1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,639 Speaker 1: All right, disco's welcome back to the Archive. I wanted 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,279 Speaker 1: to tell a story about Lana del Rey just because 3 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:09,120 Speaker 1: I'm kind of fascinated by Lana del Rey. This episode 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: came out back in August of twenty twenty four, about 5 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: a month before Lana del Rey got married, so that 6 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,440 Speaker 1: was some news that happened after this episode was released. 7 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: So she's so polarizing, right, People love her, Her fandom 8 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: is super strong. People obviously have an emotional connection with 9 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: Lana del Rey, but people also cannot stand Lnda del Rey. 10 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: And these are my favorite types of artists. I love 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 1: Kim Gordon, but I love the Kim Gordon can't stand 12 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: Lena del Rey. But at the same time, I can 13 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: appreciate Lana del Rey. And I was really interested in 14 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: true crime stories from the past that are connected to 15 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: the whole world, the imagery, the visual world, not just 16 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: the musical world that Lana del Rey has built. And 17 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: I thought that was a really interesting way to get 18 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: into her story and to tell her story in a 19 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: way that would satisfy myself, fans of Lana del Rey 20 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: and detractors. So with all that said, I hope you 21 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:14,199 Speaker 1: dig this episode. It's one of my favorites. Matt Boden 22 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: did a great job mixing this episode, scoring this episode 23 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:21,839 Speaker 1: as well, just really fantastic. So, without further ado, here 24 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: is Lana del Rey. 25 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 2: This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. 26 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 2: Please check the show notes for more information. 27 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is a 28 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: story about one of the most compelling musical artists in 29 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: modern times. It's also a story about an illicit underage romance, 30 00:01:55,000 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: an abduction in an international manhunt, about sexual liberation, and 31 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: a scandalous story that is almost too scandalous to talk about. 32 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: It's a story about a starlet, sex appeal in psychopaths, 33 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,919 Speaker 1: and it's also about an artist who doesn't fit into 34 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: a box. Lana del Rey, a musician who makes great music. 35 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: Unlike that music I played for you at the top 36 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: of the show. That wasn't great music. That was a 37 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: preset loot from my mellotron called yacht Funk MK two. 38 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: I played you that loop because I can't afford the 39 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: rights to We Found Love by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris, 40 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: And why would I play you that specific slice of 41 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 1: hopeless cheese? Could I afford it because that was the 42 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: number one song in America on January thirty first, twenty twelve, 43 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: and that was the day that Lana del Rey released 44 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: her debut studio album, an album that announced a new 45 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: artist who wasn't afraid to risk it, to create her 46 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: own playbook and do it her own way, not how 47 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: anyone else expected or. 48 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 2: Told her to. On this episode Illicit. 49 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: Romance, an International Manhunt, Starlet's Psychopaths, Three Dark Stories, and 50 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: Lana del Rey. I'm Jake Brennan and this is Disgraceland. 51 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: The title of this episode is three Dark Stories Inspired 52 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: by Lana del Rey, because Lana's music and image are 53 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: as evocative in compelling as the myths that she's built 54 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: around her. While researching Lonna del Rey the Artist or 55 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Grant that's Lana's birth name, the person, I naturally 56 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: learned more about what inspired her twentieth century Americana, classic noir, melancholia, romanticism, 57 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: and the enduring legacy of the American risk taker. Throughout 58 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: this discovery, I found myself continually prompted to explore the 59 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,279 Speaker 1: stories of other fascinating women whose histories I may not 60 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: have otherwise been interested in were it not for Lona 61 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: del Rey's powerful songs and visual imagery, these things inspired me, 62 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:55,479 Speaker 1: drove my curiosity in Unearthed, three incredibly scandalous and true 63 00:04:55,520 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: stories about three incredibly scandalous in truly fascinating women Lana Turner, 64 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: Catherine the Great in Megan's Stammers. Each of their stories 65 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,480 Speaker 1: seemed to me to be ripped straight from the lyrics 66 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: of a Lona del Rey song. Now, this episode might 67 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: have been titled three Dark Stories that Inspired Lonna Delray, 68 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: because given how well read and history minded Lonna del 69 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: Rey is, it's easy to see how the songwriter could 70 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 1: have heard these stories I'm about to tell you and 71 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: been inspired herself to weave them into her songs. But 72 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: I can't say that with any certainty because Lonna del Rey, 73 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: like all great artists, isn't particularly forthcoming regarding her lyrics. 