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5 Amazing People Who Were Secretly Assholes

Sometimes, the history books forget certain details about our heroes. After all, who wants to worship hypocritical, chauvinistic, woman-beating paedophiles? Lots of people actually, they just don't know it. Check out these amazing people who were secretly assholes:

5) Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin was the first superstar of the movie industry. With his silver screen shenanigans, he brought joy and laughter to people around the world. Surely such a hilarious character couldn't have had a bad bone in his body?

Why he is such a bastard:

Chaplin impregnated the actress Lily Grey and forced her to marry him because he didn't want her to have an abortion. How old was Lily at the time? The ripe old child-bearing age of 15, while Chaplin was 35.

Suddenly the paedo tache makes sense.

4) Winston Churchill

We know and love Churchill as the guy who bravely led the Allies during World War 2. The common public perception is that he pretty much saved the world from the Nazis. Thanks Church!

Why he is such a bastard:

What you mightn't know is that during the Second Boer War, when Churchill was a young war correspondent, he was captured and imprisoned in a POW camp. When he was invited to join an escape attempt with a few others, he saw an opportunity to save himself that would impede his fellow prisoners' escape. He took it, and the others never escaped the camp.

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3) John Lennon

One of the greatest songwriters of all time; he envisioned a blissful world without violence or hate in the classic song "Imagine". He was king of the hippies and an icon in the movement for peace.

Why he is such a bastard:

He openly admitted to beating his girlfriends and didn't even attempt to hide his infidelity from his wife Yoko Ono.

2) Albert Einstein

Einstein is generally regarded as one of the smartest individuals in history. He gave us the theory of relativity, completely changing how we view space and time and allowing us to utilise nuclear energy (for better or worse).

Why he is such a bastard:
The guy was a brilliant scientist, but he was a pretty shitty husband. When his marriage was on the rocks, Einstein tried to save it by presenting his wife with the following list of conditions:
  1. You will make sure:
    1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order;
    2. that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room;
    3. that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only.
  2. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically, you will forego:
    1. my sitting at home with you;
    2. my going out or travelling with you.
  3. You will obey the following points in your relations with me:
    1. you will not expect any intimacy from me, nor will you reproach me in any way;
    2. you will stop talking to me if I request it;
    3. you will leave my bedroom or study immediately without protest if I request it.
  4. You will undertake not to belittle me in front of our children, either through words or behaviour.

Unsurprisingly, the two separated shortly afterwards.

1) Gandhi

Gandhi is the epitome of heroism. In his time, he lead campaigns in his native India to ease poverty, expand women's rights, repair relations between religious and ethnic groups, end untouchability and, most important of all, he led India to independence through nonviolent civil disobedience.

Why he is a bastard:

When his wife caught pneumonia, British doctors told Gandhi that a simple shot of penicillin would save her life. He refused this treatment on her behalf, as it went against his religious beliefs. As a result, his wife died. Soon afterwards, Gandhi himself caught malaria. Suddenly, his religious beliefs weren't that strict after all. He allowed himself to be treated with medicine from British doctors and, furthermore, received an appendectomy later on as well. That's right: Gandhi killed his own wife with hypocrisy.

What a bastard.

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Seán has been told by some that he resembles a young Hugh Laurie, but more people have tried to hire him as a Noddy impersonator. Something of a film fan, a pub quiz is one of the few situations in which he is even remotely useful. Seán enjoys the occasional beverage of the alcohol variety, Salt & Vinegar crisps, and referring to himself in the third person.