May 4, 2010 8:00 am

The 10 greatest celebrity betrayals and bastard moves

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betrayal celeb moves lead The 10 greatest celebrity betrayals and bastard moves

Being in the entertainment industry isn’t the same as being in the mafia. After all, the mafia isn’t as ruthless or back-stabbing. How vicious can celebrity friendships get? Witness the Twitter deathmatch between Billy Corigan and Courtney Love. On Monday, Corrigan ripped his former flame for stealing songs he wrote and then using them for her comeback album Nobody’s Daughter. He also called her a bad mommy. What? No? The harsh reality is that the celebrity universe has been a fertile breeding ground for bitchery well before the age of @ and #. That’s because the common denominator hasn’t changed: $. Courtney’s late husband Kurt Cobain sang all apologies, but in The Biz it’s more like no apologies. Below, we look at 10 of the all-time Hollywood betrayals and bastard moves.

10 Sir Elton Pulls Dickish Wizardry On Rod
The top of the charts aren’t all that Elton John and Rod Stewart shared in the Seventies. They also shared a close bond of friendship. How close? Well, close enough that Elton’s nickname for Rod was “Phyllis” and Rod in turn called Elton “Sharon”. But the two popular tunesmiths had a falling out after Sharon convinced Phyllis he should pass on the role of Pinball Wizard in the 1975 rock opera Tommy. Trust me, mate. Disastrous career move. A short time later, Elton took the acclaimed role for himself. “Rod couldn’t believe it: ‘you barstard…’,” said John. “He was really furious and quite rightly so.” Caaaaannnn you feel the rage tonight?

9 Madonna Tricks Britney Into Thinking She’s Her Friend
Maybe Madonna didn’t drive her best friend-for-four-minutes Britney Spears into a head-shaving meltdown, but we’ll bet you the fake Kabbalah bracelet she gave Brit-Brit as a gift that she masterminded their “lesbian kiss” for her own self-gain. After she had milked the publicity stunt for all it was worth, Madge changed the locks on her English estate quicker than you can say la isla bonita. Madonna claimed that there was never a falling out, but rather explains it this way: “We shared a kiss, and I never saw her again.” This is probably the only time in his life Guy Ritchie wishes he had been Britney Spears.

8 John Lennon Craps All Over Paul’s Long And Winding Road
How’s does that song go again? “I get hosed with a little help my friends, gonna get screwed with a little help from my friends…” According to the late Ian MacDonald’s Revolution In The Head, a fascinating dissection of every single Beatles’ song, Lennon bungled his bass-playing on what he felt was another of Paul’s stupid and sappy ballads. “One can hear McCartney grin at his partner’s incompetence at 1:59,” writes McDonald, adding that while the shoddy bass playing was “largely accidental” it still “amounts to sabotage when presented as finished work.”

7 Eminem Plays Mariah’s Voice Messages for Several Thousands to Hear
While traveling the country to spread his positive message of peace, love and faith, Eminem played recordings left by Mariah Carey on his cell phone for crowds of thousands. What’s next? John Mayer projecting his IM conversation with Jennifer Aniston on a giant screen behind the concert stage. John, seriously, don’t do it.

6 Bette Davis Tells Joan Crawford: Have a Coke!
The long-simmering hatred between Hollywood titans Joan Crawford and Bettie Davis climaxed on the set of What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?, the only film they ever appeared in together. In a classic act of office-place cattiness, Davis had a Coca-Cola machine installed on the set to tweak Crawford, who was the widow of Pepsi-Cola CEO Alfred Steele and then-spokesperson for the company. Later, Davis “accidentally” hit Crawford in the head during a scene, causing a gash that required three stitches. Davis, who earned an Oscar nod for “Jane,” claimed that a spiteful Crawford mounted a campaign that included calling up members of the Academy to prevent her from taking home the award. Bitchtacular.

5 Gwyneth Allegedly Steals Winona’s Script, Career
Legend has it that Gwyneth Paltrow was hanging out at Winona Ryder’s place with her then-best friend when she spotted a script laying about. (It’s worth noting that at the time Ryder was the bigger star.) The name of that script: Shakespeare In Love. Gwyneth is rumored to have slipped out with the script and snagged the role for herself. A role for which she won a Best Actress Oscar. As for Winona, her career would stall and she would get arrested for shoplifting. Not that any of her pals would take pleasure in this “humiliating experience.”

4 Geri Quits On Spice Girls For Delusional Solo Career
In another case of Girl Power gone wrong, Geri Halliwell drew the ire of her fellow Spices when she unceremoniously left the band in the middle of their global tour in 1998. “When Geri left, it was really difficult for all of us,” said Victoria Beckham. “We had the American leg of the tour to fulfill, and nothing was going to stop us from doing that. But we were devastated.” While the sexy pop quintet managed a 2007-08 reunion tour, Posh, Scary, Sporty and Baby still harbor some resentment towards Geri for hastening their fall from the limelight. “The Spice Girls is about five girls,” said Beckham. Or, more accurately, five pairs of cleavage.

3 Mintz Steals Walt Disney’s Lucky Rabbit
Success is the best revenge. Nobody knows this better than Walt Disney. Back when he was just another 26 year-old struggling cartoonist who hated Jews, he got the break of a lifetime: creating an animated character for Universal Pictures named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. In 1928, the film’s distributor Charles Mintz blindsided young Walt by stealing away his animators and revealing his ownership of rights to Oswald, who was now a huge hit. Mintz then demanded Walt make him a full-partner in Disney Studios. Walt had little choice but take the offer. But, instead, he showed up at Mintz’s office and told him that as far as the Lucky Rabbit goes, “You can have the little bastard. He’s all yours and good luck to you.” Setting out on his own, Walt was forced to develop a brand new character. A mouse. That worked out okay. In 1996, Disney took care of one last bit of unfinished business, acquiring the majority rights to Oswald.

2 Amanda Woodward Accuses Dr. Christmas Jones of Betrayal
Once upon a time, these two Hollywood sexpots were as tight as the tank tops that often clung to them on-screen. But that all changed in 2006. A courtbound Heather Locklear accused Denise Richards of getting involved with her then-hubby Richie Sambora prior to their split. Richards, in turn, called Locklear’s accusations of betrayal the real betrayal. Locklear got the final revenge, allegedly blasting Livin’ On A Prayer outside Richards’ house. Somehow, improbably, out of all of this David Spade got laid.

1 Richard Nixon Starts Sex Tape Rumor About BFF Henry Kissinger
Actually, that might have been Heidi Montag who did that to Lauren Conrad. As Nixon would say.