Lana Del Rey: Three Dark Stories Inspired by an American Risk Taker (Rewind)

Summary

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DISGRACELAND: "Lana Del Rey: Three Dark Stories Inspired by an American Risk Taker (Rewind)"

Podcast: DISGRACELAND
Host: Jake Brennan
Episode Date: July 5, 2026
Theme: This episode delves into the myths, controversies, and true crimes surrounding Lana Del Rey's artistry, exploring three notorious real-life stories that echo the dangerous romanticism found in Lana's music and image. Through dark tales of obsession, liberation, and scandalous women, the episode questions how female artists—like Lana—face judgment and myth-making in ways their male counterparts rarely do.

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Episode Overview

Jake Brennan revisits his acclaimed exploration of "Three Dark Stories Inspired by Lana Del Rey." He uses Del Rey's enigmatic persona and haunting pop culture presence as a jumping-off point to examine the true stories of three women—Megan Stammers, Catherine the Great, and Lana Turner—whose lives and myths intersect with the themes of risk, scandal, and agency that define Del Rey’s work. The episode argues that Del Rey, much like these historical and cultural figures, rejects easy categorization and confrontation with societal expectations about female power, sexuality, and artistic legitimacy.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introduction: Lana Del Rey’s Polarizing Influence (01:47)

• Jake explains why Lana Del Rey is a perfect fit for DISGRACELAND: “She’s so polarizing, right? People love her...but people also cannot stand Lana Del Rey. And these are my favorite types of artists.” (01:54)
• Brennan sets out to explore how Lana’s visual and lyrical world connects to true crime stories and scandalous women from history, intending to intrigue both fans and detractors.

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2. The Lolita Archetype: Lana, Megan Stammers, and Illicit Romance (04:45–17:50)

• Lolita's Influence in Lana's Work: Repeated references to Vladimir Nabokov's 'Lolita' appear in Del Rey's lyrics and visuals—most notably heart-shaped sunglasses and underage, power-tinged relationships (“He loves my heart-shaped sunglasses, he loves the shape my heart-shaped ass is”—ref. Every Man Gets His Wish).
• Lana's Own Teenage Years: At Kent School, 15-year-old Lana (Elizabeth Grant) formed a close relationship with her 22-year-old teacher, reading Lolita and absorbing influences: “We read Lolita and it changed my world.” (10:57)

True Crime Connection: Megan Stammers

• Case Recap: In 2012, 14-year-old Megan Stammers ran away to France with her 30-year-old teacher Jeremy Forrest, sparking an international manhunt.
• Parallels to Lana’s Lyrics/Imagery: Brennan draws parallels between Megan’s infatuation and Lana’s musical narratives: “Car rides, kisses, and cinema sounds like images from a Lana Del Rey video...” (16:28)
• Agency and Obsession: Unlike Nabokov’s victimized Lolita, Brennan emphasizes the agency both Lana’s characters and Megan claim in their stories, though he also notes the tragic misplacement of such empowerment: “It’s fantasy, it’s escapism. Megan’s obsession was inspired and was definitely misplaced.” (17:45)

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3. Scandal, Power, and Sexual Liberation: Catherine the Great (20:56–30:53)

• Music Video Imagery: Brennan discusses the video for "Blue Jeans," where Lana swims with an alligator and cavorts with a tattooed lover: “Great sex, like great art, is sometimes a risk...Lana breaks from her lover and swims with the alligator beneath the surface.” (20:56)
• The Catherine the Great Myth: Myth-busting the infamous legend of Catherine’s sexual excesses (including the debunked horse story), Brennan explores how the Empress’s reputation for insatiability was weaponized to undermine her achievements: “Catherine the Great was not just a powerful woman. In an age when powerful women were few and far between, she was a beacon of independence, standing tall and strong in a world designed to suppress women.” (29:32)
• Male Double Standards: He contrasts the Empress’s treatment with notorious male rulers: “The Ottoman emperor Ibrahim the Mad...Rome’s Emperor Caligula…King Herod...So what if Catherine the Great made her armed guards erect and paraded them past her for an expensive thrill?...Her actions indicate quite the opposite [of derangement].” (28:50)
• Iconic Legacy: Brennan characterizes Catherine as a source of inspiration for Del Rey’s myth-making and defiance.

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4. The Fatal Allure of a Starlet: Lana Turner’s Deadly Relationship (34:00–43:00)

• Hollywood Sex Symbol: Turner’s on-screen sexuality revolutionized film and fixated the American public; Del Rey adopted her name in tribute: “Del Rey sounds American and Lana sounds, well, hot.” (34:22)
• True Crime Drama: Lana Turner’s toxic affair with mobster Johnny Stompanato ended in murder: her teenage daughter Cheryl killed Johnny in defense of her mother and herself (“The knife pierced the gangster’s stomach...Cheryl’s mouth fell open with a near silent gasp and behind her, Lana Turner screamed as her lover Johnny Stompanato fell dead to the floor.” (42:42))
• Surviving Male Violence: The harrowing details of the Turners’ ordeal illustrate the intersection of gendered power, sexuality, and public scrutiny; the same elements that Lana Del Rey toys with in her persona and art.

