# Women Artists Who are Horrible People **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921 "2016-12-05T13:49:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/21 "2016-12-05T22:06:08Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > I have complicated feelings about Tasha Tudor, though I’m going easier on her as my daughter gets older. She did something amazing with her life, but I think it came at the expense of her children. As adults, only one out of four of them spoke to her. When my daughter was a baby and I was still hormonal and scared, I judged her harshly, to the point I could barely read her books. I’m a little easier on her these days. All sorts of paths, there’s no airtight way to raise a kid right, etc. > > This is small potatoes compared to Nazis. But they’re thoughts I’ve had. What happened between Tasha Tudor and her children? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/22 "2016-12-05T22:18:01Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > Linda Fiorentino is notoriously irascible, but I cannot find any anecdotes to corroborate that. I wasn’t aware that uncorroborated irascibility makes one a horrible person. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/23 "2016-12-05T23:07:26Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > What happened between Tasha Tudor and her children? Working from memory–one son adored her and what she was doing, and stuck close by. He built her barn for her, and is mentioned frequently in books about her. Another daughter sounds like she had mental health issues and was pretty well estranged from everyone. And the other two are more or less successful, normal people. They just didn’t have anything to do with their mother as adults. This is all coming from articles I read around the time of her death. I obviously don’t know how true it is. Tasha’s work happened by necessity in a highly unstructured, unconventional setting, and while a lot of it was probably magical for the kids, I see an undercurrent of their mother’s desires and tastes blotting out the children’s own–and maybe their needs, and very possible the truth, some of the time. Tasha Tudor was going to be Tasha Tudor; everyone else had to lump it. As I said, as my daughter has gotten older and I’ve gotten more familiar with the tradeoffs of motherhood, I judge her less harshly. We’re all only human, and it isn’t a mother’s job to erase who she is for the good of her children. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/24 "2016-12-05T23:13:46Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I wasn’t aware that uncorroborated irascibility makes one a horrible person. Yeah, she is just supposed to be difficult to work with, but that doesn’t make one horrible. My understanding has been she isn’t a “go along to get along” person which makes her difficult on a movie set. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/25 "2016-12-05T23:26:53Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > Not at the level of Nazis and pedophiles, but I struggle these days with Morena Baccarin. Blindsided her husband with a public reveal of an affair and pregnancy with her new beau, then tried to keep him from getting custody of their young child during the predictably ugly divorce. Yuck. Ingrid Bergman had an affair with her director (Roberto Rosselini), got pregnant, dumped her doctor-husband and their daughter, and moved to Europe with Rosselini. She was shunned by Hollywood for a few years but eventually welcomed back, I guess because she was Ingrid Berman. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/26 "2016-12-06T01:21:32Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I’m sure she means well, but Jenny McCarthy’s ignorance is likely responsible for multiple deaths, illnesses, and chronic conditions. Don’t have a link, but there have been persistent rumors that the breakup of her marriage with her disabled son’s father was not because of his disability, as she says it was, but because she had numerous affairs with both men and women. I actually find that quite believable. How about Whitney Houston? She wasn’t called a diva for no reason. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/27 "2016-12-06T01:23:34Z")
Speaking of divas, I’ve also heard that about Janet Jackson. (50 and pregnant? Um, really? I have heard persistent rumors that she and her ex-husband El DeBarge had a baby when they were married in the mid 1980s, which they have both denied. 😕 ) The story I heard about her was that when she performed in this area several years ago, a plumber had to come into the dressing room and install a new toilet, just for her use. :eek: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/28 "2016-12-06T01:45:54Z")
Ayn Rand. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/29 "2016-12-06T02:22:53Z")
Does figure skating count as an art? If so, I nominate [Tonya Harding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonya_Harding). ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/30 "2016-12-06T02:55:32Z")
Tila Tequila. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/31 "2016-12-06T03:59:50Z")
