Once someone’s face is emblazoned on the big screen, it makes a lot of sense that actors often develop huge egos since so many people start to see them as a big deal. However, if an actor can put their ego aside, they can do some serious good in the world precisely because they are perceived as special.
Since so many people think that movie stars are special, it can be really meaningful when a celebrity speaks about dealing with a serious issue. For example, when some stars have talked about being in abusive relationships, it meant the world to their fans who are in the same situation. Years before modern stars talked about their experiences, Judy Garland was one of the first celebrities to publicly admit to being in an abusive relationship.
Judy’s Struggles
Even though Judy Garland will go down in history as one of the biggest Hollywood legends of all time, it is abundantly clear that she led a life that was full of sorrow. When Garland was still a child, her family moved out to California. Once they arrived in Tinsel town, things were looking up as Judy and her sisters started performing together. As she spent years working hard to make a name for herself, Judy’s main source of support was her doting father. That is why it was so sad that her dad passed away just as Judy’s career was taking off.
After losing her father and becoming estranged from her mother, Judy Garland seemed to be in a really bad position to deal with the pressures of becoming a star. This is especially true since Garland’s career took off in an era in which the studios had complete control over actors which meant that Judy had to do whatever she could to fit the Hollywood image. After the people in charge of MGM instructed Garland to lose weight, the talented young actor began to take “pep pills” to suppress her appetite and keep her energy up. That proved to be one of the worst things to ever happen to Garland as she struggled with addiction for the rest of her life.
Of course, there have been lots of celebrities who sacrificed an awful lot for their careers. Unfortunately for Judy Garland, even after she developed dependence issues and put her body through the wringer due to studio demands, her MGM bosses fired her. Worse yet, based on Garland’s own claims, that isn’t the only abusive relationship she developed during her acting career.
Relationship Pain
Even though Judy Garland passed away when she was only 47 years old, she was married five times during her far too short life. Of all Garland’s relationships, her longest marriage was with Sidney Luft and they were together from 1952 until 1965. Sadly, based on what Garland claimed when she took Luft to divorce court, their years together were anything but happy.
After Judy Garland and Sidney Luft got divorced in 1965, she wound up getting full custody of the two kids they had together. As the papers from Garland and Luft’s divorced proceedings revealed, the explosive statements that Judy made to the court likely played a major role in that decision. After all, Garland told the judge that Luft “struck (her) many times” and that he “did a lot of drinking”.
In addition to Judy Garland’s statements about Sidney Luft’s alleged abusive behavior and drinking, a 2019 documentary made it clear that he believed he was partly to blame for her problems. When Sid & Judy was released, the documentary included never-released recordings of Luft talking about Garland on the phone. During one recording from 1963, Luft talks to CBS programming executive Hunt Stromberg Jr. about Garland and he is very frank.
During the aforementioned conversation, the CBS executive talks about a "very, very unpleasant and unfortunate night" on the set of Garland's musical variety show. From there, the executive clearly implies that Garland was under the influence when he discusses the “state” that she was in at the time. After admitting that Garland is “getting too much junk”, Luft begins to discuss Judy’s issues and he takes some responsibility. "Somewhere along the line, she got mixed up. Maybe it was partially my fault. Maybe, uh, I mixed her up. I don't know."
Before Sidney Luft’s 2005 passing, he released a memoir titled “Judy and I” in which he denied all of the claims Garland made against him. In fact, Luft even alleged that Garland once orchestrated a stunt to make Luft look guilty. According to him, Garland was in a hotel with him when she suddenly began screaming “he’s hitting me, he’s hitting me”. Then, some men who were outside the door came into the room and took over. “Just then, a private detective and a cop busted in. The two men had me by the neck, and the other by the arms.”
