No one asked for this, starting with Richard Gere.
Once a hot sex symbol, Richard Gere — an Oscar nominee for “Chicago” — has lived a mostly quiet life. His greatest interest has been in promoting the Dalai Lama and helping the people of Tibet.
But back in his heyday, Gere was a habitue of Studio 54, where a wild urban myth sprang up about his hard partying.
The rumor, which was told over and over, was of course not true. It was also disgusting, which made it more scurrilous. But in the end, Gere — who never addressed it — survived. His Oscar nomination came decades afterwards.
These days, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone still repeating the story. (It was like when people used to tell me, confidently, that Tom Cruise had married Nicole Kidman because he was having an affair with her brother. Of course, she had no brother.)
But now, for some insane reason, The Hollywood Reporter has decided to revive the whole thing. Why? It makes no sense, and only serves to embarrass Gere. He deserves a lot more respect but the trade magazine doesn’t care.
So now we have a six part podcast called “Gerbil.” It’s proudly hosted by journalist Allen Salkin, who should know better. Salkin, they say, spent SIX years investigating this miserable dirt. SIX YEARS on this subject, and not on say, Gere’s steadfast support of the Dalai Lama.
Is this really what Jay Penske is spending money on? Shameful.
The Richard Gere gerbil rumor won’t die. Why? Did a movie star really show up at a hospital in the 1980s with a rodent in his rectum he’d inserted for sexual pleasure?
The Hollywood Reporter presents ‘GERBIL,’ a new podcast series by investigative reporter Allen Salkin, who… pic.twitter.com/rrzxsr7pt4
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 17, 2026
