Elizabeth Taylor ran an underground AIDS pharmacy ring

In a move that’s similar to what happened in the movie Dallas Buyers club, it’s been revealed that Elizabeth Taylor ran an underground network to provide experimental HIV medication to patients.

AIDS activist Kathy Ireland told Entertainment Tonight, “Talk about fearless in her home in Bel-Air. It was a safe house. A lot of the work that she did, it was illegal, but she was saving lives.”

It was in a time when it was not something to do. Business associates pleaded with her, ‘Leave this thing alone.’ She received death threats,” she added. “Friends hung up on her when she asked for help, but something that I love about Elizabeth is her courage.”

Elizabeth Taylor. Photo: Getty

But while Ireland didn’t elaborate on exactly what Taylor did in the ring, we do know that she began raising money for research in 1985 and 1986 and founded the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991, which has raised millions of dollars for research and awareness.

Drug rings geared toward procuring experimental drugs in the 1980s weren’t unusual, as seen by Ron Woodroof who was portrayed by Matthew McConaughey in the biopic film.

In fact, HIV and AIDS were still deeply misunderstood and led to death of patients in many cases, which is why buying rings often brought in experimental drugs from foreign countries like Mexico, Switzerland and Sweden.

In 1987, the FDA finally approved treatments like AZT and there were often long waiting lists.