That's why I became a historian: so that it would be my job to know how many lovers Messalina had, or whether Suetonius had reliable sources.
I believe it's an ineradicable part of human nature. My colleagues tell me that there's even a famous person scandal story from ancient Egypt - mostly lost, now. And another colleague says that when ancient peoples didn't know enough smut about their rulers, they made up shit about the gods and heros.