Hedda Hopper her column throughout the 1940s, advocating for her to land starring roles in "The Bells of St. Mary's" (1945) and "Joan of Arc" (1948). She was enraged when Bergman lied to her about being pregnant with married director Roberto Rossellini's baby. Hopper had believed Bergman, printing a fervent denial of the rumor in 1949. However, Bergman was indeed pregnant, and the news was leaked to Hopper's arch-rival Louella Parsons, who got the scoop. Seeking revenge, Hopper launched a PR campaign decrying Bergman for being pregnant out of wedlock and carrying a married man's child. Hopper had an acting role in
Hedda Hopper Jr. recalled in his memoirs "Salad Days" that he was already in uniform serving in the United States Navy, and despised Hopper for her insinuations. Actor Kirk Douglas recounted an interaction between Hopper and Elizabeth Taylor. At the 1965 premiere of Taylor and husband Richard Burton's film "The Sandpiper", Hopper began to complain when she saw screenwriter Dalton Trumbo's screen credit (she had led the charge in blacklisting Trumbo for his Communist party membership). This led Taylor to turn around and say "Hedda, why don't you just shut the f*** up?" In 1958, Hopper made racist remarks to African American