74 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: She keeps it mysterious, which I appreciate because it allows 75 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,640 Speaker 1: us to sit back and consider the artist, her music, 76 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 1: and her image more deeply. The mystery compels us to dream, 77 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:54,839 Speaker 1: and let's be honest, Lonna del Rey's music has a 78 00:05:54,880 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: certain dreamlike quality to it. On January thirty first, twenty twelve, 79 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: Lana del Rey released her debut major label album, Born 80 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: to Die. As part of the recording of this album, 81 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: there is an unreleased track entitled Lolita, which is of 82 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: course a reference to the famous Vladimir Nabokov novel from 83 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,279 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty five of the same name in the inspiration 84 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: behind the Stanley Kubrick film adaptation, the one with the 85 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: iconic imagery of actress Sue Lyon in those cherry red 86 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,840 Speaker 1: heart shaped sunglasses on the movie poster, the same heart 87 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: shaped sunglasses Lama del Ray sang about on another unreleased song, 88 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: the demo every Man Gets His Wish, which contains the 89 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,919 Speaker 1: lyrics he loves my heart shaped sunglasses, he loves the 90 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: shape my heart shaped ass is. The Lolita theme is 91 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,799 Speaker 1: one that Lana has played with numerous times in numerous 92 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: songs and videos throughout her career. It's also the subject 93 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: of many think pieces and message board threads throughout Reddit. 94 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:07,479 Speaker 1: In the Lana verse, Nabokov's Lolita character is very much 95 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: the victim. She's a twelve year old girl who has 96 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 1: taken advantage of by an obsessed, out of work male teacher. 97 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: But the Lolita characters Lana del Rey depicts are knowing, 98 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 1: willing participants in the illicit romances. They're entangled it, and 99 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: at least in Lana's depictions, these young women are not 100 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: without agency. And yet another unreleased Lana del Rey's song, 101 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 1: prom song Gone Wrong. The lyrics go I knew you 102 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:37,679 Speaker 1: loved me by the way you looked in second period. 103 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: I'd see you in the halls like hello, Hello, up 104 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: against the wall, like let's go, let's go. And then 105 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: in another song entitled Boarding School, Lana sings, let's. 106 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 2: Do drugs make love with our teachers. 107 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: Boarding School was Kent School in Connecticut, where, if were 108 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: to believe the myth, Lna del Rey was sent to 109 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: attend as. 110 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 2: A fourteen year old in part to overcome. 111 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: Her alcoholism and bad girl behavioral issues. Lana graduated in 112 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: two thousand and three. Of her time there, she has 113 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: spoken about an older man, a teacher who had an 114 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: outsized influence on her, a man by the name of 115 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,120 Speaker 1: Jeane Campbell, whom Lana says was her only friend in school, 116 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: a time when she was excessively lonely. He was twenty two, 117 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: she was fifteen. He could drive her around in his 118 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: car and turned around to music in literature. She'd never 119 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: heard or heard of Tupac, Biggie Whitman. 120 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:42,679 Speaker 2: And Nomakov. 121 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: Lana has said about this teacher quote, we read Lolita 122 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:53,439 Speaker 1: and it changed my world unquote. Neither Lana nor her 123 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 1: teacher has confirmed or denied any inappropriate relationship. But Lana's 124 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: quotes don't exactly picked a helpless Lolita. They describe a curious, 125 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 1: literary minded young girl, perhaps dangerously infatuated, much like another 126 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:14,840 Speaker 1: young girl, a fourteen year old student from East Sussex, England, 127 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: named Meghan Stammers. There's no way for me to know 128 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: whether Lana del Rey is aware of the incredible story 129 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:27,200 Speaker 1: of Megan's Stammers, or if Meghan's story inspired Lana in 130 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: any way, or whether Meghan was inspired by Lana's Lolita fascination. 131 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 2: But you can be the judge. 132 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: In twenty twelve, fourteen year old Meghan Stammers was a 133 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: normal sophomore at the Bishop Bell School in Coastal England. 134 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 1: She listened to music, kept up with her studies, and 135 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:51,840 Speaker 1: exchanged crushes with boys her own age. Then she got 136 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:54,560 Speaker 1: caught up in an obsessive and illicit romance with her 137 00:09:54,600 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: thirty year old math professor Jeremy Forrest. Jeremy was, by 138 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: fourteen year old girl standards, the cool professor. He had 139 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:07,719 Speaker 1: a tattoo, he was in a nirvana. He fumbled the 140 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:11,079 Speaker 1: chords of Heart Shaped Box on acoustic guitar, and he 141 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 1: even got up on stage locally for the occasional gig 142 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,599 Speaker 1: where he mumbled what we can only assume. 143 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:18,319 Speaker 2: He believed to be witty lyrics. 144 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 1: For songs titled all My Friends Are Astronauts and Arrows 145 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: and Hearts. Meghan was smitten. Jeremy showed her extra attention 146 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: on a school trip. Meghan couldn't believe that this older, mature, 147 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 1: seemingly worldly man would be interested in her. 148 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 2: She was obsessed. 149 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:43,560 Speaker 1: She needed to know everything about him. She followed him 150 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: on Twitter, and he followed her back, and soon through 151 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:51,160 Speaker 1: direct messages that had a separate line of communication outside 152 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:54,080 Speaker 1: of the classroom. And it was through that separate and 153 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:58,600 Speaker 1: direct line of communication that Meghan received an invitation from 154 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:00,720 Speaker 1: Jeremy to go on a drive. 