Top 10 Documentaries That Revealed the TRUTH About a Celebrity
These documentaries take us behind the celbrity to uncover the truth. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for celebrity centered documentaries where major truth(s) were disclosed.
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00:00All of this information has made us wonder what was happening behind the scenes.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for celebrity-centered documentaries
00:12where major truths were disclosed.
00:15A content warning is in effect due to sensitive subject matters being discussed.
00:20In a way I knew that it wasn't my fault anymore.
00:24Something was actually off with me.
00:2610. The Armstrong Lie
00:30You should know that better than anybody. Let's get to the
00:35real nature and the real detail of the story.
00:39Because we haven't heard it yet, is the truth.
00:43What was originally supposed to be a wholesome and celebratory look at one of the most high-profile
00:48athletes of the century turned into something much darker. Initially called The Road Back,
00:54the documentary was about seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in his glory.
00:59But when director Alex Gibney was close to finishing the film, everything changed.
01:04I had won seven tours in a row. I was engaged to a beautiful rock star.
01:10But that all just felt normal to me.
01:15I certainly was very confident that I would never be caught.
01:18In 2012, Armstrong was being investigated for performance-enhancing drugs.
01:23Eventually losing his titles, Gibney pivoted and renamed the project The Armstrong Lie.
01:30In it, the disgraced cyclist notably opens up about how he thought he would be able to get
01:35away with the act. Thus, light is shed on one of the biggest sports scandals ever.
01:40You know, at some point people will say, okay, here's what happened. And then,
01:47judge for themselves.
01:50This Is Paris
01:51In her 2020 documentary, pop culture icon Paris Hilton offers an up-close and personal look into
01:57her life. The reality star socialite-turned-DJ welcomes fans into her world by being quite
02:04frank about her challenging past.
02:20The biggest revelation comes from her disclosing that she was the victim of
02:26abuse during her teen years as a student at boarding schools and programs. Hilton recalls
02:32traumatizing experiences, including being assaulted by staff and sent to solitary confinement.
02:49Uh, there was no convincing them no matter what I said.
02:54This understandably had lasting effects. Hilton has used her platform to raise awareness and
03:00advocate for the end of such facilities.
03:03We're all survivors. We're all warriors. And I don't want anyone to ever feel the way we do.
03:11Number 8. Amy
03:13The 2015 documentary Amy provides a poignant look into the life of the late Amy Winehouse.
03:20Told through archival footage and interviews with those that knew her,
03:24it covers some difficult truths about the rehab songstress.
03:28I don't think I knew what depression was. I know I felt funny sometimes and I looked different.
03:34I think it's a musician thing. That's why I write music.
03:37Her substance use disorder, which was heavily covered in the media throughout her life in
03:41the public eye, is a big topic. But the film also takes viewers back to a time before
03:47Winehouse made headlines.
03:48I don't think I'm gonna be at all famous.
03:54I don't think I could handle it. I'd probably go mad, you know what I mean?
03:58Indeed, it's revealed that she began facing depression and an eating disorder in her
04:03teen years. It's a hard but necessary moment,
04:06helping audiences better understand her past and how it affected her future.
04:11Oh, it's a bit upsetting at the end, isn't it?
04:16Number 7. I Am Chris Farley
04:19An athlete of comedic arts, Chris Farley is highly regarded as one of the greatest comedians of our
04:25lifetime. The late Saturday Night Live performer was adored by fans and his peers, but it wasn't
04:31all sunshine and roses.
04:33It's just rare that a person has that much joy and brings that much happiness to everyone around
04:40them. But with Chris, there's a limit to how wonderful it is to me.
04:47The 2015 doc I Am Chris Farley explores the good and the bad. It notably looks at how the
04:53actor lived with substance use disorder, which ultimately led to his death.
04:58The pull of it is, you know, the flame, and you can get burned to a crisp.
05:05Interviewing friends and colleagues such as Mike Myers, Adam Sandler,
05:09and David Spade, the film uncovers several truths about Farley.
05:13This includes the fact that he attended rehab 17 times in an attempt to get clean.
05:20I wasn't shocked. Then I was very sad. Then just straight up,
05:28lots of things you wish didn't happen, you know?
05:30Number 6. Pamela, A Love Story
05:33With the things that I went through as a kid, I had so much shame about my body,
05:37so much shame about what had happened to me.
05:40Pamela, A Love Story is an affecting portrait of icon Pamela Anderson.
05:44In it, the Baywatch actress opens up about her history,
05:48including dealing with abuse throughout her life.
05:50More specifically, Anderson discusses her rocky relationships and being objectified by men.
05:57For instance, she claims that Rocky star Sylvester Stallone once proposed that they pursue a
06:03friends-with-benefits arrangement while offering her housing and a luxury car.
06:07And he goes, that's the best offer you're going to get, honey. You're in Hollywood now.
06:12I wanted to really be in love and I didn't want anything less than that.
06:16Stallone has publicly denied the story.
06:19Still, Anderson's sincerity here and throughout the doc more broadly simply cannot be dismissed.
06:25I supposedly at this part of my life, I should be settled in somewhere, but
06:29I don't know.
06:34Maybe I'll know next week.
06:35Number 5. Surviving R. Kelly
06:38At the time, I remember thinking, that's not right.
06:41I don't have no grown man friends, right?
06:44Like, I just can't wrap my brain around, like, having a grown-up period as a friend.
06:50R. Kelly's heinous crimes got him convicted.