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5. The Critic’s Double Standard and The Price of Risk (43:00–46:45)

• Unfair Criticism of Lana Del Rey: Brennan reviews the harsh media reception Lana faced after "Born to Die," especially after her SNL performance: “Pitchfork called her debut major label album...the album equivalent of a fake orgasm...Juliette Lewis [tweeted]: Watching this ‘singer’ on SNL is like watching a 12-year-old in their bedroom...” (44:26)
• Risk as Artistic Necessity: He champions artists—like Del Rey, Dylan, Cobain, Prince—who take risks and refuse easy classification: “Lana Del Rey is the best kind of artist...the kind who isn't afraid to risk it, to do it in public, in front of us. For us.” (45:15)
• The Hypocrisy in Reception: Brennan criticizes how female artists who don’t “fit into a box” are especially punished by mainstream critics and the media: “It strikes me as weird that a 21st-century female artist...would be so viciously criticized...But Lana Del Rey doesn’t fit into anyone’s box.” (45:40)

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6. Conclusion: The Cost and Brilliance of Breaking the Mold (46:45–47:40)

• Enduring Impact: Tying his three stories together, Jake argues that all these women—Megan, Catherine, Lana Turner, and Lana Del Rey—“broke the mold.” (47:05)
• Final Reflection: “Criticizing an artist for doing so would be a disgrace.” (47:18)

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Notable Quotes

• “Lana’s music and image are as evocative and compelling as the myth that she’s built around her.” – Jake Brennan (03:10)
• “Lolita is a theme that Lana has played with numerous times in numerous songs and videos throughout her career.” (07:25)
• “It’s fantasy, it’s escapism. Megan’s obsession was inspired and was definitely misplaced.” (17:45)
• “Catherine the Great was not just a powerful woman...she was a beacon of independence, standing tall and strong in a world designed to suppress women.” (29:32)
• “Criticizing an artist for doing so would be a disgrace.” (47:18)

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Important Timestamps

• (01:47–03:10) – Introduction to Lana Del Rey’s polarizing effect and episode approach
• (04:45–09:40) – Exploration of Lana’s use of ‘Lolita’ themes; her own school experiences
• (09:41–17:50) – Deep dive into the Megan Stammers case, with direct comparisons to Lana’s lyrics
• (20:56–30:53) – Catherine the Great’s legacy, myth-busting, and comparison to Del Rey’s allure
• (34:00–43:00) – The Lana Turner and Johnny Stompanato saga
• (43:00–47:40) – Defense of Del Rey’s artistry, criticism of media double standards, and final thoughts

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Memorable Moments

• The vivid retelling of how Cheryl Turner killed Johnny Stompanato in self-defense parallels the dangerous, untamed femininity in Del Rey’s music videos (42:42).
• Brennan’s refusal to dramatize the infamous myth of Catherine the Great’s death by horse (“I can’t do it. I won’t do it…That is the story, or rather the myth…” (29:07)), highlighting both sensationalism and sexist character assassination in history.
• The direct call out of how critics, especially female critics, have often gone after Lana Del Rey, contrasting this with veneration of male artists’ imperfections (44:26, 45:15).

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Tone and Style

Jake Brennan’s narration blends dark humor, pop cultural insight, and historical storytelling, channeling the melodramatic, noir themes of Lana Del Rey’s discography. He is candid, sometimes irreverent, and always aware of the interplay between fact, myth, and performance—mirroring the layered complexity of Del Rey herself.

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For Further Listening / Engagement

• Listeners are invited to reflect on which artists have been unfairly maligned by the media and why these standards are applied differently, especially to women (46:55).
• Jake provides direct contact and social media options for audience input and feedback. (47:43)

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DISGRACELAND delivers a gripping, myth-exploding ride through the murky intersections of fame, gender, and risk—much like Lana Del Rey’s music itself.

Transcript

[Jake Brennan]

This is exactly right. Double Elvis.

[Dani Shapiro]

Betrayal Weekly is back with brand new stories from threatening text messages disturbing a small Midwestern town. It was from an unknown number. Who else is getting these messages? Why did it start with us? To long cons and stolen identities.

[Jake Brennan]

Who lies about being this sick?

[Dani Shapiro]

This was the last time I ever

[Jake Brennan]

believed a word she said.

[Dani Shapiro]

Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your husband is not who you think he is. Your body is not what you thought it was. Your identity is formed by a secret history. I'm Dani Shapiro, and these are just a few of the stunning stories I'll be exploring on the 14th season of Family Secrets. He kind of shoved me out of the way and said, move. And he went out the front door and he jumped in a car and drove off. And that was the last time I saw him. Listen to season 14 of Family Secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Anna Sinfield]

Hello, it's me, Anna Sinfield, the host of the Girlfriends. I'm back with more one off interviews with some truly kick ass women on the Girlfriends Spotlight.

[Jake Brennan]

I'm going to climb. This is badness hereditary. Let's see how we can stop killing.

