Liar, Liar: Public Figures Whose Secrets Were Exposed
Toronto mayor Rob Ford, Bill Clinton, Marion Jones and more.
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It Wasn't Me - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was adamant about not using crack cocaine. But two days after addressing the city to dispel rumors that he had smoked a crack pipe, he came clean and had a change of heart. Unfortunately, Ford is not the first public figure to deny a secret and then retract a statement to admit the truth. From Bill Clinton to Kwame Kilpatrick to Simon Cowell, BET.com takes a look at public figures who lied about sex, drugs and other transgressions. — Dominique Zonyéé(Photo: Chris Young/AP Photo/The Canadian Press)
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Rob Ford - After denying that he smoked crack cocaine, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford came clean on Nov. 5 addressing the city at Toronto Town Hall. “Yes, I have I smoked crack before yes…but am I an addict, no,” Ford said. Ford’s confession came after police said they possessed a video of Ford smoking a crack pipe. As the crack scandal unfolds, Ford says he will remain in office.(Photo: Chris Young/AP Photo/The Canadian Press)
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Bill Clinton - It was a scandal that rocked the nation — sex, lies, adultery and the president. President Bill Clinton started an affair in November 1995 with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. The affair was exposed and Clinton denied it. But evidence and testimony led to his January 1999 impeachment, the nation’s first since Andrew Jackson in 1868. He was acquitted of all charges on Feb. 12, 1999.(Photo: Win McNamee/Reuters)
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Kwame Kilpatrick - It’s a rap for former “hip hop” mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick, who was sentenced to 28 years in prison on Oct. 10. Over the course of his administration, Kilpatrick lied on the stand, had an affair with his chief of staff, was linked to the murder of a stripper, plus more. The truth came out in March when he was convicted on two dozen counts of racketeering and extortion.(Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
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Marion Jones - When the feds opened an investigation in 2004 into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, the infamous performance enhancer nesting ground, Marion Jones denied taking steroids during and before the 2000 Sydney Olympics. However, after a sample of her urine tested positive, she came clean in October 2007, admitting she had lied to federal prosecutors. She was stripped of all her Olympic medals and sentenced to six months in prison.(Photo: Hamish Blair/ALLSPORT/Getty Images)
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Simon Cowell - “Simon Cowell, you are the father!” When rumors began circulating in May 2012 that Cowell was having an affair with Lauren Silverman, his best friend’s wife, he vehemently denied all claims. In July 2013, news broke that the American Idol producer impregnated Silverman, and was allegedly implicated in Silverman’s husband’s divorce filings. (Photo: Vince Bucci/FOX/PictureGroup)
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Lil' Kim - Lil' Kim took the “no snitching” rule seriously when she lied to investigators and to a federal grand jury about her involvement in a 2001 shooting at New York radio station Hot 97. She later admitted her crime to the judge and was sentenced to a year and a day. She was fined $50,000 and served three years' probation after her sentence.(Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)