The Ten Greatest False Rumors in Pop History

RUMOR: Back in headier times, Rod Stewart needed to be rushed to the hospital emergency room, because he had swallowed so much semen over the course of an evening—a gallon to be specific, presumably through homosexual sex acts, though the rumor never really specifies—that he had to have his stomach pumped. Hey, it was the ’70s.

DEBUNKED!: No evidence has ever been produced to prove that the Stewart rumors were in any way true, and whatever credibility the whispers once had has since been undermined by similar incidents being tied to Elton John, Jon Bon Jovi, Britney Spears and others. Plus, as a doctor interviewed for a SPIN issue on famous rock myths a couple years back pointed out, from a toxicological standpoitnt, “There’s no danger in having too much semen in your stomach.”

DENY, DENY, DENY: “What could it have been? A fucking fleet of sailors?” -Stewart