155 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:03,679 Speaker 2: And that drive led. 156 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: To deep conversations, well as deep as a fourteen year 157 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:08,560 Speaker 1: old and a thirty year old could get. I guess, 158 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:12,480 Speaker 1: but Megan felt seen not. To this point, Meghan had 159 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 1: developed an eating disorder and hadn't told anyone but Jeremy, 160 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: and Jeremy apparently knew just what to say to Megan 161 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 1: to make her feel better about her situation. The drive 162 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 1: turned into subsequent drives, which turned into long walks by 163 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:30,000 Speaker 1: the ocean in the seaside town where Meghan went to school, 164 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:34,440 Speaker 1: and those walks eventually led to a first kiss just 165 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:39,079 Speaker 1: after Megan's fifteenth birthday, to her teacher, a man twice 166 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:45,000 Speaker 1: her age. Jeremy somehow convinced his wife that it was 167 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: okay for Meghan, his student, to hang around the house 168 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:51,280 Speaker 1: to watch TV, do her homework, and listen to music. 169 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,960 Speaker 1: Jeremy convinced Meghan that he was on the outside his 170 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: wife and that his marriage would soon be over. It 171 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,720 Speaker 1: was in jeremy wife's spare bedroom where the teacher first 172 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 1: had sex with the fifteen year old student. That act, 173 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:11,240 Speaker 1: in the subsequent times they had sex only increased Meghan's 174 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: obsession with her teacher. As she recounted the story, that 175 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 1: time in her life was a romantic blur of quote, 176 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: car rides kisses and out of town cinema trips. 177 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 2: Unquote car rides. 178 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: Kisses in cinema sounds like images from a Lana del revideo. 179 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 1: Meghan described this point in her relationship with Jeremy as 180 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 1: the point at which their escape fantasy took hold. They 181 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 1: dreamed lovingly of a life outside of the town where 182 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 1: they lived and worked and where everyone knew them, to 183 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: a place where they could live in love anonymously despite 184 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: their age difference, and they settled on France. Back in school, 185 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:57,840 Speaker 1: of course, the rumors started to fly, and then the 186 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,120 Speaker 1: police took an interest. Then and they questioned Meghan and 187 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 1: her mother, and then they questioned Jeremy and his wife. 188 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:06,440 Speaker 2: The writing was on the wall. 189 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 1: The pieces started to click into place for Meghan's friends 190 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: and family, and the same went for Jeremy's colleagues all 191 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:17,439 Speaker 1: that time that the teacher was spending with that young girl. 192 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 2: Of course, how had they not seen it? Judgment would 193 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:23,160 Speaker 2: be swift. 194 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,440 Speaker 1: From Meghan's point of view, The fact that she loved 195 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:29,400 Speaker 1: Jeremy would have nothing to do with how authorities treated 196 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:33,560 Speaker 1: the situation. Jeremy would go to jail, and Jeremy couldn't 197 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,080 Speaker 1: have that. So Jeremy and Meghan went on the run 198 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: like some modern day Bonnie and Clyde, inspired not by 199 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:45,600 Speaker 1: bank vault Riches, but by the illicit romance of Navacos Lolita, 200 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: Meghan and Jeremy racing through the night, away from that 201 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:56,200 Speaker 1: dreary English town and off to France. The trajectory of 202 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 1: Meghan's young love life begins with her on an East 203 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 1: Sussex beach, like Lana del Rey in the music video 204 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:06,040 Speaker 1: for her song West Coast, twirling on that beach with 205 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: an age appropriate crush, and then off into the dark, 206 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: fleeing in the passenger seat of an empiric older man's car, 207 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 1: like Lana del Rey in her Shades of Cool video, 208 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:22,800 Speaker 1: Megan being driven off toward an uncertain future, the romance 209 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 1: of it all compelling her. 210 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:28,880 Speaker 2: The missing schoolgirl. 211 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: And the thirty year old teacher who abducted her, triggered 212 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:35,120 Speaker 1: an international manhunt in September of twenty twelve. It took 213 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: only seven days for authorities to find Megan and Jeremy 214 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 1: in the French city of Bordeaux. Their short lived life 215 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 1: on the run ended with Jeremy's arrest and Meghan's return 216 00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: to her parents. Jeremy got five and a half years 217 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: in prison, but the sentencing didn't quell Megan's romance. She 218 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: wrote Jeremy multiple love letters that were intercepted by prison authorities, 219 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,080 Speaker 1: and Megan even attempted to visit Jeremy in jail, but 220 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: she was denied. Meghan blamed herself for Jeremy's incarceration, saying 221 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 1: that she initiated the relationship and suggested they'd run away together. 222 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 1: It's funny what inspiration will do. As young adults. We 223 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 1: see ourselves in the songs and in the books that 224 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:25,960 Speaker 1: we listen to and read. It's fantasy, its escapism. Megan 225 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 1: Stammers's obsession was inspired and was definitely misplaced, regardless of 226 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: where it came from, be it Nirvana's heart shaped box 227 00:15:35,680 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: or Lona del Rey and Lolita's heart shaped sunglasses. Lana 228 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,800 Speaker 1: del Rey enters the pool in slow motion in a 229 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 1: retro one piece bathing suit. It's a sexually charged moment 230 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 1: in a music video filled with sexually charged moments, Lama's 231 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 1: video for her twenty twelve single Blue Jeans. There's her lover, tall, 232 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: thin cut, fully illustrated in the flesh, with tattoos everywhere 233 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,280 Speaker 1: over his hands and face. He strips down to his 234 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: underwear before taking to the pool himself. His tattooed hand 235 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: reaches for Lana's neck, but then she takes his fingers 236 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: into her mouth. The couple acts as though they are 237 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: all alone in that pool, but they aren't. There's an 238 00:16:55,720 