[Anna Sinfield]

I'm not too intimidated by her. What are you talking about? Listen to the Girlfriend Spotlight on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jake Brennan]

All right, discos. Welcome back to the Archive. I wanted to tell a story about Lana Del Rey just because I'm kind of fascinated by Lana Del Rey. This episode came out back In August of 2024, about a month before Lana Del Rey got married. So that was some news that happened after this episode was released. So she's so polarizing, right? People love her. Her fandom is super strong. People obviously have an emotional connection with Lana Del Rey, but people also cannot stand Lana Del Rey. And these are my favorite types of artists. I love Kim Gordon, but I love that Kim Gordon can't stand Lana Del Rey. But at the same time, I can appreciate Lana Del Rey. And I was really interested in true crime stories from the past that are connected to the whole world. The imagery, the visual world, not just the musical world that Lana Del Rey has built. And I thought that was a really interesting way to get into her story and to tell her story in a way that would satisfy myself and fans of Lana Del Rey and detractors. So with all that said, I hope you dig this episode. It's one of my favorites. Matt Bowden did a great job mixing this episode, scoring this episode as well. Just really, really fantastic. So without further ado, here is Lana Del Rey. This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. Please check the show notes for more information. Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is a story about one of the most compelling musical artists in modern times. It's also a story about an illicit underage romance, an abduction, and an international manhunt about sexual liberation in a scandalous story that is almost too scandalous to talk about. It's a story about a starlet, sex appeal, and psychopaths. And it's also about an artist who doesn't fit into a box. Lana Del Rey, a musician who makes great music. Unlike that music I played for you at the top of the show. That wasn't great music. That was a preset lute from my melotron called Yacht Funk Mk 2. I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to We Found Love by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris. And why would I play you that specific slice of Hopeless cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was the number one song in America on January 31, 2012. And that was the day that Lana Del Rey released her debut studio album. An album that announced a new artist who wasn't afraid to risk it to create her own playbook and do it her own way, not how anyone else expected or told her to. On this episode, illicit romance, an international manhunt, starlets, psychopaths, Three Dark Stories, and Lana Del Rey I'm Jake Brennan and this is Disgrace. Sam. The title of this episode is Three Dark Stories Inspired by Lana Del Rey because Lana's music and image are as evocative and compelling as the myth that she's built around her. While researching Lana Del Rey, the artist or Elizabeth Grant, that's Lana's birth name, the person I naturally learned more about. What inspired inspired her 20th century Americana classic noir, melancholia, romanticism, and the enduring legacy of the American risk taker. Throughout this discovery, I found myself continually prompted to explore the stories of other fascinating women whose histories I may not have otherwise been interested in were it not for Lana Del Rey's powerful songs and visual imagery. These things inspired me, drove my curiosity, and unearthed three incredibly scandalous and true stories about three incredibly scandalous and truly fascinating women. Lana Turner, Catherine the Great, and Megan Stammers. Each of their stories seemed to me to be ripped straight from the lyrics of Alana Del Rey's song. Now this episode might have been titled Three Dark Stories that Inspired Lana Del Rey because given how well read and history minded Lana Del Rey is, it's easy to see how the songwriter could have heard these stories I'm about to tell you and been inspired herself to weave them into her songs. But I can't say that with any certainty because Lana Del Rey, like all great artists, isn't particularly forthcoming regarding her lyrics. She keeps it mysterious, which I appreciate because it allows us to sit back and consider the artist, her music, and her image more deeply. The mystery compels us to dream. And let's be Honest, Lana Del Rey's music has a certain dreamlike quality to it. On January 31, 2012, Lana Del Rey released her debut major label album Born to Die. As part of the recording of this album there is an unreleased track entitled Lolita, which is of course a reference to the famous Vladimir nabokov novel from 1955 of the same name and the inspiration behind the Stanley Kubrick film adaptation, the one with the iconic imagery of actress Sue Lyon in those cherry red heart shaped sunglasses on the movie poster. The same heart shaped sunglasses Lana Del Rey sang about on another unreleased song, the demo Every Man Gets His Wish, which contains the lyrics he loves my heart shaped sunglasses he loves the shape my heart shaped ass is the Lolita theme is one that Lana has played with numerous times in numerous songs and videos throughout her career. It's also the subject of many think pieces and message board threads throughout Reddit. In the Lanaverse, Nabokov's Lolita character is very much the victim. She's a 12 year old girl who is taken advantage of by an obsessed out of work male teacher. But the Lolita characters Lana Del Rey depicts are knowing willing participants in the illicit romances they're entangled in. And at least in Lana's depiction, these young women are not without agency. In yet another unreleased Lana Del Rey song, Prom Song gone Wrong, the lyrics go I knew you loved me by the way you looked in second period I'd see you in the halls like hello hello up against the wall like let's go, let's go. And then in another song entitled Boarding School, Lana sings let's do drugs, make love with our teachers. Boarding school was Kent School in Connecticut where if we're to believe the myth, Lana Del Rey was sent to attend as a 14 