Gossip columnist 1930s through the 1950s, the two best-known - and competing - Hollywood gossip columnists were Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons. Well-timed leaks about a star's purported romantic adventures helped the studios to create and sustain the public's interest in the studios' star actors. As well, the movie studios' publicity agents acted as unnamed "well-informed inside sources" who provided misinformation and rumors to counteract whispers about celebrity secrets — such as homosexuality or an out-of-wedlock child — that could have severely damaged not only the reputation of the movie star in question, but the movie star's box office viability. Having fallen
Gossip columnist with no supporting source or evidence, the celebrity can sue for libel on the grounds that their reputation was defamed. There is however circumstances where gossip columnist may not be fact checking the information they are receiving from their sources before publishing their stories. Not to mention that there are gossip columnist that are not reputable themselves to be posting articles about celebrities. As a result of this there is a chance that there are stories that have been publish that could lead to the defamation of celebrities. The first gossip columnist, dominating the 1930s and 40s, was Walter Winchell,