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: alligator swimming below them. Lana is unfazed. Great sex, like 239 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:08,159 Speaker 1: great art, is sometimes a risk. As the video continues, 240 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: Lana breaks from her lover and swims with the alligator 241 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:17,199 Speaker 1: beneath the surface. She ries in her bathing suit, pressing 242 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 1: her flesh against the animal's long, jagged tail. The interpretation 243 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 1: is that the violent looking, illustrated man is enough. Only 244 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:34,920 Speaker 1: the savage man eating beast can satiate. Lanna del Rey 245 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: is mythbuilding the symbolism of the hinted bestiality. That power 246 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 1: dynamic inspired me to wonder what Lonna del Rey's thoughts, 247 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:45,879 Speaker 1: if any, might have been during the making of this 248 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,800 Speaker 1: video about one of the most powerful women of all time, 249 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:54,359 Speaker 1: Catherine the Great, and the mythology surrounding that particular royal 250 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:58,399 Speaker 1: sexual appetite and one of the most scandalous rumors of 251 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: all time. It was July and it was hot, a 252 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 1: rare early summer heat wave in Saint Petersburg, the seat 253 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:11,960 Speaker 1: of the Russian Empire. In seventeen ninety six, the young 254 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:14,960 Speaker 1: man waited in the apartment located inside the palace. 255 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:16,800 Speaker 2: He was unsure what. 256 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:19,560 Speaker 1: To do with himself in his new home. He was 257 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,359 Speaker 1: even unsure about how long this would be his new home. 258 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: All he knew was that he could live here indefinitely, 259 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 1: and he could do whatever he wanted, so long as 260 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 1: he made himself available at all times sexually to the Empress, 261 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:36,960 Speaker 1: who lived in the adjacent apartment. The young man had 262 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: not yet met the Empress, known as Catherine the Great. 263 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:44,000 Speaker 1: He'd only met her Countess, an encounter he enjoyed very much. 264 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:48,120 Speaker 1: Despite the Countess's age, she put the young man through 265 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:51,639 Speaker 1: his sexual paces. It was thrilling being with an older 266 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 1: woman who knew exactly what she wanted and how to 267 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,720 Speaker 1: get it. The countess wasn't as old as the Empress, 268 00:18:57,720 --> 00:18:59,640 Speaker 1: though the Empress. 269 00:18:59,320 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 2: Was sixty sive. 270 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:03,639 Speaker 1: The countess's job was to give the young man a 271 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: trial run to see if he was up to satisfying 272 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 1: the Empress, and that meant two things, size and stamina. 273 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 1: The young man passed his royal audition on both counts. 274 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,080 Speaker 1: So here sat this virile young man in his new apartment, 275 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,879 Speaker 1: poundering the rumors he'd heard about his new lover, the 276 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: Empress of Russia, whom he'd never met, The rumors that 277 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 1: she was insatiable, that she demanded sex up to seven 278 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:32,160 Speaker 1: times a day, that the Empress, if it pleased her, 279 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,160 Speaker 1: would make a cast of his elephantine penis and use 280 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:38,360 Speaker 1: that to satisfy her on occasion as well, on those 281 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,360 Speaker 1: days when he her young lover wasn't able to keep 282 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:45,359 Speaker 1: up with her. What was true about the Empress and 283 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:48,160 Speaker 1: what was myth? Wasn't all that hard for the young 284 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:52,200 Speaker 1: man to sort out. Much of what Catherine the Great 285 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,640 Speaker 1: had accomplished in her sixty seven years was already part 286 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:59,560 Speaker 1: of the modern historical record. She married into the royal 287 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:03,879 Speaker 1: family and outsmarted, and some say overthrew, her dim witted, 288 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:08,200 Speaker 1: sexually inadequate, and sadistic animal torturing husband, Peter the Third. 289 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:13,240 Speaker 1: Peter couldn't perform sexually. Every time he got hard, he 290 00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:15,200 Speaker 1: experienced excruciating pain. 291 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:17,199 Speaker 2: He took that pain out on. 292 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:22,639 Speaker 1: Helpless animals, dogs and cats, dismembering them for fun, relishing 293 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:27,600 Speaker 1: the pain he inflicted. Catherine mercilessly deposed him and set 294 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: about to remake the Russian. 295 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:33,360 Speaker 2: Empire in her own image. She conquered new lands. 296 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,520 Speaker 1: In the south, she annexed Crimea and colonized large swaths 297 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:40,359 Speaker 1: of land for strategic outposts to fend off the Ottomans. 298 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:44,200 Speaker 1: She partitioned Poland and moved as far east as Alaska. 299 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,920 Speaker 1: She modernized much of Russia in lockstep with Western European progress. 300 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:52,240 Speaker 1: She was an early advocate of the smallpox vaccine, which 301 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:55,560 Speaker 1: saved countless lives. She was a patron of the arts, 302 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:59,359 Speaker 1: a correspondent, and a confidant of Voltaire, one of the 303 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:03,119 Speaker 1: great writers and thinkers of the day. And Catherine the 304 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:06,880 Speaker 1: Great acquired and wielded this great power while tearing through 305 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:11,680 Speaker 1: an extensive line of lovers, beautiful and sometimes powerful men 306 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:15,399 Speaker 1: whom she betted not only for sexual conquest, but sometimes 307 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:17,120 Speaker 1: for strategic purposes. 308 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,720 Speaker 2: As well, generals and nobles. 309 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,960 Speaker 1: Who helped quell palace coups and put down regional uprisings. 