Ever seen those "Throat Goat" memes floating around Twitter or TikTok? It’s a wild title for a woman who spent the eighties telling kids to "Just Say No."
But honestly, the internet has a way of digging up the past that even the best PR teams can’t bury. The whole saga surrounding Nancy Reagan oral sex rumors didn’t just pop out of nowhere. It’s a mix of 1950s Hollywood casting couch culture, a scathing 1991 biography, and a 2021 viral tweet that backfired spectacularly.
Basically, the "Just Say No" lady allegedly had a very different reputation before she became the buttoned-up First Lady.
Where the "Throat Goat" Legend Began
The primary source for all this is Kitty Kelley. She’s the queen of the unauthorized biography—the kind of writer who makes celebrities lose sleep. In 1991, she released Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography. It was a massive bestseller, but it wasn’t exactly a love letter.
Kelley claimed that during her years as Nancy Davis at MGM, the future First Lady was "renowned in Hollywood for performing oral sex." According to the book, this wasn’t just something she did in private. Kelley wrote that she was doing it in offices, which supposedly made her "very popular on the MGM lot."
Now, you’ve gotta remember the era. This was the late 1940s and early 1950s. The "casting couch" wasn't just a rumor; it was the way the industry functioned. While Kelley’s claims are often treated as gospel by the internet today, historians are a bit more skeptical.
🔗 Read more: Game of Thrones Actors: Where the Cast of Westeros Actually Ended Up
Fact-Checking Kitty Kelley
Kelley is famous for her "third-hand" accounts. For instance, she cited a quote from producer Benny Thau, which was allegedly told to another biographer, Anne Edwards, who then supposedly told Kelley.
That’s a lot of "he said, she said."
Karen Tumulty, a more traditional biographer who wrote The Triumph of Nancy Reagan, suggests the truth is probably more nuanced. Did Nancy date powerful men to help her career? Most likely. She had a long-term relationship with Benny Thau, the head of casting at MGM. But the idea that she was the "Blowjob Queen" of the lot? That might be Kelley amping up the drama to sell more books.
Why the Rumors Blew Up in 2021
For thirty years, this was just a piece of trivia for political nerds and gossip hounds. Then came Classically Abby—the sister of conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.
In December 2021, she tweeted a side-by-side photo. One side showed Madonna looking "trashy" at 63, and the other showed a "classic" Nancy Reagan at 64. The goal was to promote traditional values.
💡 You might also like: Is The Weeknd a Christian? The Truth Behind Abel’s Faith and Lyrics
The internet, however, chose chaos.
Twitter users immediately fired back with the Kitty Kelley claims. Within hours, Nancy was trending as the "Throat Goat." The irony was too thick to ignore: a woman being used as a paragon of purity was suddenly being outed (rightly or wrongly) for her alleged sexual prowess.
The Casting Couch and 1950s Power Dynamics
If we look past the memes, there's a darker side to this. If Nancy Davis was indeed performing these acts to secure roles, we’re looking at a #MeToo situation decades before the hashtag existed.
Actresses like Marilyn Monroe spoke openly about the "casting couch" requirements. Nancy was a woman in her late 20s trying to make it in a world where men held all the keys. If she used her sexuality to survive or thrive, she was doing what many others did.
Key Figures Linked to Nancy’s Early Years:
- Benny Thau: MGM Casting Head who reportedly kept her on the payroll when her acting wasn't cutting it.
- Spencer Tracy: A family friend who helped her get her foot in the door.
- Frank Sinatra: Kelley also alleged Nancy had a long-running "lunch" affair with him during the White House years, though this is even more fiercely contested.
Is there any actual proof?
Short answer: No.
📖 Related: Shannon Tweed Net Worth: Why She is Much More Than a Rockstar Wife
You won’t find a paper trail for oral sex in 1952. What we have is a collection of anecdotes from disgruntled former staff, Hollywood contemporaries who didn't like her, and biographers looking for a hook.
What we do know is that Nancy was a complicated woman. She was a fierce protector of Ronald Reagan, a woman who relied on astrology to make national decisions, and someone who transformed herself from a struggling actress into one of the most powerful women in the world.
Dealing with the Legacy of Hypocrisy
The reason people love these rumors isn’t just because they’re "juicy." It’s the perceived hypocrisy.
The Reagan administration was notoriously slow to react to the AIDS crisis. They pushed a "traditional" moral agenda that didn't always match their own family life (remember, Nancy was pregnant when she and Ronnie got married). When people bring up Nancy Reagan oral sex stories, they’re usually trying to point out that the moral high ground the Reagans stood on was built on some pretty shaky soil.
How to Evaluate Historical Gossip
When you’re reading about these kinds of celebrity "secrets," keep these things in mind:
- Check the Source: Is it a primary source (someone there) or a third-hand rumor? Kitty Kelley is a "rumor-aggregator" more than a historian.
- Consider the Context: Hollywood in the 50s was a predatory environment. Labels like "promiscuous" were often used to shame women who were actually victims of a lopsided power dynamic.
- Look for Consistency: Does the story appear in multiple, independent places? In Nancy’s case, the "popular on the lot" story shows up in a few different accounts, but they often lead back to the same few people.
If you're interested in the real story of Nancy's rise to power, your next step should be reading Karen Tumulty’s The Triumph of Nancy Reagan. It avoids the tabloid "throat goat" traps and looks at how a B-movie actress actually managed to run the White House. It’s way more interesting than the memes.