year old, in part to overcome her alcoholism and bad girl behavioral issues. Lana graduated in 2003. Of her time there, she has spoken about an older man, a teacher who had an outsized Influence on her, a man by the name of Gene Campbell, whom Lana says was her only friend in school, a time when she was excessively lonely. He was 22, she was 15. He'd drive her around in his car and turn her on to music and literature. She'd never heard or heard of Tupac, Biggie, Whitman in Nabokov. Lana has said about this teacher, quote, we read Lolita and it changed my world, unquote. Neither Lana nor her teacher has confirmed or denied any inappropriate relationship. But Lana's quotes don't exactly depict a helpless Lolita. They describe a curious, literary minded young girl, perhaps dangerously infatuated, much like another young girl, a 14 year old student from East Sussex, England named Megan Stammers. There's no way for me to know whether Lana Del Rey is aware of the incredible story of Megan Stammers or if Megan's story inspired Lana in any way, or whether Megan was inspired by Lana's Lolita fascination. But you can be the judge. In 2012, 14 year old Megan Stammers was a normal sophomore at the Bishop Bell School in coastal England. She listened to music, kept up with her studies and exchanged crushes with boys her own age. Then she got caught up in an obsessive and illicit romance with her 30 year old math professor, Jeremy Forrest. Jeremy was, by 14 year old girl standards, the cool professor. He had a tattoo, he was into nirvana, he fumbled through the chords of Heart Shaped Bach on acoustic guitar and he even got up on stage locally for the occasional gig where he mumbled what we can only assume he believed to be witty lyrics for songs titled All My Friends are Astronauts and Arrows in Hearts. Megan was smitten. Jeremy showed her extra attention on a school trip. Megan couldn't believe that this older, mature, seemingly worldly man would be interested in her. She was obsessed. She needed to know everything about him. She followed him on Twitter and he followed her back. And soon, through direct messages, they had a separate line of communication outside of the classroom. And it was through that separate and direct line of communication that Megan received an invitation from Jeremy to go on a drive. And that drive led to deep conversations. Well, as deep as a 14 year old and a 30 year old can get, I guess. But Megan felt seen. Now, up to this point, Megan had developed an eating disorder and hadn't told anyone. But Jeremy. And Jeremy apparently knew just what to say to Megan to make her feel better about her situation. The drive turned into subsequent drives which turned into long walks by the ocean in the seaside town where Megan went to school and Those walks eventually led to a first kiss just after Megan's 15th birthday. To her teacher, a man twice her age. Jeremy somehow convinced his wife that it was okay for Megan, his student, to hang around the house to watch tv, do her homework and listen to music. Jeremy convinced Megan that he was on the outs with his wife and that his marriage would soon be over. It was in Jeremy and his wife's spare bedroom where the teacher first had sex with the 15 year old student. That act in the subsequent times they had sex only increased Megan's obsession with her teacher as she recounted the story. That time in her life was a romantic blur of quote, car rides, kisses and out of town cinema trips. Car rides, kisses and cinema sounds like images from a Lana Del Rey video. Megan described this point in her relationship with Jeremy as the point at which their escape fantasy took hold. They dreamed lovingly of a life outside of the town where they lived and worked, where everyone knew them, to a place where they could live in love anonymously, despite their age difference. And they settled on France. Back in school, of course, the rumors started to fly. And then the police took an interest. Then they questioned Megan and her mother. And then they questioned Jeremy and his wife. The writing was on the wall. The pieces started to click into place for Megan's friends and family. And the same went for Jeremy's colleagues. All that time that the teacher was spending with that young girl, of course, how had they not seen it? Judgment would be swift from Megan's point of view. The fact that she loved Jeremy would have nothing to do with how authorities treated the situation. Jeremy would go to jail and Jeremy couldn't have that. So Jeremy and Megan went on the run. Like some modern day Bonnie and Clyde inspired not by bank vault riches, but by the illicit romance of Nabokos Lolita. Megan and Jeremy racing through the night away from that dreary English town and off to France. The trajectory of Meghan's young love life begins with her on an East Sussex beach. Like Lana Del Rey in the the music video for her song West Coast. Twirling on that beach with an age appropriate crush. And then off into the dark, fleeing in the passenger seat of a vampiric older man's car. Like Lana Del Rey in her shades of cool video. Megan being driven off toward an uncertain future. The romance of it all compelling her. The missing schoolgirl and the 30 year old teacher who abducted her triggered an international manhunt in September of 2000, 2012. It took only seven days for authorities to find Megan and Jeremy in the French city of Bordeaux. Their short lived life on the run ended with Jeremy's arrest and Megan's return to her parents. Jeremy got five and a half years in prison, but the sentencing didn't quell Megan's romance. She wrote Jeremy multiple love letters that were intercepted by prison authorities and Megan even attempted to visit Jeremy in jail, but she was denied. Megan blamed herself for Jeremy's incarceration, saying that she initiated the relationship and suggested they run away together. It's funny what inspiration will do. As young adults, we see ourselves in the songs and in the books that we listen to and read. It's fantasy, it's escapism. MEGAN STAMMERS Obsession was inspired and was definitely misplaced. Regardless of where it came from, be it Nirvana's heart shaped box or Lana Del Rey and Lolita's heart shaped sunglasses.

