Burt Reynolds Epic Revenge Against The National Enquirer

Most celebrities sit around and complain about how wretched tabloids are, but only one dumped manure on its headquarters. Burt Reynolds was tormented by the National Enquirer for decades, so he decided to exact revenge in his own unique way.

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Feud To The End

Reynolds was a pin-up, sex symbol, notorious womanizer, and international film star. Were he only one of those things, he would have caught the attention of the Enquirer. He was a favorite target of its ire for decades, and it continued to cover him after his 2018 death. It claimed he was feuding with Ariel Winter, which was totally false.

A Revenge Plot

He didn’t take this terrible treatment lying down. In his memoir But Enough About Me, the Deliverance star wrote about some glorious revenge. The whole memoir is an absolute delight, including the story of Christmas Eve on year. He and his pilot decided to fly over the National Enquirer headquarters in Florida.

Reynolds wrote, “I loaded my helicopter with manure from my ranch, flew over the building, and watched it cascade down their giant Christmas tree.” He says it made him feel great: “They’d been writing crap about me for years so I thought it was only fitting.”

Other Nuggets Of Wisdom

Like the Enquirer, Marlon Brando didn’t get along with Reynolds either. He called the Streetcar Named Desire star “an unbelievable arsehole.” The two once argued at a party, Reynolds wrote: “when we met at a party he was rude and accused me of capitalizing on looking like him. So I promised him I wouldn’t get fat.”

The Boogie Nights star was open about his regrets, too. He could have continued working with Paul Thomas Anderson, but bitterness got in his way. “There’s been an element of self-sabotage in my career,” Reynolds wrote. “I turned down Bond, and Jack Nicholson’s role in Terms of Endearment. Boogie Nights revived my career, but I tried really hard not to do it. But as long as the laughter continues it’s great with me.”

Despite his womanizing reputation, Reynolds said he thought it hurt him: “I still haven’t figured out what makes women tick.” He regretted ever leaving Dinah Shore and cringed at his sex symbol reputation. He even wished he had never posed nude for Cosmopolitan: “People didn’t get that I had such a conceited look because I was sending myself up.”