According to people I knew who worked in Hollywood in those days, Elizabeth Taylor was celebrated for being difficult to put up with. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/32 "2016-12-06T04:11:54Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Madonna I have to agree with this. Back in the 80s & early 90s she was badass, a trailblazer. I thought she was the shit in 1990. The beginning of the end for me was that “Sex” book she did, and it’s been a slow descent since then. Now she is a sad, desperate, caricature of her former self. Almost like Bette Davis in Baby Jane. Somebody needs to show her her birth certificate and tell her to put her 56 year old tits away. No wonder her own son wants nothing to do with her, her behavior would embarrass the snot out of an adolescent boy, and she can’t put her own narcissism on hold long enough to consider anyone else. She’s ruined her own legacy by continuing to act like she is still 25. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/33 "2016-12-06T04:17:29Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > According to people I knew who worked in Hollywood in those days, Elizabeth Taylor was celebrated for being difficult to put up with. According to the book Furious Love, about she and Richard Burton, Liz wouldn’t work when she was on her period. This caused delays and inconveniences to lots of other people on her movie sets. And on the set of Cleopatra she and Burton were very indiscreet, just boinking all over the place, and it made everyone really uncomfortable. I don’t know if that really makes her horrible, but damn if it isn’t fun to talk about! ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/34 "2016-12-06T04:38:04Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Tila Tequila. I’m pretty sure she’s legitimately brain-damaged and can’t be held fully accountable for her actions. Ronda Rousey physically abused an ex-boyfriend. Lena Dunham apparently sexually molested her little sister. [(more)](http://www.dailydot.com/via/investigating-lena-dunham-sexual-abuse-claims/) Paula Poundstone drove drunk with kids in her car and is a kiddy-fiddler as well. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/35 "2016-12-06T05:48:07Z")
> [@brossa](#): > > Ayn Rand. Ayn Rand’s “art” is generally not appreciated by people over the age of 20 or thereabouts. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/36 "2016-12-06T05:49:01Z")
I find it interesting that, in this thread, women are held to an entirely different standard than their male counterparts. Women who’ve had affairs [gasp] or been irascible or difficult to put up with or a diva. Or the mere mention of some names suffices, without explanation. Do these rise to the level of Crimes Against Nature? > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Ayn Rand’s “art” is generally not appreciated by people over the age of 20 or thereabouts. I’m 71. And I knew Ayn Rand. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/37 "2016-12-06T05:58:21Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I find it interesting that, in this thread, women are held to an entirely different standard than their male counterparts. Women who’ve had affairs [gasp] or been irascible or difficult to put up with or a diva. Or the mere mention of some names suffices, without explanation. Do these rise to the level of Crimes Against Nature? > I’m 71. And I knew Ayn Rand. I think people have given some good examples of behavior that would be equally frowned upon by either a man or woman. I don’t think the women mentioned herein are held to different standards than male counterparts. Speaking for myself, the only one I discussed that was just diva-like or based only on affairs was Liz Taylor, and I qualified that by saying it didn’t fit the criteria of the thread because none of that necessarily made her a horrible person. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/38 "2016-12-06T06:00:44Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I remember a thread here about _Eat, Pray, Love_ that was not complimentary to its author, Elizabeth Gilbert. Basically, she ditched her decent, loving husband, took a self-indulgent trip around the world, and wrote about it as some deep, meaningful awakening. She’s a local celebrity so I know more about her than I want. If you have any schadenfreude in you you’ll be happy to know she had to shut down her hipster heaven store and got divorced from the husband she found on her trip. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/39 "2016-12-06T06:24:20Z")
If there are any early '90s hipsters around you may remember the indie bands Unrest and Air Miami. Their bassist Bridget Cross was worshipped as a goddess by a lot of indie dudes. I knew her, and she was the sort of person I wouldn’t piss on if she was on fire. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921/40 "2016-12-06T06:33:41Z")
Having an affair, not being a great mom, and being a bit of a bitch aren’t exactly enough to earn you a membership in the Horrible Person Hall of Fame. I mean, we’ve got rapists and pedophiles and killers over here in the men’s division. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-artists-who-are-horrible-people/773921.md?page=3)