An interesting story about Charlie Chaplin.
In 1942, Chaplin started an affair with Joan Barry, a budding actress from Brooklyn. He treated her as if she were a toy and ultimately discarded her easily. Like in that anecdote about Pavlov, who was bitten by a dog that grew up and forgot, while Pavlov did not forget, Joan grew up as well and one night, she broke into his home through a window, with a carbine on her shoulder, demanding he take her back. By then, Chaplin had already started another affair with Oona O’Neill, who was 36 years younger. Joan leaked to the press that Chaplin had left her pregnant and filed a lawsuit demanding a large sum of money as compensation.
In February, Chaplin was accused of violating the Mann Act, as he had transported Barry across state lines “for immoral purposes,” when she was still a minor (The Mann Act, by the way, is also called the “White Slave Traffic Act,” though it was essentially used to prosecute pedophiles). Eventually, Chaplin won the case, but another trial loomed over him concerning paternity.
At that time, genetics as an applied science was making cautious steps, but Chaplin’s lawyer was apparently interested, and it turned out that Joan’s daughter could not be Chaplin’s, because her blood type (B) did not match with the blood types of the supposed parents (“A” for Joan Barry and “0” for Chaplin). Interestingly, Joan allowed the determination of her and her child’s blood type for $25,000 (almost $400K today), and eventually, she lost the case.
But that was 1944. She hired a new lawyer, and he found a way to bring the case back to court. The jury understood nothing about Mendel’s laws and blood groups but could well judge the resemblance of the daughter to her parents. This principle was named “the proof of the bald eagle.” If someone looks like a bald eagle, presumably, their parents are bald eagles. The jury told the judge that they were at an impasse. Seven of them decided that Chaplin was not the father, while five thought he was. Barry filed a second lawsuit, where the jury voted almost unanimously, “Chaplin — father of the child!”, whatever your science may say.
After this story, Chaplin was “cancelled” in Hollywood. He left the States (not solely because of this story) and settled in Switzerland. Meanwhile, Joan Barry significantly lost her mental stability.
But many years have passed, and I’m sure that for nearly 100% of those reading this text, Chaplin remains an individual with a completely different image, not at all cancelled.
(Inspired by “She Laughs Like a Mother” by Zimmer)
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 