[Dani Shapiro]

Your husband is not who you think he is. Your body is not what you thought it was. Your identity is formed by a secret history. I'm Dani Shapiro, and these are just a few of the stunning stories I'll be exploring on the 14th season of Family Secrets. And just then, we felt the plane

[Jake Brennan]

turn in the air.

[Dani Shapiro]

So much so that the bags that

[Jake Brennan]

were under people's seats just kind of flew into the aisle.

[Dani Shapiro]

Each week, we dive headfirst into the complex power of secrecy. How it shapes our identities and relationships and how it ultimately can reveal to us our truest selves. My daughter, she's pretending she doesn't know, but is trying to cook and feed me and keep me alive because I. I wasn't eating anything and me pretending like everything was fine. He kind of shoved me out of the way and said, move. And he went out the front door and he jumped in a car and drove off. And that was the last time I saw him. Listen to season 14 of Family Secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Betrayal Weekly is back with brand new stories from threatening text messages disturbing a small Midwestern town. It was from an unknown number. Who else is getting these messages? Why did it start with us? To long cons and stolen identities.

[Jake Brennan]

Who lies about being this sick?

[Dani Shapiro]

This was the last time I ever

[Jake Brennan]

believed a word she said.

[Dani Shapiro]

New voices, each with the courage to tell their own story. He said, I have been kidnapped. Okay, just try and act normal.

[Jake Brennan]

He was essentially on the run.

[Dani Shapiro]

Every family has secrets.

[Jake Brennan]

The rug had been pulled from underneath me.

[Dani Shapiro]

Oh, my God. It was right in front of my face and I didn't even see it. Listen to Betrayal weekly. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Anna Sinfield]

Hello, it's me, Anna Sinfield from the Girlfriends, the number one hit true crime show that puts right in the center of their own stories. I'm back with more one off interviews with some truly kick ass women on the Girlfriend's Spotlight. I want to introduce you to Sylvia.

[Jake Brennan]

I'm going to climb this.

[Anna Sinfield]

And then there's Fusaka.

[Jake Brennan]

Let's see how we can stop killing and save lives.

[Anna Sinfield]

Leila dared to ask the question, is badness hereditary? And finally we'll meet Rosamund.

[Jake Brennan]

If it wasn't for the air where Ella lived, she wouldn't have died on that fatal night.

[Anna Sinfield]

You'll even get to meet my mum in that one, who I can always count on to keep my feet on the ground. I'm not too intimidated by her. What are you talking about? Listen to the Girlfriend Spotlight on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Jake Brennan]

Lana Del Rey enters the pool in slow motion in a retro one piece bathing suit. It's a sexually charged moment in a music video filled with sexually charged moments. Llama's video for her 2012 single Blue Jeans. There's her lover, tall, thin, cut, fully illustrated in the flesh, with tattoos everywhere over his hands and face. He strips down to his underwear before taking to the pool himself. His tattooed hand reaches for Lana's neck, but then she takes his fingers into her mouth. The couple acts as though they are all all alone in that pool. But they aren't. There's an alligator swimming below them. Lana is unfazed. Great sex, like great art, is sometimes a risk. As the video continues, Lana breaks from her lover and swims with the alligator beneath the surface. She writhes in her bathing suit, Presley pressing her flesh against the animal's long jagged tail. The interpretation is that the violent looking illustrated man is enough. Only the savage man eating beast can satiate Lana Del Rey's myth. Building the symbolism of the hinted bestiality. That power dynamic inspired me to wonder what Lana Del Rey's thoughts, if anyone, might have been during the making of this video about one of the most powerful women of all time, Catherine the Great, and the mythology surrounding that particular royal sexual appetite. And one of the most scandalous rumors of all time. It was July and it was hot. A rare early summer heat wave in St. Petersburg, the seat of the Russian Empire in 1796. The young man waited in the apartment located inside the palace. He was unsure what to do with himself in his New home. He was even unsure about how long this would be his new home. All he knew was that he could live here indefinitely and he could do whatever he wanted, so long as he made himself available at all times sexually to the Empress, who lived in the adjacent apartment. The young man had not yet met the Empress known as Catherine the Great. He'd only met her Countess, an encounter he enjoyed very much. Despite the Countess's age, she put the young man through his sexual paces. It was thrilling being with an older woman who knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it. The Countess wasn't as old as the Empress, though. The Empress was 67. The Countess's job was to give the young man a trial run to see if he was up to satisfying the Empress. And that meant two things, size and stamina. The young man passed his royal audition on both counts. So here sat this virile young man in his new apartment, powdering the rumors he'd heard about his new lover, the Empress of Russia, whom he'd never met. The rumors that she was insatiable, that she demanded sex up to seven times a day. That the Empress, if it pleased her, would make a cast of his elephantine penis and use that to satisfy her on occasion as well. On those days when he, her young lover, wasn't able to keep up with her. What was true about the Empress and what was myth wasn't all that hard for the young man to sort out. Much of what Catherine the Great had accomplished in her 67 years was already part of the modern historical record. She married into the royal family and outsmarted and some say overthrew her dim witted, sexually inadequate and sadistic animal torturing husband, Peter iii. Peter couldn't perform sexually. Every time he got hard, he experienced excruciating pain. He took that pain out on helpless animals, dogs and cats, dismembering them for fun. Relishing the pain he inflicted, Catherine mercilessly deposed him and set about to remake the Russian empire in her own image. She conquered new lands in the south. She annexed Crimea and colonized large swaths of land for strategic outposts to fend off the Ottomans. She partitioned Poland and moved as far east as Alaska. She modernized much of Russia in lockstep with Western European progress. She was an early advocate of the smallpox vaccine, which saved countless lives. She was a patron of the arts, a correspondent and a confidant of Voltaire, one of the great writers and thinkers of the day. Anne. Catherine the Great acquired and wielded this great power while Tearing through an extensive line of lovers, beautiful and sometimes powerful men whom she bedded not only for sexual conquest, but some, sometimes for strategic purposes as well. Generals and nobles who helped quell palace coups and put down regional uprisings. The older Catherine got, the younger her lovers got. As a young man waiting dutifully in his new apartment, well knew she was insatiable. Youthful vigor was necessary to satisfy the aging empress, and her satisfaction didn't go unrewarded. Many, upon being discarded after fulfilling their duties, were rewarded handsomely for their efforts. But always materially. Never with any real power, cash, servants, homes, but never with anything that would diminish Catherine's reign in any way. From where the young man sat, it was tough to judge the sexual rumors surrounding Catherine. They called her a deviant. But really, was any of her behavior worse than what was whispered about the men who'd reigned previously, here in Russia or elsewhere? The Ottoman emperor Ibrahim the Mad was said to have had a harem of 280 women. On a whim, one day he decided he was bored, so he had them all executed. Then he took their skin and sewed them into sacks. Rome's Emperor Caligula was said to have been infatuated with all three of his sisters, each of whom he slept with. And King Herod. That story was possibly the most disturbing. As it goes, he was supposedly driven so mad with jealousy by his wife Miriam, that he had her killed, then preserved her dead body in honey and proceeded to have sex with it for seven more years after his wife wife died. So what if Catherine the Great made her armed guards erect and paraded them past her for an expensive thrill? So what if she had replications of her favorite past lovers carved into her wood furniture? So what if the empress found herself dissatisfied with all of her lovers after a lifetime of sex on demand, numerous times per day, every day. And so what if Catherine the Great eventually turned away from men for satisfaction in favor of a horse? The 67 year old Empress lay there on the bed, fully exhilarated. The bed had been brought down from one of the royal apartments into the barn adjacent to the stables, and the horse suspended above her on straps was being carefully lowered by a group of muscular royal guards. The horse's member was larger than. I can't do it. I won't do it. As much as I want to do it, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to dramatize the death of Catherine the Great, crushed by the horse she was attempting to copulate with. But that Is the story, or rather the Myth, that this 67 year old woman, one of the most powerful women the world has ever known, died in one of the most scandalous ways possible? I don't believe it. It's too lurid and honestly, too out of character. Catherine the Great may have been insatiable, but unlike King Herod, Caligula and Emperor Ibrahim the Mad, Catherine wasn't deranged. Her actions indicate quite the opposite. She may have been ruthless at times, but she was measured, thoughtful and strategic. All qualities that contravene derangement. Catherine the Great was not just a powerful woman. In an age when powerful women were few and far between, she was a beacon of independence, standing tall and strong in a world designed to suppress women beyond her power. She was truly independent and sexually liberated. A testament to her strength and resilience. Catherine the Great died of a stroke, likely on her toilet. But that story wasn't scandalous enough. The rumors of her shocking demise with the horse and of her so called sexual deviancy are, in my opinion, nothing more than a historical smear campaign by jealous and petty men from that era aimed at discrediting one of the most accomplished women of all time. Catherine the Great's reign should not be fought her for discrediting myths. The Empress's illustrious reign should instead inspire free thinking women everywhere, as I believe it did Lana Del Rey. A woman who has been hell bent on making her own myth since bursting on the scene with a borrowed name from another powerful woman. A woman with ties to another incredible story. This one also very scandalous, but this time very true. We'll be right back after this word.

