I want it ’coz I want it
At a recent dinner party, a friend who works in the hospitality industry shared an anecdote about Justin Bieber. During one of his two visits to the country, the pop megastar stayed at one of the swankiest hotels in Joburg (one nestled in one of the city’s wealthiest suburbs and favoured by many an international celebrity). Among other things, he demanded bottles of water (Evian, I imagine) be placed in every corner of his room. Later on, Bieber went around the room, opened each bottle of water, took a sip and then … left them there: opened, partly-sipped bottles of water.
That may be odd, but it’s nothing compared to the time Bieber infamously made his bodyguards carry him up the Great Wall of China. If you google it, you’ll find images of the Biebster, clad in a white hoodie and sagging black jeans, chilling on the shoulders of grown men as they carry him on their shoulders like he is some Egyptian demigod.
Celebrities make weird demands, but I suppose if you are surrounded by people whose sole job it is to please you, you can afford to be a demanding diva and no one will bat an eyelid.
Jay Z wants his rooms to be set to a specific temperature (21°C) and they should have three R1 100 Mayan tuberose-scented candles. Kanye West once insisted an assistant iron his dressing room carpet because it was “too bumpy”.
Adele made her minions take a 200km round trip for her favourite pizza — and she didn’t even eat it. And the queen of diva demands, Mariah Carey, had to be carried and then lowered onto a sofa by ITV producers so that she wouldn’t wrinkle her dress before an interview.
Christina Aguilera insisted that she receive a police escort on a 2010 world tour because she wasn’t willing to encounter any traffic.
This reminds me of the time Idris Elba demanded a helicopter for the 4km trip from Sandton to Hyde Park on a midweek afternoon because he wasn’t willing to sit through Joburg traffic. Fair enough. If only more of us had that option.