310 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:27,680 Speaker 1: The older Catherine got the younger her lover's gut. As 311 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 1: a young man waiting dutifully in his new apartment, well 312 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:35,959 Speaker 1: knew she was insatiable. Youthful vigor was necessary to satisfy 313 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:41,280 Speaker 1: the aging Empress, and her satisfaction didn't go unrewarded. Many 314 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:45,920 Speaker 1: upon being discarded after fulfilling their duties, were rewarded handsomely 315 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,719 Speaker 1: for their efforts, but always materially, never with any real power, 316 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: cash servants, homes, but never with anything that would diminish 317 00:21:55,840 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: Catherine's reign in any way. From where the young man sat, 318 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:06,280 Speaker 1: it was tough to judge the sexual rumors surrounding Catherine. 319 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,480 Speaker 1: They called her a deviant, but really was any of 320 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 1: her behavior worse than what was whispered about the men 321 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:16,400 Speaker 1: who'd reigned previously here in Russia or elsewhere. The Ottoman 322 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,119 Speaker 1: emperor Ibrahim the Mad was said to have had a 323 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:21,960 Speaker 1: harem of two hundred and eighty women on a whim. 324 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:24,640 Speaker 1: One day, he decided he was bored, so he had 325 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,119 Speaker 1: them all executed. Then he took their skin and sewed 326 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 1: them into sacks. Rome's emperor Caligula was said to have 327 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: been infatuated with all three of his sisters, each of 328 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:39,840 Speaker 1: whom he slept with, and King Herod. That story was 329 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:44,960 Speaker 1: possibly the most disturbing as it goes. He was supposedly 330 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:48,199 Speaker 1: driven so mad with jealousy by his wife Miriam, that 331 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: he had her killed, then preserved her dead body in honey, 332 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 1: and proceeded to have sex with it for seven more 333 00:22:55,119 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 1: years after his wife died. So what if Than the 334 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 1: Great made her armed guards erecked and paraded them past 335 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:06,040 Speaker 1: her for an expensive thrill. So what if she had 336 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 1: replications of her favorite past lover's cocks. 337 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 2: Carved into her wood furniture. 338 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,600 Speaker 1: So what if the Empress found herself dissatisfied with all 339 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 1: of her lovers after a lifetime of sex on demand, 340 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:19,960 Speaker 1: numerous times per day, every day. And so what if 341 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,880 Speaker 1: Catherine the Great eventually turned away from men for satisfaction 342 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 1: in favor of a horse. The sixty seven year old 343 00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:34,640 Speaker 1: Empress lay there on the bed, fully exhilarated. 344 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:36,720 Speaker 2: The bed had been brought. 345 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:38,919 Speaker 1: Down from one of the royal apartments into the barn 346 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:42,760 Speaker 1: adjacent to the stables, and the horse, suspended above her 347 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:46,119 Speaker 1: on straps, was being carefully lowered by a group of 348 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 1: muscular royal guards. 349 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:53,679 Speaker 2: The horse's member was larger. I can't do it. I 350 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:54,360 Speaker 2: won't do it. 351 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 1: As much as I want to do it, I'm not 352 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:58,720 Speaker 1: going to do it. I'm not going to dramatize the 353 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:01,800 Speaker 1: death of Catherine the Great crushed by the horse she 354 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,960 Speaker 1: was attempting to copulate with. But that is the story, 355 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:10,240 Speaker 1: or rather the myth that this sixty seven year old woman, 356 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:12,199 Speaker 1: one of the most powerful women in the world has 357 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:16,320 Speaker 1: ever known, died in one of the most scandalous ways possible. 358 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,440 Speaker 1: I don't believe it. It's too lurid and honestly, too 359 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:24,360 Speaker 1: out of character. Catherine the Great may have been insatiable, 360 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,440 Speaker 1: but unlike King Herod Caligula and Emperor Ibraheim the Mad, 361 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:34,960 Speaker 1: Catherine wasn't deranged. Her actions indicate quite the opposite. She 362 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 1: may have been ruthless at times, but she was measured, thoughtful, 363 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:45,200 Speaker 1: and strategic, all qualities that contravene derangement. Catherine the Great 364 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,560 Speaker 1: was not just a powerful woman in an age when 365 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,880 Speaker 1: powerful women were few and far between. She was a 366 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,960 Speaker 1: beacon of independence, standing tall and strong in a world 367 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:59,800 Speaker 1: designed to suppress women beyond her power. She was truly 368 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:03,920 Speaker 1: in dependent and sexually liberated, a testament to her strength 369 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:09,440 Speaker 1: and resilience. Catherine the Great died of a stroke, likely 370 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:14,280 Speaker 1: on her toilet, but that story wasn't scandalous enough. The 371 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,639 Speaker 1: rumors of her shocking demise with the horse and of 372 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:20,639 Speaker 1: her so called sexual deviancy are, in my opinion, nothing 373 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 1: more than a historical smear campaign by jealous and petty 374 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:27,000 Speaker 1: men from that era aimed at discrediting one of the 375 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:31,880 Speaker 1: most accomplished women of all time. Catherine the Great's reign 376 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: should not be fodder for discrediting myths. The Empress's illustrious 377 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:40,200 Speaker 1: reign should instead inspire freethinking women everywhere, as I believe 378 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,800 Speaker 1: it did. Lana del Rey, a woman who has been 379 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 1: hell bent on making her own myths since, bursting on 380 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:49,240 Speaker 1: the scene with a borrowed name from another powerful woman, 381 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 1: A woman with ties to another incredible story, this one 382 00:25:54,680 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: also very scandalous, but this time very true. 383 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:05,400 Speaker 2: We'll be right back after this word were were. 384 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 1: Lana Turner was so hot that men literally walked into 385 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:19,600 Speaker 1: walls when they saw her walking down Hollywood Boulevard. They 386 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 1: drove off of the boulevard and crashed their cars into walls, 387 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,760 Speaker 1: and they flocked to movie theaters in droves to gawk 388 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,520 Speaker 1: at the curvy blonde starlet and imagine themselves alone with her, 389 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 1: if for only a few seconds. This was due to 390 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:39,639 Speaker 1: Lana Turner's natural beauty and how director Mervyn Leroy chose 391 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 1: to capture her with his camera in her first appearance 392 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 1: on screen in his nineteen thirty seven film, They won't forget. 