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By David Emery, About.com Guide to Urban Legends since 1997

Richard Gere and the . . . Hamster?

Thursday October 9, 2008
Photo by Sean Gallup / Getty ImagesRare is the occasion when Richard Gere acknowledges the existence of the infamous gerbil-in-the-butt legend that has tailed him since the early nineties, but he did just that in an interview published in the U.K.'s Metro this week. Asked if he had ever read any "crazy stories" about himself, Mr Gere replied:
I stopped reading the press a long time ago. Lots of crazy things came up about me at first, especially from the tabloids. There is an infamous ‘Gere stuck a hamster up his bum’ urban myth. I expect that sort of thing but when reputable magazines started making up stories claiming I was in a country I had never been to with someone I didn’t even know, I just decided not to pay attention to any of it. It’s a waste of energy.
A hamster??? Either the actor is unforgivably fuzzy on the details of his own personal urban legend, or he knows something the rest of us don't.

He and Sylvester Stallone need to talk.

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Comments

October 10, 2008 at 10:08 pm
(1) sunshine says:

I believe the story. I did NOT want too. I love this man, he is gorgeous, and very talented. But you can only hear a story so much till you have to believe it. If it was not true after all these years it would have died down by now. Don’t ya think??????

October 13, 2008 at 6:12 am
(2) alex says:

@ sunshine

Thats the same argument for believing the bible ….an argument from popularity.
It must be true coz lots of people believe it.

cheers

November 6, 2008 at 12:10 am
(3) Bill says:

HAHAHA!!

Alex owned j00!

March 4, 2009 at 10:03 am
(4) Jaime says:

Sunshine – by that logic one could say they believe the story of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Or Bigfoot. If I told you that the moon was made of cheese 100 times would you believe that too?

March 14, 2009 at 12:24 am
(5) bobbybob says:

People routinely mistake hamsters for gerbils. Gere’s error, in and of itself, does not mean anything.

I dont believe this story and think it is an urban legend. But the interesting question is why certain rumors and legends stick and others disappear.

March 16, 2009 at 6:08 pm
(6) Izzy says:

The reason this story has never died down is because of people like us that are still here commenting on it! LMAO

But I don’t believe one bit of it. :D

March 19, 2009 at 4:37 pm
(7) boatingmama says:

I hate to believe this one too, but I have to. My then brother-in-law-to- be called one afternoon while he was interning at Cedars Sinai. He asked for me specifically just to rub it in my face that my Hollywood heart throb had been brought in to the hospital for a rather delicate rodent removal. He was working with the anethesiologist at the time. I’ve never been able to look at him quite the same since! Still think he’s gorgeous and love his movies…but still…

March 19, 2009 at 7:27 pm
(8) nillawafer says:

I believe this story 100%, and let me tell you why. My sister used to work at an old hotel in Pittsburgh, the William Penn. Richard Gere stayed there, and she actually found stuff, like, a dead hamster, the “pipe”, or whatever was used, in his garbage. I’m not saying it’s him, maybe it was someone else, but for a fact, this happened in his room. No freaking joke!

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