Did Sheryl Crow Know About Lance Armstrong's Scandal?
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"Everyday Is a Winding Road," sang Sheryl Crow back in 1996. The singer's romantic life has certainly been winding — Crow is known for her dating history almost as much as for the Grammy-winning music career that has earned her a stunning net worth.
Over the years, the "All I Wanna Do" singer has been engaged three times, including to disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong. Crow was romantically involved with the Livestrong founder during two of his seven Tour de France wins. Those seven titles were later taken from him by the International Cycling Union after his systematic doping was proven, per BBC.
Though Crow and Armstrong's relationship lasted only three years, their time together was intense — and very public. After Crow and Armstrong broke up, she told "Good Morning America," "It is like a death, you know. And in many ways, it's like having part of your life amputated, but you still have that phantom itch," per ABC News.
Given the timing and the intensity of their relationship, one question that keeps coming up is if Crow knew about Armstrong's years-long use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Did Sheryl Crow know Lance Armstrong was doping?
In 2013, Wall Street Journal reporters Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell published "Wheelmen: Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France and the Greatest Sports Conspiracy Ever." This New York Times bestseller examined Armstrong's blood-doping scandal in detail.
"Rather than try to hide the transfusion from her, Armstrong was completely open about it," Albergotti and O'Connell wrote. "He trusted that Crow would have no desire to tell the press or anyone else about the team's doping program. He explained that it was simply part of the sport — that all cyclists were doing the same thing."
The reporters explained that Food and Drug Administration special agent Jeff Novitzky proffered limited immunity to Crow and others, describing it as, "a standard legal arrangement that allows a cooperating witness to provide testimony while being guaranteed protection from prosecution based on any admissions he might make, provided he tells the truth."
Later in the book, Albergotti and O'Connell wrote that the federal prosecutors "had even procured the testimony of Sheryl Crow after she had agreed to their proffer. Crow had witnessed doping firsthand, she said."
The cyclist's former teammate provided more proof
Further evidence exists that Sheryl Crow knew about Lance Armstrong's misdeeds.
Betsy Andreu is the wife of the cyclist's former teammate, Frankie Andreu. According to Daily Mail, while Armstrong was being treated for cancer in 1996, Betsy overheard him talking to a doctor, listing the many performance-enhancing drugs he was on. Frankie told Armstrong about this overheard conversation. Both Frankie and Betsy later gave sworn affidavits about the hospital incident.
"Lance called me into his room to discuss the situation. He wanted to talk to me about the hospital room and have my wife sign a statement of support for Lance saying the hospital incident did not happen," Frankie testified. "His then-girlfriend at the time, Sheryl Crow, was in the room, and I felt uncomfortable talking about this in front of her."
According to Celebuzz, Betsy's affidavit reiterated that Crow's presence in the room made Frankie reluctant to discuss the hospital incident.
What Sheryl Crow and Lance Armstrong have each said publicly
In a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013, Lance Armstrong finally came clean. He admitted to blood doping and using blood transfusions and banned substances to enhance his performance, but he didn't say anything about Sheryl Crow knowing what he had done.
The "My Favorite Mistake" singer has been asked repeatedly about the disgraced cyclist's confession. In an interview on Entertainment Tonight, Crow spoke in vague generalities, saying, "I think that honesty is always the best bet and that the truth will set you free. It's got to be really hard to walk around knowing that you're not telling the truth about something. I always contend that the truth is the best way to go."
But eventually, Crow seemed to tire of the endless questions about her former fiancé. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she said, "It probably sounds really insulting, but this is one of those I-don't-give-a-f*** moments: I don't think about him. It's a nuisance when I'm asked about him because they weren't the happiest of days. People still attach me to him, and it's gross."