393 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:51,040 Speaker 1: The director filmed the actress very deliberately in a way 394 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:54,880 Speaker 1: that accentuated her body, which seems so obvious these days 395 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: that it's not even worth mentioning. But in nineteen thirty 396 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:04,000 Speaker 1: seven it was revolutionary. Sidney Sweeney, Margot, Robbie Scarlett, Johansson, 397 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:06,800 Speaker 1: Kim Kardashian, hell, even Lana Delray. Pick your modern day 398 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 1: a list sex symbol, and believe me, when it comes 399 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:12,320 Speaker 1: to their impact, none of them have their grip on 400 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,199 Speaker 1: the collective male libido like Lana Turner did back in. 401 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:16,360 Speaker 2: The forties and fifties. 402 00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:20,800 Speaker 1: And this is the woman Lana del Rey chose to 403 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: take her stage name from. When choosing a stage name, 404 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:28,719 Speaker 1: Lana del Rey had a vision, she said, she quote 405 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: wanted a name she could shape the music towards. Del 406 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:35,880 Speaker 1: Rey is taken from the name of a car. Two cars, actually, 407 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:40,359 Speaker 1: but that's not important. The point is that del Rey 408 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:48,359 Speaker 1: sounds American and Lana sounds well hot. Lana Turner's hotness 409 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:52,400 Speaker 1: was a magnet for a long line of suitors. Tarzan's 410 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:55,160 Speaker 1: Lex Barker, one of the most famous men of the era, 411 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:59,400 Speaker 1: who ended up being Lana's second husband, Howard Hughes, Frank 412 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:04,800 Speaker 1: Sinatra allegedly and married Clark Gable, and, most infamously, the 413 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 1: gangster Johnny Stompanado. Johnny Stompanado was a killer, a killer 414 00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:14,720 Speaker 1: who worked for La crime boss Mickey Cohen. If you've 415 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:18,359 Speaker 1: seen the Academy Award winning film La Confidential, you'll see 416 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 1: Johnny Stompinado depicted on screen getting his ball squeezed literally 417 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:27,000 Speaker 1: by Russell Crowe's Bud White character. Johnny is seated across 418 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,680 Speaker 1: from a woman playing none other than Lana Turner. Johnny 419 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:33,439 Speaker 1: was a bad guy, and not just on the street. 420 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:37,720 Speaker 1: At home, behind closed doors, he beat on his beautiful girlfriend. 421 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 1: Lana had a hard time finding her way out of 422 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:44,479 Speaker 1: the relationship, so in nineteen fifty seven, she took an 423 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 1: acting gig all the way over in London, starring opposite 424 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:51,840 Speaker 1: a handsome young actor named Sean Connery. It's long been 425 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: rumored that the two quickly became involved romantically on the 426 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,520 Speaker 1: set of that film. Another Time, Another Place, and those 427 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: rumors started way back in nineteen fifty seven, and Johnny 428 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:05,680 Speaker 1: Stompanado heard them all the way across the pond back 429 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:09,480 Speaker 1: in Hollywood. Incensed, he grabbed his gun and boarded a 430 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:13,080 Speaker 1: flight for London. He arrived on set, pulled out his 431 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:17,239 Speaker 1: gun and went straight for Sean Connery. Stompinado was a 432 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 1: hard man, but Connery was a different type of tough. 433 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,960 Speaker 1: He'd grown up fighting off violent street gangs in Edinburgh. 434 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:27,800 Speaker 1: He was a truck driver, a lifeguard, a boxing instructor, 435 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:30,959 Speaker 1: a bodybuilder, a gym instructor in the British Army, and 436 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:35,000 Speaker 1: a tattooed fighter in the Royal Navy. Skinny Hollywood hoods 437 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:39,480 Speaker 1: with greasy pompadors and tiny pistols did not intimidate Sean Connery. 438 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:44,240 Speaker 1: Sean Connery was in the middle of filming a scene 439 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,240 Speaker 1: with Lana Turner and they were embracing on a couch. 440 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 1: Johnny Stoppanado walked right into the chute with his gun 441 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:53,960 Speaker 1: drawn straight at Connery, telling him to get his hands 442 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:57,840 Speaker 1: off his girl. Connery quickly grabbed Stompanado's wrist and twisted 443 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:00,720 Speaker 1: it hard until he dropped his gun, walled him with 444 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 1: a right hook and escorted him off the set and 445 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:07,000 Speaker 1: into the custody of Scotland Yard, which wasted no time 446 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 1: in deporting Johnny Stompinado back to Los Angeles. When Lanna 447 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:17,200 Speaker 1: returned home, the real fighting began. As her relationship with 448 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:20,680 Speaker 1: the gangster progressed, so too did the volatility and violence. 449 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 1: It was too much to handle for Lona's fourteen year 450 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:28,960 Speaker 1: old daughter, Cheryl, who lived with her. The fighting was endless, 451 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:33,000 Speaker 1: and Cheryl heard it all. When the beating ceased to 452 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:35,840 Speaker 1: have the effect he was looking for, Johnny would resort 453 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 1: to threats. He told Lanna he would cut her face 454 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:41,400 Speaker 1: to ribbons with a knife if she didn't do what 455 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:45,440 Speaker 1: she was told, the point being he'd disfigure her so 456 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:50,320 Speaker 1: badly she'd never work in Hollywood again. Lana fought back, 457 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 1: and Johnny took a razor blade to her cheek and 458 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:58,080 Speaker 1: held it there. Still, Lona was obstinate. Cheryl heard everything. 