[Dani Shapiro]

Word. Word. Your husband is not who you think he is. Your body is not what you thought it was. Your identity is formed by a secret history. I'm Danny Shapiro and these are just a few of the stunning stories I'll be exploring on the 14th season of Family Secrets. And just then, we felt the plain

[Jake Brennan]

turn in the air.

[Dani Shapiro]

So much so that the bags that were under people's seats just kind of

[Jake Brennan]

flew into the aisle.

[Dani Shapiro]

Each week we dive headfirst into the complex power of secrecy. How it shapes our identities and relationships and how it ultimately can reveal to us our truest selves. My daughter, she's pretending she doesn't know, but is trying to cook and feed me and keep me alive because I wasn't eating anything and me pretending like everything was fine. He kind of shoved me out of the way and said move. And he went out the front door and he jumped in a car and Drove off. And that was the last time I saw him. Listen to season 14 of Family Secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Betrayal Weekly is back with brand new stories from threatening text messages disturbing a small Midwestern town. It was from an unknown number. Who else is getting these messages? Why did it start with us to long cons and stolen identities?

[Jake Brennan]

Who lies about being this sick?

[Dani Shapiro]

This was the last time I ever

[Jake Brennan]

believed a word she said.

[Dani Shapiro]

New voices, each with the courage to tell their own story. He said, I have been kidnapped. Okay, just try and act normal.

[Jake Brennan]

He was essentially on the run.

[Dani Shapiro]

Every family has secrets.

[Jake Brennan]

The rug had been pulled from underneath me.

[Dani Shapiro]

Oh my God. It was right in front of my face and I didn't even see it. Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Anna Sinfield]

Hello, it's me, Anna Sinfield from the Girlfriends, the number one hit true crime show that puts right in the center of their own stories. I'm back with more one off interviews with some truly kick ass women on the Girlfriend's Spotlight. I want to introduce you to Sylvia.

[Jake Brennan]

I'm going to climb this.

[Anna Sinfield]

And then there's Fusaka.

[Jake Brennan]

Let's see how we can stop killing and save lives.

[Anna Sinfield]

Leila dared to ask the question, is badness hereditary? And finally, we'll meet Rosamund.

[Jake Brennan]

If it wasn't for the air where Ella lived, she wouldn't have died on that fatal night.

