Donny Osmond Reveals He Almost Faked A Drug Bust, Marie Pondered ‘Playboy’ To Erase Their Squeaky-Clean Image

Donny Osmond says his squeaky-clean image almost cost him his career. The singer, who has been performing on stage with his sister, Marie Osmond, ever since they were kids, revealed the two were hit with temptation earlier in their careers.

Donny was a 1970s teen idol with swoon-worthy singles like “Puppy Love.” Marie crooned her way to country music stardom with the 1973 hit “Paper Roses.” Forty years later, the brother-sister duo still perform together at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, all the while keeping their wholesome images intact. But along the way, temptations presented themselves to the stars.

In a new interview with CBS News, Donny Osmond admitted that the squeaky-clean image he was known for “absolutely” hindered his career because it “closed certain doors.”

The 61-year-old star always maintained a no smoking, no drinking, no drugs lifestyle, but he revealed that he once had a plan in place to fake a bad boy image.

“I had a whole plan ready to be executed by my former public relations manager that I was gonna get busted for drugs coming in from an international destination. …Oh, yeah. Fake a drug bust!”

Donny admitted that a small part of him considered going along with the scheme, but his common sense got the better of him.

“The marketing mind in me said, ‘This will work.’ But then the reasonable mind in me said, ‘It’s going to destroy you.'”

Donny previously told The Mirror that while his former publicist said a drug scandal would have made him more “credible,” he’s glad he didn’t follow through with it.

“That would have earned me some street cred for five minutes but then I would have become a laughing stock,” Osmond admitted.

Donny’s sister faced a similar offer after the duo’s late 1970s variety show was suddenly canceled and the two stars faced bankruptcy. Marie Osmond revealed to CBS that she got a call from a men’s magazine to pose without her clothes on.

“I got this call from Playboy for $5 million. And I could have used [the money]. [But] I wouldn’t wanna see my mom like that. And I really wanted to be a mom.”

Marie did go on to become a mom — eight times — and today she’s also a proud grandmother, with no photo scandals that could ever come back to haunt her.

Donny and Marie’s conservative Mormon values have kept them in the business for more than 40 years, and their wholesome reputations remain unscathed.

Donny and Marie will wrap their 11-year residency in Las Vegas later this fall. Marie will start her new role on CBS’ The Talk Sept. 9.