Richard Gere is known for cinematic classics such as Pretty Woman and An Officer and a Gentleman. But he’s also become known to some due to a crazy rumor that started out in the mid-’80s, that claimed the star had been admitted to a hospital for inserting a gerbil up his you-know-where. 

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To state the obvious, this is only an urban myth; there aren’t any records of such an occurrence, and a quick check on Snopes will tell you so. However, the rumor has hung around like the smell of a dead rodent for a good portion of Gere’s career. While the actor eventually managed to weather the storm, no one knows exactly where the source of this claim originated from.

How did it all start?

The stories at the time suggested that the rumor came from a fake press release that was faxed out after Pretty Woman was released. It made its way around, but there wasn’t any factual proof behind the claim. 

Then came the witness testimonies — people who claimed to be on duty at the hospital on that date and supposedly saw Richard Gere. However, there have been hundreds of reports like this from people who “worked” at that specific hospital. If they’re telling the truth, then this hospital would have to have the worst patient confidentiality on the planet. It sounds like every single soul in that hospital somehow ended up in Gere’s hospital room. How convenient.

So, are there any suspects?

Finding the culprit now is next to impossible. After all, in the context of Hollywood and the media, this is ancient history. We’re after whoever sent out that initial report via fax, but the trail is pretty cold now. However, there is one name that has come up numerous times, while we can’t prove they had the means, some think this person had the motive.

That person is, of course, Sylvester Stallone. For those who don’t know, Gere and Stallone have had beef for about 50 years. It all goes back to 1974, when the pair were set to star in The Lords of the Flatbush. Both found it difficult to get along with one another, culminating in a scrap between the two that involved a messy hotdog and mustard being spilled on someone’s trousers.

In the end, Gere was fired from the set, being replaced by Perry King, and that was the start of his and Stallone’s rivalry. It seems like someone’s making a mountain out of a molehill, but rest assured, both actors strongly dislike one another. So, that gives us a motive; Stallone dislikes his former colleague. Good enough, right? That’s what Gere thinks as he’s accused the Rocky star of lighting the flames of this ridiculous rumor. 

However, Stallone has always denied this, and just because he might have a reason to try and sabotage Gere’s career doesn’t mean that he’s actually done it. Unfortunately, there’s nothing to conclusively prove who is responsible for the Gerbil rumor — it’ll forever be one of those famous Hollywood mysteries.