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.