Lindsay Lohan Learned She Has A Half-Sister On Live TV After DNA Test Proves Her Father Had An Affair
Lindsay got the news of father Michael Lohan's secret love child during a gotcha moment on "GMA."
Getty / YouTube / Facebook Amid Lindsay Lohan's long-awaited and well-received comeback, with a new Christmas movie on Netflix, "Falling for Christmas" and more to come, the one-time child star seems to have entered a second act.
With all the goodwill, it's easy to forget that the 36-year-old actress was once a tabloid fixture.
Her very public hardships, from her dating life to the drama surrounding her parents, Dina and Michael Lohan, were gleefully mocked and sensationalized—even while she was still a teenager.
And much like with Britney Spears, for many years it seemed like sensationalizing and mocking Lohan's very public hardships had become an industry unto itself.
That hunger to make a spectacle of Lohan reached one of its peaks in 2012, when "Good Morning America" reporter Amy Robach blindsided Lohan on live TV with the news she has a secret half-sister—before Lohan had even heard anything about it.
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Who is Lindsay Lohan's half-sister?
The news was dropped on Lohan when she was trying to mount a previous comeback.
Lohan was on "GMA" to promote the Lifetime Elizabeth Taylor biopic "Liz & Dick," in which she appeared after a long absence from screens amid rumored substance problems and erratic behavior on set.
"GMA" reporter Amy Robach seemed all too eager to capitalize on Lohan's renewed notoriety, dropping a "gotcha" on her at the end of their "Liz & Dick" interview.
Lindsay Lohan's dad, Michael Lohan, fathered another child named Ashley Horn in 1995.
As is evident from Lohan's shock when Robach dropped the bomb, she was completely unaware of her secret half-sister.
By today's thankfully more enlightened standards, the clip of Lohan finding out the bombshell news is a bit hard to watch.
"There was news that you allegedly have a new half-sister," Robach states while probing Lohan on her "family struggles."
As Robach went on to ask Lohan how she "handles" all the drama, Lohan interrupted her to say:
"I didn't even hear that, so thanks for the news. I don't pay attention to any of it."
She then declined to comment any further, telling Robach, "I don't really want to get into that, because I want to stay on the positive side of things."
Ashley Horn was born from an affair between Kristi Horn and Michael Lohan while he was married to Lindsay's mother.
The allegations came to light when he and a then 17-year-old Horn went on morning talk-show "The Trisha Goddard Show" to obtain a paternity test.
The test came back positive, and it later came out that Horn's mother Kristi Horn was Lohan's former mistress while he was still married to Lindsay's mother Dina.
Making matters worst, Horn seized her new moment of fame to publicly bash not only her father, but Lindsay as well.
She claimed to be "hotter than Lindsay" and mocked her half-sister for her substance use issues, sniping, "I like being a responsible person."
She later apologized to Lohan for "letting the media use me to drag you into this."
Lohan, who called her father's affair "disgusting" at the time, appears to have taken the high road and refrained from commenting on her half-sister since.
Thankfully, the below-the-belt, salacious approach Lohan was subjected to just a decade ago now feels somewhat out of place today.
And with her new film and a new wave of goodwill toward her from fans, she seems to be enjoying something of a renaissance, despite the drama that once enveloped her.
Hopefully, the drama that once enveloped her and the sordid celebrity culture that fed on it can both remain things of the past.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.