, presumably cheating not only once but twice. She cheated on husband Scott Foley with co-star on "Alias," Michael Vartan. Still before her divorce with Foley was finalized, she was done with Vartan and making serious plans with Ben Affleck (hm...how's his taste in women doing?). Ben and Jen now have two children together, and have been married for almost 5 years.
4.
Anne Heche: This was Ellen Degeneres' girlfriend, but she cheated on Ellen with cameraman Coley Laffoon. The two ended up getting married, and she cheated on him with James Tupper (co-star of "Men in Trees). Laffoon divorced Heche, and Heche and Tupper are still married.
5.
Julia Roberts: On the set of "The Mexican," Jules fell in love and consummated it with cameraman Danny Moder. He left his pregnant wife for her, and the two of them are still married.
According to this article, some psychologist said that the reason that female cheaters receive less publicity is that they're acting on real feelings as opposed to an addictive disorder.
They therefore do not attract...what, as much attention? I have trouble believing that the media really cares why cheating happens, so long as it's happening and a story unfurls.
The information on this post was taken from the following site: http://www.popeater.com/2010/05/19/famous-women-cheating-scandals/.
What do you think? Why do female celebrity cheaters receive less negative attention and public reprimanding than their equally badly behaved male counterparts?
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Comments (22)
well, it just makes me think... because a lot of those guys listed also cheated on their wives and if these scandals weren't well-known, then neither were these cheating men. doesn't that kind of contradict the point of your article?
Every single one of those ladies mentioned ended up in stable relationships, even though the method in which they entered those relationships were questionable. How many male cheaters ended up happily married? Point being, when male cheaters cheat, it is just for sex most of the time. Just look at Tiger Woods, Jesse James, John Edwards, David Letterman, Kobe Bryant, Bill Clinton, etc.
@andsoshewrites@xanga - Good point.
I just think that maybe women are placed in higher pedestal than most men, people expect women to be better than that ( to cheat). Everyone made it a big deal when Woods cheated because people didnt expect someone like him to do it. Im not justifying it I just think this is the reason why women cant get away with it.
@andsoshewrites@xanga - Not when you look at how atrociously men get dragged through the mud when they're found to be cheating. Shit, it's been weeks and I still hear crap on the radio about Jesse James. Then of course there's Tiger Woods. Or Hugh Grant.
Hugh Grant still gets crap for cheating, but I can't remember the last time I heard anything about any of the above mentioned women.
Unfortunately, we men still have the stigma attached to us that we're nothing more than walking penises looking for our next fuck. So whenever a guy is caught cheating it's "OH! Whatdya know? Another sleazy, two-bit guy hoing it up" which the press latches onto like a lamprey on a salmon. It's a story that most of America laps up consistently enough that it always pays to print a story about it. And forgive me, but would I be wrong to assume that the majority of those consuming this type of drama/gossip is women? No, no I wouldn't. I mean, I have a hard time assuming that InTouch/People and magazines like them aren't targeted at women. And what women wants to hear a ton of bashing against her own sex? Nope, it's much easier to stomach when it's those pig-headed bastards with their fleshy bits on the outside.
well, i think it's wrong regardless of the cheater's gender.
but in all those stories, the cheaters end up marrying (or get close to marrying) the guys they chose. they weren't doing it just to fuck, and they weren't fucking hordes of people (hello, tiger and jesse) so perhaps people saw it as more acceptable.
also, this isn't a gender thing. the people in your stories left their partners to pursue new relationships that have been arguably successful. this is probably seen as less admonishment-worthy than the people who don't leave their partners and just wanted to fuck a lot of people.
I'm not totally up on the whole hollywood drama crap, but I can say this...the only person I know on that list that has cheated was LeAnn Rimes. And I didn't know that her and Eddie Cibrian were married. I didn't hear anything about the other ones cheating, much less the men who also cheated with them. Also, with Jennifer Garner, you say 'presumably cheated'...so that tells me that this hasn't been proven as fact. Either way, I think cheating isn't right no matter what the persons gender. However, I don't consider it cheating if the marriage has ended, but just not legally. Divorces can take a hell of a long time and I don't expect anyone to be celibate for so long (sometimes, years!!!).
@mcmeister89@mancouch - no, you're right. i was more critiquing the argument of the article. every day, i hear this stigma that you speak of, and it is, of course, from women.
the comment at the end, how women cheat because they're acting on emotion kind of perpetuates that - because it implies that women are somehow justified in cheating, at least somewhat, and that all guys are looking for is a place for their penis.
@mcmeister89@mancouch - Amen. +1 to your Man card.
i do think it's a slight double standard but as someone said above, it's because these women mostly had real feelings for these people they cheated with (as exhibited by their entering in serious, stable relationships with them). unlike some cheating celebrity men, who just have meaningless sex with a bunch of women. it's bad either way, but theres definitely a different stigma attatched, for good reason. not to say women couldn't do this-- but not the ones we heard about here.
Women can cross dress, but men can't. YO! Pahahaha
Idgaf WHY people cheat, nor do I care which gender you are. If you do it, you're a scumbag and a sneak. End of story.
Unless you're an open polygamist... that's another plane altogether.
If you cheat, and you're a man, you're a FUCKING MONSTER
But if you're a woman, you simply made a mistake! Poor you, let's feel bad for you, boohoohoo.
No one cares about Tori Spelling and Dean what's-his-face either. I blame the Lifetime movie sets. Nothing but trouble there.
Well it seems like the girls end up marrying the guys they cheat with, whereas with most male cheaters that's not the case. But that's just a trend I noticed--I don't know why the media may or may not let them off easy. Cheating is bad any way you slice it, in my opinion.
When a normal (psychologically speaking) woman cheats, it's for love. She typically doesn't have an emotional connection with her partner anymore.
When a normal man cheats, it's for the sex, even if he has an emotional connection with her... it's seen as more negative because the men who cheat typically don't give a shit about the person they're cheating with or on.
But this is all generalities.
I'm just waiting for the "Sucks to be a man because women already have to deal with double standards, so I don't feel sorry for you pigs," comment.
@quicktofall - ...But the men in those stories end up marrying the ones THEY cheated with (then get cheated on by the ones they married, oh snap).
I mean, no matter how you break it down, it seems to be the case that the women get more of (note, they still get some shit, not saying they're getting off unblemished) a free pass than the men. This is, of course, comparing female celebrities and male celebrities specifically.
Well, LeAnn Rimes' first husband is supposedly gay, so though it's no justification for cheating, the relationship probably wouldn't have worked out anyway.
@andsoshewrites@xanga - you do have a point.
@Kaye - You also make a good point.Maybe the media/society assumes that women cheat because they are unhappy, and then blames the men or something. And since it blames the men for the women's unhappiness it is less inclined to villainize the woman, even though what she did was wrong. On the other hand, the media/society assumes that men cheat because they are sex-crazed jerks. And so far, much of their behavior, in comparison, has confirmed that. The women listed ended up married to someone else, and are still married to that guy (although in Hollywood, who knows how long that will last?). They men listed in Kaye's comment (Tiger Woods, Jesse James, John Edwards, David Letterman, Kobe Bryant, Bill Clinton) cheated just for sex. And that, in the media's opinion, is much worse.
Smh.
definitely.