I ' m going to go old school here , and say Fatty Arbuckle , though the fault largely lies with the media rather than his own doing . Arbuckle was one of the most popular and highestpaid silent movie actors of the 1910 s . But after he and some friends hosted a drinking party at a San Francisco hotel , a woman who attended fell ill , and died a few days later . A friend claimed that Arbuckle had raped her , despite there being no evidence to support it . The media ran with the story , first claiming that the actor ' s size caused traumatic injuries to the young woman , then saying he had violated her with a champagne bottle . Arbuckle was tried for rape and manslaughter three times , the first two resulting in mistrials before he was finally acquitted in the third . But the damage was done , his reputation was shattered . Not only was his career ruined , many of his older films were banned andor destroyed . It ' s a fascinating and sad story , generally considered the first true Hollywood scandal .