Is Robert Downey Jr spreading insider celeb gossip on blogs?

[Cat]

Well, buckle up, SFK because there's more. "Himmmmmm" has posted again and this time triggered the ire of the powerful Douglas clan. I'm sensing Hollywood may start to react angrily now.

Warning: this is somewhat graphic, so...

http://gawker.com/58...f-a-brutal-rape

Did Robert Downey Jr. Really Just Accuse Kirk Douglas of a Brutal Rape?

Deep in the weeds of show business blogging, in the comments under a blind gossip item, the actor Robert Downey Jr. may have just laid a venomous bite on Kirk Douglas, accusing the legendary actor of raping actress Natalie Wood.

Either that or hundreds of people have just been conned by a massive fraud who wants us to believe famous screen stars obsess over anonymous blog comments (as, in fairness, some have been known to do). The purported Downey commenter did provide the correct home phone number of Wood's daughter as evidence of his own authenticity, for whatever that's worth.

Here's how things unfolded: Over on the Hollywood blog Crazy Days and Nights, mysterious longtime commenter "Himmmm" today posted repeatedly under a blind item about a longtime actor who slept with an underaged teenager, abused women, and pressured them into getting abortions. Himmmm, who online gossipers recently decided was Downey Jr, claimed actor Ryan O'Neal was the one who did those things, and went on to out another purported woman abusing scumbag, claiming Kirk Douglas repeatedly raped actress Natalie Wood in a hotel room decades ago, then laughed at and mocked her.

Rumors about Douglas raping Wood have been around for years , but Himmmm's cred within the blog as a Hollywood insider , the level of detail in his story, and his insinuation that he is Downey Jr. all lent his claim a certain standing, at least on the site.

Himmmm started with O'Neal, lamenting "the HELL he's caused me and so many other" (O'Neal and Downey Jr. co-starred in a 1989 movie) and claiming O'Neal had managed "to piss off Steven Speilberg, Aaron Spelling, Tippi Hedren, Brian Depalma, Robert Evans, Charlie Bludhorn, Lew Wasserman, and about 90% of the then-powerful William Morris Agency."

Himmmm's initial comment was well received by other commenters. As his stuff usually is: Not only does Himmmm often seem to have inside details, he has insinuated in the past that his account is shared between a "movie star," "rock star" and two "true creative geniuses."

Today he was clearly in movie star mode. After lashing O'Neal, Himmmm promised "later on I'm going to share with all of you a story (or two) I promise will make your heads explode."

The Kirk Douglas rape accusation

He delivered, laying out three long postings in page three of the comments. This was the purported Kurt Douglas-Natalie Wood story. It begins with an introduction describing how Wood, wanting edgier roles as a rebellious teenager, had a consensual affair with a married, older director to win a part. Other actors then thought she would sleep with anyone for a part. One such actor, Douglas, allegedly went well beyond trying to barter for sex:

Himmmm went on to name the actor in question:

Accuser claims to be Robert Downey Jr. (basically)

Our sister site Jezebel this week speculated and relayed the speculation of others that Himmmm might be Downey Jr. In these new postings, he seemed to confirm this, inasmuch as an anonymous blog commenter can confirm anything, giving clues that amount to an outright claim he is Downey Jr.. These included Wood's daughter's home phone number.

This is the money paragraph where Himmmm attempts to out himself as Downey Jr. (from part 2):

The movie Himmmm mentions is almost certainly Two Girls and a Guy, the only 1990s film by Wood's daughter Natsha Gregson Wagner in which the actress co-starred with Heather Graham. The film's other co-star was Downey Jr. Recall how Himmmm claimed Wood's "friends and family knew the truth" about the rape. So the idea is Wagner knew about the attack on her mom and grew close enough to Downey Jr. after working with him to vent about it.

The number Himmmm provided for Gregson Wagner does, in fact, belong to a person in Malibu matching her name and age, according to a public records database. (The person with Wagner's name and age who owns that number and a related cell phone number did not return calls to both numbers seeking comment.)

Of course, the number also appears in a few stray internet white pages searches under the name "Natasha Wagner."

Which is to say, this could all be some sort of elaborate hoax by someone with an axe to grind, a knack for sounding authoritative about Hollywood, and way too much time on his hands. Someone who wants us to believe, as Himmmm put it, that "you'd be surprised how many actors, filmmakers, and musicians read this blog. Some even comment." And someone smart enough to pin his impulsive, reckless, obsessive comments on an impulsive, reckless, obsessive actor like Downey Jr.

Either way, the Crazy Days and Nights crowd is going bananas. Not only did we receive two different tips about this within one hour of Himmmm's comment going up, the comments' associated thread has grown to 827 postings, from around 600 when Himmmm first posted his Douglas allegations, and less than 200 when he posted his comments on O'Neal.

Most of the comments about Himmmm's Douglas allegation are supportive, along the lines of this one, which read in part, "To Himmmm... you rock dude. SO SO SO SO SO much utter respect for you and your cojones to say what you've said." Or this one, reading, "All I can say is a big THANK YOU … I can only speculate on your identity, but if you are who most people think you are, I am happy that you have chosen to be one of us here at this site.

Others were more skeptical, like this one, which read, "The Kirk Douglas/Natalie Wood story is well known. It's described in multiple biographies of Natalie Wood, without naming the actor, but it's not a secret. Let's not pretend that Himmmm just revealed something spectacular."

Whether "Himmmm just revealed something spectacular" depends, in the end, on whether he really is Downey Jr., and whether he really did get his information, as he implies but never quite says, from Natalie Wood's daughter after co-starring with her in a movie 15 years ago. For all the hubub, it seems unlikely a star - even Robert Downey Jr. - would make accusations this recklessly after having his real name associated with his anonymous handle. Himmmm concluded his allegations by signing off from Crazy Days and Nights forever, but, ludicrous as it may seem, something tells us the real-life Downey Jr. is going to have to answer questions about these comments with more than an internet kiss off.

Update: Himmmm's comments about Douglas specifically were "removed by the author" within an hour and a half of this post going up.

[SFK]

This is some scandalous stuff. I had read something about Douglas/Wood before. You know, with IP addresses and all that, I'm surprised a liar or a truth teller for that matter would be saying all of this stuff uness they were ignorant of or totally unphased by the repercussions. Interesting...

[DRW50]

Downey denies involvement.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/03/16/rep-downey-jr-isn-t-online-commenter.html

The "of course it's not" makes me a little dubious, but overall I have a tough time believing he would be involved in this. Spreading gossip is one thing but repeatedly listing all these details just to make sure everyone knows who you are seems like a big gamble, and I've never considered RDJ to be someone that stupid.

[Bright Eyes]

I hate you all. My life was been entombed inside the vortex of this site's blind items. I check it everyday like a cocaine fiend.

[VirginiaHamilton]

I'm sorry, but this 'outing' of the "celebrity tattletale" chaps my ass.

Being a faithful reader of CDAN and a fan of said "celebrity tattletale" spilled tea, it is annoying as hell to see certain folks not being able to leave well enough alone and enjoy the gossip where it was supposed to be enjoyed. What was once a (largely) unsullied source of juicy gossip for me has been tainted because some dumb [!@#$%^&*] just had to blow up spots.