In his Oct. 11 WorldNetDaily column, Erik Rush recites the history of “Hollywood excess” that allegedly resulted in the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal. His first example of this: “silent film actor Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle killing Virginia Rappe with a wine bottle in 1921 (he did not beat her to death with it).”
In fact, the available evidence is that he didn’t do either.
Actual historians at the Smithsonian recounted the case. Witnesses reportedly corroborated Arbuckle’s claim that he was never alone with Rappe, and he claimed that she tore off her own clothes complaining she couldn’t breathe. As far as Rush’s implication that Arbuckle killed her by raping her with a wine bottle (she died of a ruptured bladder, and medical evidence introduced at trial showed she had a chronic bladder condition), even the National Enquirer doesn’t buy it.
Arbuckle was tried three times; the first two ended in hung juries, and the third returned an innocent verdict in five minutes, four of which were reportedly used to prepare a statement apologizing to Arbuckle for the injustice he suffered. Alas, Arbuckle’s career and life were ruined beyond repair by this point, driven by sensationalized media coverage of the case, and he died in 1933.
WND’s penchant for publishing fake news is clearly not limited to current events.