[Anna Sinfield]

You'll even get to meet my mum in that one, who I can always count on to keep my feet on the ground. I'm not too intimidated by her. What are you talking about? Listen to the Girlfriend Spotlight on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Jake Brennan]

Lana Turner was so hot that men literally walked into walls when they saw her walking down Hollywood Boulevard. They drove off of the boulevard and crashed their cars into walls. And they flocked to movie theaters in droves to gawk at the curvy blonde starlet and imagine themselves alone with her, if for only a few seconds. This was due to Lana Turner's natural beauty and how director Mervyn Leroy chose to capture her with his camera in her first appearance on screen in his 1937 film, they Won't Forget. The director filmed the actress very deliberately in a way that accentuated her body, which seems so obvious these days that it's not even worth mentioning. But in 1937, it was revolutionary. Sydney Sweeney, Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson, Kim Kardashian. Hell, even Lana Del Rey. Pick your modern day A list sex symbol. And believe me, when it comes to their impact, none of them have their grip on the collective male libido like Lana Turner did back in the 40s and 50s. And this is the woman Lana Del Rey chose to take her stage name from. When choosing a stage name, Lana Del Rey had a vision. She said she wanted a name she could shape the music towards. Del Rey is taken from the name of a car. Two cars, actually, but that's not important. The point is that Del Rey sounds American and Lana sounds, well, hot. Lana Turner's hotness was a magnet for a long line of suitors. Tarzan's Lex Barker, one of the most famous men of the era, who ended up being Lana's second husband. Howard Hughes. Frank Sinatra, allegedly a married Clark Gable, and most infamously, the gangster Johnny Stompanato. Johnny Stompanato was a killer. A killer who worked for LA crime boss Mickey Cohen. If you've seen the Academy Award winning film LA Confidential, you'll see Johnny Stompanato depicted on screen getting his balls squeezed, literally by Russell Crowe's Bud White character. Johnny is seated across from a woman playing none other than Lana Turner. Johnny was a bad guy. And not just on the street. At home, behind closed doors, he beat on his beautiful girlfriend. Lana had a hard time finding her way out of the relationship. So in 1957, she took an acting gig all the way over in London, starring opposite a handsome young actor named Sean Connery. It's long been rumored that the two quickly became involved romantically on the set of that film Another Time, Another Place. And those rumors started way back in 1957. And Johnny Stompanato heard them all the way across the pond back in Hollywood. Incensed, he grabbed his gun and boarded up a flight for London. He arrived on set, pulled out his gun and went straight for Sean Connery. Stompanato was a hard man, but Connery was a different type of tough. He'd grown up fighting off violent street gangs in Edinburgh. He was a truck driver, a lifeguard, a boxing instructor, a bodybuilder, a gym instructor in the British army and a tattooed fighter in the Royal Navy. Skinny Hollywood hoods with greasy pompadours and tiny pistols did not intimidate Sean Connery. Sean Connery was in the middle of filming a scene with Lana Turner and they were embracing on a couch. Johnny Stompanato walked right into the chute with his gun drawn straight at Connery, telling him to get his hands off his girl Connery, quickly grabbed Stompanato's wrist and twisted it hard until he dropped his gun. He walloped him with a right hook and escorted him off the stage set and into the custody of Scotland Yard, which wasted no time in deporting Johnny Stompanato back to Los Angeles. When Lana returned home, the real fighting began. As her relationship with the gangster progressed, so too did the volatility and violence. It was too much to handle. For Lana's 14 year old daughter Cheryl, who lived with her, the fighting was endless and Cheryl heard it all. When the beating ceased to have the effect he was looking for, Johnny would resort to threats. He told Lana he would cut her face to ribbons with a knife if she didn't do what she was told. The point being, he'd disfigure her so badly she'd never work in Hollywood again. Lana fought back and Johnny took a razor blade to her cheek and held it there still. Lana was obstinate. Cheryl heard everything. She was living in constant fear. When Lana left her second husband, Tarzan's Lex Barker, Cheryl had been relieved by her mother's choice of the gangster Johnny Sampanato. Anything would be better than Lex, who repeatedly raped Cheryl as a young girl. But Stompanato's presence proved to be its own type of hell. Fear every present violence, the constant threat of an anvil hanging over her head. Johnny Stompanato was a 247 problem. When he wasn't beating on Cheryl's mother, he was threatening to slice her to pieces. And when Stompanato wasn't threatening Lana Turner, he was threatening Cheryl. Lana wouldn't listen. Lana wouldn't respond to the beatings. Lana wouldn't respond to the threats. Then Stompanata would threaten to cut up Lana's daughter as well. Cheryl couldn't believe what she was hearing behind closed doors. I'll cut you so bad that no one will be able to tell it to you anymore. You'll never work again. Your daughter's next. It was unhinged, depraved, horrifying to the young girl who crept up to the door that separated her from the war going on on the other side between her mother, the movie star, and her mother's boyfriend, the gangster. Cheryl gripped tighter the knife she'd grabbed as she passed through the kitchen. It was just for protection, she thought, a last resort. As the screaming raged on the other side of the door, Cheryl stood there helpless, squeezing the knife. She couldn't open the door. She couldn't help her mother. She was paralyzed. But then the door burst open and Cheryl's mom Lana burst through it and passed by her. Her psychopathic boyfriend Johnny Stompanato lunged after Lana and into the outstretched knife wielding hand of 14 year old Cheryl Turner. The knife pierced the gangster's stomach. Blood spilled out, drenching his silk shirt. His eyes went wide. Cheryl's mouth fell open with a near silent gasp and behind her, Lana Turner screamed as her lover Johnny Stompanato fell dead to the floor. Immature, Shallow, Messy the worst concert experience of my life. A bad mashup of John Mellencamp and Ke$ha all these criticisms and more have been hurled at Lana Del Rey. Pitchfork called her debut major label album Born to Die the album equivalent of a fake orgasm. Actress and musician Juliette Lewis, after watching Lana Del Rey's infamous debut Saturday Night Live performance, tweeted out, wow. Watching this quote singer on SNL is like watching a 12 year old in their bedroom when they are pretending to sing and perform. Sign of our times. Ouch. Some of this criticism was warranted, namely the bad reviews of Lana's SNL performance. But most of it is ridiculous. All art is subjective, but not all art needs to fit neatly into a box, which is what our critics want for our pop stars. But when Lana Del Rey first burst into the mainstream with Born to Die, there was no obvious box. In fact, to the extent that there was a figurative box, it wasn't one that many critics wanted to touch. Lana Del Rey was a dream you never knew you wanted to have a Tumblr account come to life in the form of a pop star, a boardwalk bad girl, a Catholic school slut, a Lolita with AP English smarts who swam with alligators and walked over beats in Nancy Sinatra's boots. Lana Del Rey is the best kind of an artist, the kind who takes chances, the kind who isn't afraid to risk it. More importantly, she's unafraid to risk it in public in front of us. For us, failure, falling down creatively, it's an unfortunate but inevitable outcome. Outcome for this type of artist. Yes, it is, as NPR said of Lana, messy. But an artist shouldn't be criticized for being messy. Quite the opposite. The best examples of that include Bob Dylan, Kurt Cobain, and Prince. I could go on and on. I believe that for all their pro feminism, the future is female trendy claims of girl power, the mainstream press, at least when it comes to London Del Rey, an artist playing with a nostalgic vision of America that the coastal elite media these days sees as reductive the media's criticism of this female artist is, well, hypocritical and kind of misogynistic. It strikes me as weird that a 21st century female artist with such a strong point of view and such obvious mass appeal would be so viciously criticized by a media that typically champions strong women. But Lana Del Rey doesn't fit into anyone's box. Lana Del Rey doesn't fit anyone else's vision of what a female pop singer should be. Lana Del Rey has always had her own vision of who Lana Del Rey is. She creates from her own playbook. And that type of creator, that type of artist has always been hard for simple minded critics to understand. Nabokov's Lolita was panned. Shipments of the book were seized upon entering the United Kingdom. In France, critics called the book sheer unrestrained pornography. Yet the novel has lived on as one of the most enduring and consequential works of fiction ever written. We are still talking about it and referencing it and arguing about it to this day. Catherine the Great was such an effective female leader that her legacy was subjected to a centuries long smear campaign. And Lana Turner, her star power, her sexuality, the men in her life simply could not handle it. To the point where she was almost murdered. To the point where her 14 year old daughter had to kill a man for the two women to survive. Whether these stories that I just told you were inspired by Lana Del Rey or whether they inspired Lana Del Rey herself, the powerful female subjects at the center of them all share a common element with Lana Del Rey. They broke the mold. Criticizing an artist for doing so would be a disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan and this is Disgrace. Thanks for listening to this week's episode on Lana Del Rey. A one of a kind artist who as you can hear from this episode, was unfairly, in my estimation, treated by the press. This week's question of the week to you guys is which entertainers, artists, rock stars, actors, athletes do you think have been unfairly treated by the men media, by the critics? And why does the media seem to judge some entertainers differently than others, particularly female entertainers? 617-90-66638 Leave Me a voicemail, send me a text and let me know. You can also reach me disgracelandpod as well on Instagram X and Facebook. Leave a review for the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and win some free merch. All right, here comes some credits. Disgraceland was created by yours truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be found on the show notes [e-mail] if you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank you for supporting the show. We really appreciate it. And if not, you can become a member right now by going to Disgracelandpod.com Membership members can listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad free. Plus you'll get one brand new exclusive episode every episode, every month, weekly unscripted bonus episodes, special audio collections, and early access to merchandise and events. Visit disgracelandpod.com membership for details, rate and review the show and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook Disgracelandpod and on [e-mail] Disgracelandpod Rocka roll

