Celebrities in the
entertainment and music industry have always aligned themselves with certain
products, whether it was something they truly believed in or something that
organically melded with their persona. Snooki and Jwoww began
endorsing a fake tanning product during the height of their fame from Jersey
Shore and even Elizabeth Taylor put her name on the White
Diamonds fragrance due to her infamous love of jewelry. While there have been some
phenomenal choices made by celebrities, not everyone has had the fortune of
picking such lucrative products as Vitamin Water like 50 Cent or The
Honest Company like Jessica Alba. Sometimes the search for fame and money
can tend to make celebrities desperate in finding the right product or career
move to best propel their professional lives forward. While Paul Newman was
able to hit it big with his dressing and Alfonso Ribeiro was able to
gain new life in his career through his win on Dancing with the Stars,
there are a number of celebrities that weren’t as fortunate.
This isn’t exactly a new
concept in Hollywood, since many celebrities have had to make the difficult
choice of having to take a subpar career move in order to gain that much-needed
paycheck. This storyline was used during the hit series, Friends, when
Joey endorsed a men’s lipstick in order to get a paycheck and an added role to
put on his resume. This was also a constant worry for the Vincent Chase
character on Entourage, since he often had to debate whether or not it was
worth taking a bad role for a big paycheck rather than hold out for the role of
substance that may never come. The tricky decisions in Hollywood can make or
break a celebrity, and not all stars have made the right choices. Check out our
list of the 15 celebrities that have proven they’ll do anything for money, and
see how these poor choices have damaged their professional careers.
Randy
Jackson & Paula Abdul – Starred In Voice Coach DVD
Although American Idol has
come to a conclusion, the success of this reality singing competition series
cannot be denied. After 15 seasons, the series came to an end, but many still
hold dear the show and its cast of characters. There are those that favored the
season involving the Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj feud and
others that enjoyed any season that included Simon Cowell, but it’s early
on in the series that many fans preferred due to the presence of Randy
Jackson and Paula Abdul. While Randy Jackson quickly became a
caricature of himself with his constant “Yo” and “Dog” hollering, he’s actually
a renowned music artist and record producer that has worked with some of the
biggest names in the business. Paula Abdul may also be thought of in a
particular light since her most famous song, “Straight Up,” didn’t exactly
entail Mariah Carey-like vocal abilities. In an effort to cash in on their
newfound mainstream popularity from American Idol, Jackson and Abdul
paired together to release a three-disc professional singing lesson set
entitled, “Ultimate Voice Coach – Learn To Sing Like A Star.” Coining
themselves as “voice coaches to the stars,” the disc set quickly became a joke
rather than a true moneymaker.
Ozzy
Osbourne – Rockstar Promotes “Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter”
When it comes to rock bands
and hardcore rock artists, sometimes maintaining the persona is just as
important as the quality of their music. A prime example is how it took the
band, KISS, practically a decade to finally remove their makeup and reveal
their true faces to their fans. One rockstar that fans thought would never dare
to go mainstream is Ozzy Osbourne. Yet, that is exactly what happened when
Osbourne starred in a commercial endorsement for a butter company in 2006. It
was difficult for fans to wrap their heads around the fact that the Prince of
Darkness, The Godfather of Metal, and the man that famously bit the head off of
a bat was now selling I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter on television. The
curtain had already been pulled back since he allowed cameras into his house
for the MTV reality series, The Osbournes. So, fans already knew that he
was far from the rockstar madman he portrayed onstage in the ‘70s. However,
seeing him selling imitation butter was just a little too shocking. Perhaps he
needed the extra income after so many years offstage or perhaps he wanted an
extra paycheck after the reality series stopped taping, but whatever the case,
it definitely made fans view Ozzy in a whole new light.
Kim
Richards – Real Housewives
Although Kim Richards had
quite a successful career as a child actress, her celebrity status was all but
nonexistent until she was casted on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
She was introduced to a whole new audience that may or may not have remembered
her from her earlier work. As a housewife, she quickly made a name for herself
as one of the more erratic behaving women on the show. She publicly battled
substance abuse, and ultimately was replaced on the series. Yet, she was
undoubtedly hoping that her time in the series would help her to revamp her
career in acting. While it didn’t ever open doors to a serious film role, it
did provide her the opportunity to get onto another reality series, Stars
In Danger: The High Dive. Richards said she went on the show to try and become
closer to her sister, and also “to learn how to dive like an Olympian.”
However, the experience supposedly left her scarred, traumatized, and fearful
to get back into the water. Hopefully she was paid a pretty penny for her
appearance, since she will no longer be receiving a Real Housewife check
and Hollywood isn’t exactly banging down the door.
Lisa
Rinna – Made $2 Million Off Diaper Endorsement
Lisa Rinna is actually a
pretty accomplished actress and television host, so it came as a surprise when
she agreed to be a cast member on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Oftentimes, legitimate actresses tend to forego reality shows such as these
since it can be damaging to their careers. However, this may not be the case
for soap actors or women who have already sold themselves out to endorse
incontinence products. The adult diaper company, Depends, sought to have a
celebrity spokesperson for their brand of female incontinence products, and
Lisa Rinna was the woman to take the bait. She reportedly was paid $2 million
for her endorsement and even rocked a pair on the red carpet for one of the
commercials for the Depends brand. During an episode of The Real
Housewives of Beverly Hills, Rinna addressed the diaper-wearing elephant in the
room during a confessional interview with the camera. She stated, “I got paid more
money to do that than I got paid to do anything ever in my life and I was just
like winking all the way to the bank.”
Kendra
Wilkinson – Reality TV Amid Turmoil
Kendra Wilkinson was
first introduced to audiences as a cast member on The Girls Next Door, as
the youngest girlfriend to Hugh Hefner (at the time). So, it became
blatantly obvious that Wilkinson was willing to do absolutely anything for
money, including dating a man that could have easily been the age of her
grandfather. While their relationship didn’t last, that didn’t stop Wilkinson
from milking her next relationship to earn a pretty penny. Wilkinson went on to
marry former NFL player, Hank Baskett, and the two starred in the spin-off
series, Kendra.
The show followed their marriage, the birth of their first
child, and all of the drama that was playing out in the tabloids. From the
multiple sex tapes from former relationships that were released after their
marriage to the allegations that Baskett had an intimate relationship with a
transvestite, Wilkinson let it all play out in front of the cameras for a
paycheck. While other people would have pulled the plug on their reality show
in order to get their house in order, Wilkinson not only let the cameras role
but caused a number of all-out scenes for the series to help increase ratings.