459 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: She was living in constant fear. When Lana left her 460 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:06,239 Speaker 1: second husband, Tarzan's Lex Barker. Cheryl had been relieved by 461 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: her mother's choice of the gangster Johnny Stompinado. Anything would 462 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 1: be better than Lex, who repeatedly raped Cheryl as a 463 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:17,800 Speaker 1: young girl, But Stompanado's presence proved to be its own 464 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:22,760 Speaker 1: type of hell. Fear, ever present, violence, the constant threat 465 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:27,560 Speaker 1: of an anvil, hanging over her head. Johnny Stompinado was 466 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:31,080 Speaker 1: a twenty four to seven problem. When he wasn't beating 467 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:34,280 Speaker 1: on Cheryl's mother, he was threatening to slice her to pieces. 468 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:38,920 Speaker 1: And when Stompinado wasn't threatening Lana Turner, he was threatening Cheryl. 469 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 1: Lona wouldn't listen, Lana wouldn't respond to the beatings. Lana 470 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 1: wouldn't respond to the threats. Then Stompanado would threaten to 471 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:53,160 Speaker 1: cut up Lana's daughter as well. Cheryl couldn't believe what 472 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:57,160 Speaker 1: she was hearing behind closed doors. I'll cut you so 473 00:31:57,320 --> 00:31:58,760 Speaker 1: bad that no one will be able to tell it 474 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:03,280 Speaker 1: to you anymore. You'll never work again, your daughter's next. 475 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:09,920 Speaker 1: It was unhinged, depraved, horrifying to the young girl who 476 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:12,400 Speaker 1: crept up to the door that separated her from the 477 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:15,360 Speaker 1: war going on on the other side between her mother, 478 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:21,080 Speaker 1: the movie star, and her mother's boyfriend, the gangster. Cheryl 479 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:23,840 Speaker 1: gripped tighter the knife she'd grabbed as she passed through 480 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:27,480 Speaker 1: the kitchen. It was just for protection, she thought, a 481 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:31,840 Speaker 1: last resort. As the screaming raged on the other side 482 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:32,360 Speaker 1: of the door. 483 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:34,600 Speaker 2: Cheryl stood there, helpless. 484 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:35,880 Speaker 1: Squeezing the knife. 485 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 2: She couldn't open the door. She couldn't help her mother, 486 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:40,360 Speaker 2: she was paralyzed. 487 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:45,440 Speaker 1: But then the door burst open and Cheryl's mom, Lana, 488 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:48,800 Speaker 1: burst through it and passed by. Here, her psychopathic boyfriend, 489 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:53,000 Speaker 1: Johnny Stompanado, lunged after Lana and into the outstretched knife 490 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:56,960 Speaker 1: wielding hand of fourteen year old Cheryl Turner. The knife 491 00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:00,120 Speaker 1: pierced the gangster's stomach, blood spilled out. 492 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:03,440 Speaker 2: Drenching his silk shirt. His eyes went wide. 493 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,680 Speaker 1: Cheryl's mouth fell open with a near silent gasp, and 494 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:12,480 Speaker 1: behind her Lana Turner screamed as her lover, Johnny Stompinado. 495 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:14,120 Speaker 2: Fell dead to the floor. 496 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:45,160 Speaker 1: Immature, shallow, messy, the worst concert experience of my life, 497 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:50,280 Speaker 1: A bad mashup of John Mellencamp and Kesha. All these 498 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:53,800 Speaker 1: criticisms and more have been hurled at Lana del Rey. 499 00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:58,400 Speaker 1: Pitchfork called her debut major label album Born to Die 500 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:04,240 Speaker 1: quote the album equivalent of a fake orgasm. Actress and 501 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:08,920 Speaker 1: musician Juliette Lewis, after watching Lana del Rey's infamous debut 502 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:13,840 Speaker 1: Saturday Night Live performance, tweeted out, wow, watching this quote 503 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:16,919 Speaker 1: singer on SNL is like watching a twelve year old 504 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,720 Speaker 1: in their bedroom when they're pretending to sing and perform 505 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:22,000 Speaker 1: hashtag sign of our Times. 506 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:23,560 Speaker 2: Ouch. 507 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:29,720 Speaker 1: Some of this criticism was warranted, namely the bad reviews 508 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:34,440 Speaker 1: of Lana's SNL performance, but most of it is ridiculous. 509 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:38,840 Speaker 1: All art is subjective, but not All art needs to 510 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:42,000 Speaker 1: fit neatly into a box, which is what our critics 511 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:43,640 Speaker 1: want for our pop stars. 512 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:46,160 Speaker 2: But when Lana del Rey first. 513 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:49,360 Speaker 1: Burst into the mainstream with Born to Die, there was 514 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:53,359 Speaker 1: no obvious box. In fact, to the extent that there 515 00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:56,480 Speaker 1: was a figurative box, it wasn't one that many critics 516 00:34:56,480 --> 00:35:00,919 Speaker 1: wanted to touch. Lna del Rey was you never knew 517 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:04,240 Speaker 1: you wanted to have a Tumbler account come to life 518 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:07,719 Speaker 1: in the form of a pop star, a boardwalk. 519 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:10,359 Speaker 2: Bad girl, a Catholic school slut, a. 520 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:13,880 Speaker 1: Lolita with ap English smarts who swam with alligators and 521 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:18,560 Speaker 1: walked over beats in Nancy Sinatra's boots. Lana del Rey 522 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:21,439 Speaker 1: is the best kind of an artist, the kind who 523 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:24,799 Speaker 1: takes chances, the kind who isn't afraid to risk it. 524 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:29,880 Speaker 1: More importantly, she's unafraid to risk it in public, in 525 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:35,839 Speaker 1: front of us. For us failure falling down creatively, It's 526 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:38,800 Speaker 1: an unfortunate but inevitable outcome. 527 00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:39,520 Speaker 2: For this type of artist. 528 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:45,440 Speaker 1: Yes, it is, as NPR said of Lana messy, but 529 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:49,120 Speaker 1: an artist shouldn't be criticized for being messy. Quite the opposite. 530 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:52,080 Speaker 1: The best examples of that include Bob Dylan, Kirk, Kobaine, 531 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:54,960 Speaker 1: and Prince I could go on and on. I believe 532 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:58,440 Speaker 1: that for all their pro feminism, the future is female 533 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:02,919 Speaker 1: trendy claims of girl power the mainstream press, at least 534 00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:05,720 Speaker 1: when it comes to Lana del Rey, an artist playing 535 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:08,640 Speaker 1: with a nostalgic vision of America that the coastal elite 536 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:12,520 Speaker 1: media these days sees is reductive. The media's criticism of 537 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:17,440 Speaker 1: this female artist is well hypocritical and kind of misogynistic. 