[Anna Sinfield]

bad bad man.

[Jake Brennan]

All right, thanks for checking out this archive episode on Lana Del Rey Discos. Our next new episode coming up right now is our episode on Jim Morrison, his mysterious death, and the mysterious count that Jim was associated with, who may or may not have had something to do with his demise. You got to check out that episode to find out. Let me know what you think of all this. 617-906-6638 Leave me a voicemail and a text Disgraceland podcast mail.com to email me at Disgracelandpod on the socials Paramount plus is now the home of all your BET favorites.

[Anna Sinfield]

What?

[Jake Brennan]

Yes, with all new episodes of Tyler Perry's Divorce Sisters you've always liked, a

[Dani Shapiro]

little drama, plus a whole new world

[Jake Brennan]

of movies like Gladiator 2. Now I will control an Empire original series like the Shy. Just make sure we protect each other in live sports like ufc. Welcome to the history books. New home, same family. Your BET favorites are now on Paramount plus. Subscribe now. Across America, money is being abandoned. By taking a few seconds to check Lyft before your next ride, you can give money a better home inside your wallet. Save the money. Check Lyft. There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. Stand still. Not a chance. You're a lifelong learner who's come this far. Now we are here to help you keep going further.

[Dani Shapiro]

Capella University what can't you do?

[Jake Brennan]

Visit Capella Edu to learn more.