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There was a clash of the titans over the People’s Princess.
Princess Diana not only captivated the public, but she apparently made Hollywood heavyweights weak in the knees. In his new book, “Dianaworld: An Obsession,” author Edward White explores how the late Princess of Wales not only rocked the monarchy but also impacted pop culture decades after her death in 1997 at age 36.
One story White shared in his book about the “Diana Effect” claims Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere nearly went toe-to-toe over the British royal at Elton John’s house in the ’90s. The account in the book came from John’s husband, David Furnish.
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Sylvester Stallone (left) and Richard Gere (right) nearly fought over Princess Diana back in the ’90s, author Edward White claimed in his book, “Dianaworld.” (Michael Putland/Getty Images / Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images / Collection Christophel / ALAMY)
Fox News Digital reached out to Stallone, 78, and Gere, 75, for comment. When a fan previously asked Stallone about the alleged incident in an old Instagram post, the actor responded, “Complete fabrication,” Biography.com reported.
“It’s a story that [also] comes from Elton’s autobiography,” White told Fox News Digital. “He invited Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere to a house party that Diana was also at. I mean, it’s Elton John, so probably everyone in the room was like an A-list celebrity or a member of some grand European royal family.”
“So they turned up,” White shared. “According to Elton John, Sylvester Stallone turned up with the intention of picking up Diana, which is wishful thinking in several ways… But he did that.”
Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky IV” opposite Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago. (United Artists/Getty Images)
“Sylvester Stallone walked in and saw Diana in deep conversation with Richard Gere,” White claimed. “He felt that Stallone got angrier and angrier as the evening wore on, because Richard Gere was just dominating. That’s how he felt – that he was dominating the conversation with Diana.”
Elton John (left, seen here with David Furnish) first shared the account in his 2019 autobiography, “Me.” (Natasha Campos/Getty Images for CAA)
“At some point, from what Elton John says, Sylvester Stallone’s emotions got the better of him,” White continued. “He then squared up to Richard Gere, and they had to be separated… It was these two alpha males squabbling over a woman who neither probably had a chance with, to be honest.”
Richard Gere with then-girlfriend Cindy Crawford. They were married from 1991 to 1995. (Brenda Chase/Online USA, Inc./Getty Images)
John originally shared his account in his 2019 book, “Me.” According to the singer, Gere and Diana were deep in conversation in front of the fireplace at his pad, which caused the mood of the party to change.
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Princess Diana and Prince Charles separated in 1992. Their divorce was finalized in 1996. (Dave Benett/Getty Images)
“As the rest of us chatted, I couldn’t help but notice a strange atmosphere in the room,” John recalled, as quoted by Biography.com.
“Judging by the kind of looks he kept shooting them, Diana and Richard Gere’s newly blossoming friendship was not going down well with Sylvester Stallone at all. I think he may have turned up to the party with the express intention of picking Diana up, only to find his plans for the evening ruined.”
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John wrote, “Straight away, Richard Gere and Diana seemed very taken with each other.”
Richard Gere was spotted in deep conversation with the Princess of Wales. (Art Zelin/Getty Images)
According to John, the guests headed over to the dining room to eat. However, Gere and Stallone were noticeably missing. John said he then sent Furnish to find the men.
“He came back with both of them, but he was wearing a fairly ashen expression,” John wrote, noting that Furnish said there was “a situation.”
Princess Diana is seen wearing her famous “Revenge” dress in 1994. (Jayne Fincher/Getty Images)
“It transpired that he’d discovered Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere in the corridor, squaring up to each other, apparently about to settle their differences over Diana by having a fistfight,” wrote John, as quoted by the outlet.
Edward White’s book, “Dianaworld: An Obsession,” is out now. (W. W. Norton & Company)
The outlet shared that Furnish managed to break up the situation in time for dinner.
Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere weren’t the only ones charmed by the magnetic Princess Diana. Seen here is John Travolta sharing an unforgettable dance with the royal. (Photo by Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images)
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Princess Diana captivated both commoners and celebrities. (Photo by Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
John, 78, wrote that Diana “seemed completely unruffled” by it all.
According to Biography.com, Sylvester Stallone called the incident a “complete fabrication.” (Getty Images)
Tessa Baring of the Barnardo’s children’s charity claimed that on another occasion, it was clear that Stallone was, like many others, eager to be in Diana’s presence.
Princess Diana attends and presents awards at the Barnado’s Champion Children of the Year ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel in London circa 1993. Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone also attended the event. (Kent Gavin/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
According to Edward’s book, Baring described that, during a lunch in London, Stallone “really, really wanted to come and sit next to the Princess of Wales.”
“We didn’t let him do that, but we did let him sit next to a child who was sitting next to the Princess of Wales,” said Baring, as quoted by White’s book.
A young Lady Diana Spencer is seen here following her engagement to the former Prince Charles. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
“Baring remembered the occasion because she thought Diana hit upon an effective way of placating the film star, making the child feel included, and indulging her own desire to find out the latest gossip, by leaning over and asking Stallone questions about his love life as though she were asking them on Tracy’s behalf: ‘Tracy and I want to know if you’re married,’” wrote White.
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Princess Diana died in 1997 from injuries she sustained in a car crash. She was 36. (Terry Fincher/Princess Diana Archive)
Stallone and Gere weren’t the only stars who were reportedly eager to spend a night with the princess.
White’s book also described how Freddie Mercury, frontman of Queen, managed to get Diana to sneak out of the palace in disguise and head to “one of London’s most famous gay bars.”
Princess Diana is seen here arriving for dinner in Washington circa 1996. (AP Photo/Denis Paquin)
“There are these stories of royals slipping out among the commoners in disguise, and they have this magical experience because they’re living just like one of us,” White told Fox News Digital. “By dressing up in male drag and going out, she felt embraced by a marginalized community. She felt an affinity with them because, rightly or wrongly, she felt like an outsider, and they were very accepting of her.”
According to “Dianaworld,” Princess Diana snuck into a gay bar with the help of Freddie Mercury of Queen. (Pete Still/Redferns/Getty Images)
“I also think she took huge pleasure in taking risks,” White continued. “It was a huge part of her identity that came back time and time again as I was researching the book. She just took the most incredibly audacious risks. She didn’t stop to think twice about things very often… But I think she also felt that she was a rolling stone without a real home. And I also think she felt like she wasn’t living life properly unless she was taking risks.”
“You could argue that getting engaged to Prince Charles at age 19, having only met him a few times and not really knowing very much about what was expected of her, was a pretty gigantic gamble,” said White. “Maybe one that didn’t pay off.”
Like many royals before her, Princess Diana managed to sneak out of the palace. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
In his book, White cited the memoirs of Cleo Rocos, who claimed she spent an evening with Mercury, Diana and Kenny Everett after the princess persuaded her to take her to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. Everett warned the princess that the venue was “not for you… full of hairy gay men.”
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British comedian Kenny Everett with Cleo Rocos on June 9, 1988. (B. Gomer/Express/Getty Images)
“Diana was insistent, however, so Everett helped her disguise herself in male drag: a camouflage army jacket, hair tucked up into a leather cap and dark aviator sunglasses,” Rocos recalled, as quoted by White’s book.
“It was in the guise of a different person that, for at least one night, she could discover herself,” Edward White wrote. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
“Scrutinizing her in the half-light, we decided that the most famous icon of the modern world might just…. JUST pass for a rather eccentrically dressed gay male model.”
White wrote that the disguise worked.
According to reports, Princess Diana was never caught. (David Levenson/Getty Images)
“It was fabulously outrageous and so bizarrely exciting… no one, absolutely no one, recognized Diana.”
White wrote that the group reportedly stayed for one drink and left. Diana quietly returned to Kensington Palace and sent back Everett’s clothes the next day.