538 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:21,480 Speaker 1: It strikes me as weird that a twenty first century 539 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:24,160 Speaker 1: female artist with such a strong point of view and 540 00:36:24,239 --> 00:36:28,520 Speaker 1: such obvious mass appeal would be so viciously criticized by 541 00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:31,040 Speaker 1: a media that typically champions strong women. 542 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:32,600 Speaker 2: But Lana del Rey. 543 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:36,640 Speaker 1: Doesn't fit into anyone's box. Lonna Delray doesn't fit anyone 544 00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:39,120 Speaker 1: else's vision of what a female pop singer should be. 545 00:36:40,719 --> 00:36:43,279 Speaker 1: Lna del Rey has always had her own vision of 546 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:48,040 Speaker 1: who Lonna del Rey is. She creates from her own playbook, 547 00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:51,759 Speaker 1: and that type of creator, that type of artist has 548 00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:56,600 Speaker 1: always been hard for simple minded critics to understand. Nabokov's 549 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:59,879 Speaker 1: Lolita was panned. Shipments of the book were seized upon 550 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:03,320 Speaker 1: entering the United Kingdom. In France, critics called the book 551 00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:08,040 Speaker 1: sheer unrestrained pornography. Yet the novel has lived on as 552 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:10,640 Speaker 1: one of the most enduring and consequential works of fiction 553 00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:14,000 Speaker 1: ever written. We are still talking about it and referencing 554 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:17,759 Speaker 1: it and arguing about it to this day. Catherine the 555 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:21,320 Speaker 1: Great was such an effective female leader that her legacy 556 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:25,680 Speaker 1: was subjected to a century's long smear campaign, and Lana 557 00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:29,920 Speaker 1: Turner her star power, her sexuality. The men in her 558 00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:32,879 Speaker 1: life simply could not handle it, to the point where 559 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:35,960 Speaker 1: she was almost murdered, to the point where her fourteen 560 00:37:36,040 --> 00:37:38,279 Speaker 1: year old daughter had to kill a man for the 561 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:42,400 Speaker 1: two women to survive. Whether these stories that I just 562 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:45,200 Speaker 1: told you were inspired by Lana del Rey or whether 563 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:49,920 Speaker 1: they inspired Lonna del Rey herself, the powerful female subjects 564 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:53,520 Speaker 1: at the center of them all share a common element. 565 00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:56,280 Speaker 2: With Lonna del Rey. They broke the mold. 566 00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:02,640 Speaker 1: Criticizing an artist for doing so would be a disgrace. 567 00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:09,520 Speaker 2: I'm Jake Brennan and this is Disgrace lad. 568 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:23,600 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to this week's episode on Lana del Rey, 569 00:38:23,719 --> 00:38:25,719 Speaker 1: a one of a kind artists who, as you can 570 00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:29,040 Speaker 1: hear from this episode, was unfairly in my estimation, treated 571 00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:31,120 Speaker 1: by the press. This week's question of the week to 572 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:31,840 Speaker 1: you guys. 573 00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:35,600 Speaker 3: Is which entertainers, artists, rock stars, actors, athletes do you 574 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:38,160 Speaker 3: think have been unfairly treated by the media by the 575 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:40,960 Speaker 3: critics and why does the media seem to judge some 576 00:38:41,239 --> 00:38:46,040 Speaker 3: entertainers differently than others, particularly female entertainers six one seven, 577 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:48,160 Speaker 3: nine oh six six sixty three eight, Leave me a voicemail, 578 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:49,799 Speaker 3: send me a text and let me know. You can 579 00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:52,560 Speaker 3: also reach me at disgrace lamp pod as well on Instagram, 580 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:54,799 Speaker 3: X and Facebook. Leave a review for the show on 581 00:38:54,840 --> 00:38:57,160 Speaker 3: Apple Podcasts through Spotify, and win some free merch. 582 00:38:57,400 --> 00:38:59,120 Speaker 2: All right here comes some Credits. 583 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:03,080 Speaker 1: Was created by Yours Truly and is produced in partnership 584 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:06,200 Speaker 1: with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be found 585 00:39:06,239 --> 00:39:09,759 Speaker 1: on the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. If 586 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:12,840 Speaker 1: you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank you 587 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:13,799 Speaker 1: for supporting the show. 588 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:15,200 Speaker 2: We really appreciate it. 589 00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:17,600 Speaker 1: And if not, you can become a member right now 590 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:22,160 Speaker 1: by going to disgracelampod dot com slash Membership. Members can 591 00:39:22,200 --> 00:39:26,080 Speaker 1: listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad free, Plus you'll 592 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:30,400 Speaker 1: get one brand new exclusive episode every month, weekly unscripted 593 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:34,400 Speaker 1: bonus episodes, special audio collections, in early access to merchandise 594 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:39,160 Speaker 1: and events. Visit disgracelampod dot com slash membership. 595 00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:40,840 Speaker 2: For details, rate and review the show. 596 00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:43,680 Speaker 3: And follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook at 597 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:47,680 Speaker 3: disgracelampod and on YouTube at YouTube dot com slash at 598 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:50,560 Speaker 3: disgracelampod rock a robot. 599 00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:58,799 Speaker 1: All right, thanks for checking up this archive episode on 600 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:01,759 Speaker 1: Lana del Rey Disco. Our next new episode coming up 601 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:05,839 Speaker 1: right now is our episode on Jim Morrison, his mysterious 602 00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:10,319 Speaker 1: death and the mysterious count that Jim was associated with 603 00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:12,160 Speaker 1: who may or may not have had something to do 604 00:40:12,239 --> 00:40:13,920 Speaker 1: with his demise. You get to check out that episode 605 00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:15,279 Speaker 1: to find out. Let me know what you think of 606 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:17,120 Speaker 1: all this six one seven nine O six sixty six 607 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:20,000 Speaker 1: three eight lead me a voicemail and a text. Disgrace 608 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:23,160 Speaker 1: lampod at gmail dot com to email me at disgrace 609 00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:24,520 Speaker 1: Lampod on the socials