06:53As of 2024, he is in prison.
06:56Stories of his abuse against underage women flooded media outlets before this.
07:00And in 2019, survivors got to tell their stories.
07:04I just wanted to know that it's not, you know, you're not alone.
07:09They're not alone.
07:10In the Lifetime docu-series, Surviving R. Kelly,
07:14interviewees share disturbing accounts of their experiences.
07:17Over the course of three seasons, the subjects are given a platform to use their voices to
07:22Granted, it's not entirely surprising, considering stories about Kelly's criminal behavior have
07:28been circulating for years.
07:31Nonetheless, it's heart-wrenching to hear about it from the people upon whom the horrors
07:35were inflicted.
07:36We went through a lot.
07:38We experienced a lot.
07:40We saw a lot.
07:41Number 4. Whitney
07:43You know, you get that spine tingle when you know you're in the process of being a woman.
07:51When you know you're in the presence of somebody very special.
07:55And that genius, that vocal interpretive genius had a profound impact on me.
08:02One of the greatest vocalists of all time, Whitney Houston had a life full of beauty,
08:07and also, sadly, heartbreak.
08:10In the 2018 doc, Simply Titled Whitney, some of her close friends and family are interviewed,
08:16providing insight into her personal life.
08:19We had a good, tight-knit family, but there were always a lot of secrets in our lives.
08:24You know, there were a lot of secrets.
08:25When you don't resolve things and you don't deal with things, they never go away.
08:30Her brother, Gary, and her personal assistant are among those spoken to,
08:34and their words are particularly hard to hear.
08:37Indeed, it's alleged that Gary and his sister were sexually assaulted by their cousin,
08:42Dee Dee Warwick.
08:43The disturbing claim was denied by Warwick's family, but it nonetheless sheds light on
08:48Houston's life, allowing the public to better understand her.
08:52All that money.
08:54She reaped all these things from that talent and that beauty,
08:57but it still wasn't gonna be enough for what she really, she really wanted.
09:03Number 3.
09:04Demi Lovato, Dancing With The Devil.
09:07I actually had to schedule another meeting to discuss what had happened.
09:12Years after her docu-series, Simply Complicated,
09:15Demi Lovato released a follow-up, Dancing With The Devil.
09:19In the four-part series, the Sorry Not Sorry singer
09:22delved into one of the darkest points in their life when she overdosed in 2018.
09:27Lovato leaves no stone unturned, revealing just how dire and severe the situation was,
09:33including the fact that if they hadn't been discovered by her then-assistant,
09:37they probably wouldn't have survived.
09:39I had three strokes.
09:42I had a heart attack.
09:45I suffered brain damage from the strokes.
09:49I can't drive anymore.
09:51Lovato also believes she was assaulted by her former dealer that same night.
09:56By unpacking their trauma, Lovato offers a brutal yet important
10:01glimpse into subjects that are often kept in the dark.
10:04That kind of trauma doesn't go away overnight,
10:08and it doesn't go away in the first few months of rehab either.
10:12You know, that's something that sticks with you for a while after.
10:14Number 2. The New York Times Presents Framing Britney Spears
10:19Britney Spears has lived in the public eye since she was young,
10:23growing up to become one of the biggest pop stars ever.
10:26Unfortunately, the pressures of fame created a rollercoaster of a life for the singer.
10:31You know, the main thing that people became fascinated with was her sort of unraveling.
10:36Fascinating to not just, you know, your typical celebrity fan base, but just to anyone.
10:41In 2008, Spears was placed under a controversial conservatorship against her will,
10:46with her father, Jamie Spears, as her co-conservator.
10:50In 2021, the New York Times presented a doc called Framing Britney Spears,
10:55which revealed just how bad the arrangement was.
10:58It also delved into the Free Britney fan movement that arose in response.
11:02Are they going to take us seriously? Are we going to look like a joke?
11:07But my heart said no matter what,
11:10you're taking your butt there and you're going to help her just the way she has helped you.
11:13The film claims Jamie, driven by greed, was overly controlling of his daughter's finances,
11:19health, and overall life. It's a deep dive into legal guardianship's dark side.
11:24They have the power to access her medical records and communicate with her doctors.
11:28They can take control of her house and even cancel her credit cards.
11:32They can make recording, touring, and TV deals for her,
11:35and are deeply involved in her finances. Spears is thankfully now free.
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11:55I will warn you, if you were a child of the 90s, this is going to ruin that for you.
12:04In this doc, former Nickelodeon stars spoke up about the toxic work environments on the
12:09sets of series like All That and Zoey 101, at the hands of Dan Schneider. Particularly
12:15jaw-dropping episodes of Quiet on Set saw Drake Bell open up about being abused by dialogue
12:21coach Brian Peck, who was arrested in 2003.
12:24I was just trapped and I didn't, I had, I had no way out.
12:34Throughout, Bell and others discussed the disturbing behavior they were subjected to
12:38at the hands of these men, and how little was done to protect the young actors.
12:43The doc reveals the heartbreakingly ugly side of child abuse.
12:47The doc reveals the heartbreakingly ugly side of child stardom.
12:52We can only hope the stories shared help create safer working conditions going forward.
12:57It unfortunately takes the people that witnessed it and experienced it
13:01to speak up to really change it.
13:03Which celeb would you like to see as the subject of a documentary?
13:07Be sure to let us know in the comments.
13:09Just had this plan and then created this brand and this persona and this character and
13:17I've been stuck with her ever since.