After her breakup with Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez requested that anyone on her team named “Justin” had to change their name
We all know that being famous has major perks. One of them is that you can make demands of the places you are going to perform or otherwise work.
In showbiz, it’s known as the rider. The idea is that a celebrity outlines the accommodations necessary for them to be comfortable working in this environment.
For some celebrities, this comes down to requesting certain salads for lunch or a particular brand of water. But some celebrities have gone really off the wall with it.
1. The legend that is the celebrity rider came into infamy in 1982, when news that Van Halen requested a bowl of M&M’s await them at each tour stop with the brown ones picked out.
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If it sounds a little diva for a rock band, you might be missing its greater purpose. The band later claimed the detail was in there so they could determine which venues actually read the rider and which did not.
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2. For a period of time, Weird Al Yankovic was asking for “one garish Hawaiian shirt” at every appearance. He stopped after accumulating too many, and his wife has since donated some of the stash.
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3. Cher likes to have a separate room just for her wigs.
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4. Pharrell started asking for a framed photograph of astronomer Carl Sagan as a joke, but now it’s become a staple in his rider.
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5. Britney Spears tinkered with her rider depending on where her tour stop was. At an October 2011 show in London, she requested McDonald’s cheeseburgers without the buns, 100 figs and prunes, toothpaste, fish and chip dinners, and last but not least, a framed picture of Princess Diana.
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6. Paul McCartney’s rider makes sure his needs are met as a vegetarian. While he makes sure there’s no real or vegan leather in sight, his request for a brand of soap with traces of animal fats turns the demands on their head.
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7. Katy Perry got dragged online in 2011 for her concert rider, which included very specific furniture requirements and absolutely no carnations.
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8. Kanye West asked for an alcoholic slushie machine on his 2016 The Life Of Pablo tour. One side had Hennessey and Coke for Kanye, the other had Grey Goose and lemonade for then-wife Kim. Simpler times.
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9. Jennifer Lopez prefers having an all-white dressing room to keep her mind and spirit at ease. For those setting up, that means white candles, tables, couches, drapes, tablecloths, and flowers.
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10. Rihanna loves having a plush, animal-print rug to walk barefoot on.
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11. Right after Selena Gomez’s 2014 breakup with Justin Bieber, she requested that no one on her team go by the name “Justin.” The Justins who did work for her each chose different monikers to use when the pop star was around.
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12. Justin Timberlake has someone sanitize doorknobs he’ll come in contact with every two hours during his time there.
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13. Beyoncé likes to have her dressing room set to a steamy 78 degrees. She also likes to have well-seasoned chicken in her Southern girl bag at all times.
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14. On his 2009 tour riders, Jay-Z required not one but SEVEN dressing rooms, and some “high-quality” peanut butter and jelly.
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15. During their 2004 tour, Metallica called for bacon to be served with every meal. Non-stop bacon.
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16. Christina Aguilera requires a police escort so that she under no circumstances has to sit in traffic.
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17. Prince asked that all his food come to him wrapped in plastic because he enjoyed unwrapping his food himself.
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18. Jennifer Lawrence asked for a happy reprieve from the intensity of mother!, so the crew sent her a “Kardashian tent,” with the family’s show streaming and photos of them as a way to escape from the film’s subject matter.
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What would you have in your tour rider if you were super famous? Who’s being unreasonable and who had some points? Let’s hear it in the comments.
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