Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard’s wife, Bernadette Leonard, has had quite a tumultuous romantic past. She was previously in a relationship with Randy Jackson, the younger brother of the late pop icon Michael Jackson and a former member of the Jacksons. However, their relationship was plagued with drama and controversy, culminating in an incident involving Tina Turner, which made national headlines in the late 80s.
The incident occurred in 1988 when Randy Jackson barged into Tina Turner’s house and stumbled upon Tina and Bernadette, who were allegedly engaged in some sort of affectionate encounter. Randy insinuated that the encounter was romantic in nature, leading to a heated argument that quickly turned violent. Tina Turner has never publicly denied the incident.
Randy confirmed the shooting in 2011 via a series of tweets. He stated that there was no violence on his part, and he has never owned or carried a weapon. According to Randy, he went to Tina’s house to see Bernadette, his then-girlfriend, and caught the two ladies off guard. He added that Tina shot him in the eighties, and he has the scar to prove it. Despite the incident, Randy harbors no ill will towards Tina, and he considers her a great artist and an asset to the industry.
In a 1993 interview, Tina Turner’s former assistant, Eddy Hampton Armon, provided additional details about the incident in his book, “The Real T: My 22 Years with Tina Turner.” According to Eddy, Bernadette had fled to Tina’s house after falling out with Randy. When Eddy opened the door, Bernadette sobbed and said that Randy was threatening her.
Tina took Bernadette into her bedroom to console her, telling her that she had “got herself an Ike,” referring to Randy Jackson. Tina then instructed Bernadette to get rid of him. A few minutes later, Randy arrived at the gate and pleaded with Bernadette to let him in. Tina told Eddy not to open the gate, but Randy climbed over the gate and threw a flowerpot through her window.
According to Eddy, Tina grabbed her rifle and pointed it at the ceiling, firing a warning shot. However, Randy did not stop, and he fell to his knees, begging Bernadette to go with him. Randy then charged straight at Tina like a raging bull, and she calmly fired a second warning shot right next to his head to scare him off. Randy fled through the window he had climbed through, catching a bullet in the process.
Thankfully, Tina was allegedly an accurate shooter and managed to avoid hitting any vital organs. Despite the dramatic incident, all seems to be forgiven now, at least from Randy’s side of things. The incident involving Bernadette, Randy, and Tina was certainly a wild and memorable moment in celebrity history.
