TV & Film · True Crime
by The Hollywood Reporter
Everyone knows the story about Richard Gere. Few know how it started. For four decades, a salacious and unproven rumor has shadowed one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Investigative reporter Allen Salkin spent six years chasing its origins — and uncovered a story about gossip, power, politics, the internet and the peculiar wiring of our own brains. New episodes every Thursday.
Episode 5 of Gerbil investigates whether "gerbiling"—an alleged sexual practice involving small animals—is a genuine phenomenon or an urban legend. The episode draws on three primary sources of evidence: case files from a bestiality investigator, a 2024 FBI report, and firsthand accounts from medical professionals who…
Worth it if you're interested in how urban legends form and persist, or curious about investigative approaches to controversial topics.
Episode 4 of Gerbil examines the infamous gerbil rumor that circulated in 1980s Hollywood, contextualizing it within the broader panic and homophobia that gripped American culture following Rock Hudson's death from AIDS-related complications. The episode explores how this urban legend became weaponized against…
Worth it if you're interested in 1980s Hollywood history, the intersection of AIDS panic and homophobia, or how misinformation damages public figures and marginalized communities.
Gerbil episode 3 examines the infamous rumor that dogged Richard Gere's career in the 1980s and beyond, tracing how a false story became cultural mythology. The episode uses Gere's early filmography—roles as pimps and hustlers in films like *American Gigolo*—as a launching point to understand how his on-screen…
Worth it if you're interested in how Hollywood rumors form, celebrity image construction, or Richard Gere's cultural legacy.
Gerbil episode 2 investigates the origins of the infamous 1985 Philadelphia gerbil rumor, shifting focus from the widely-known Richard Gere urban legend to a potentially earlier source: Jerry Penacoli, a prominent Philadelphia newsman. The episode uses eyewitness accounts and archival tape recordings to reconstruct…
Worth it if you enjoy urban legend investigations, media history, or stories about how rumors spread and attach to public figures.
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