Vagina votives! Edible body parts! Bloody perfume! And fresh roasted metal coffee?!
Hold on to your yonis — and ya' Venmo — these are the weirdest
things your favorite stars tried to sell you (and you probably bought)!
Mike Tyson is one of the greatest
heavyweight boxers of all time. His intimidating nature has been showcased more than once in the
ring. But throughout his decades of fighting pro, one match stood out among all the rest.
It was Tyson's 1997 boxing match against Evander Holyfield during the WBA Heavyweight Championship.
According to The New York Times, things went completely off the rails when Tyson took a bite
out of Holyfield's ear. And after biting his other ear, Tyson was ultimately disqualified,
with a judge recalling,
"He bit a hunk out of his ear and spit it on the floor."
Years later, Tyson and his cannabis brand, Tyson 2.0, launched ear-shaped marijuana edibles
resembling Holyfield's bitten ear. The product was announced in March 2022 with Tyson tweeting,
"These ears actually taste good!"
"Is Evander a part of this? Or, does he know that you're doing this?"
"Well that's not Evander's ear."
"Oh, ok, alright."
Although the gummies were stocked for sale in states like California and Nevada,
HuffPost reported that they were actually illegal to sell in Colorado. According to state law,
edibles cannot be sold in the shape of fruit, animals, or humans. Or their ears.
Outlandish makeup and over-the-top wardrobes were
all part of the KISS experience. And band members Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter
Criss brilliantly leveraged their signature looks to sell a whole lot of products including
betting apps, family cars, loads of merch and apparel, soda, and comic books. Oh! And caskets.
"We've made everything from KISS condoms to KISS Kaskets.
We'll get you coming, and we'll get you going."
According to Kiss Online, the band offered the loyal KISS Army the chance to be buried
in a casket laminated with the members of the band, along with their logo. An unforgettable
experience for mourners at your funeral, for just $4,700. The vessel could also act
as a drink cooler before your untimely passing, with Simmons once commenting,
"This is the ultimate KISS collectible.
I love livin', but this makes the alternative look pretty damn good."
Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was buried in a KISS Kasket that was donated by
Simmons, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. Simmons shared with FOX News at the time,
"I think it meant a lot to Darrell. I mean he had the band tattooed onto his chest. And the
family wish — you know the one last wish they had — was that he be buried in a Kiss Kasket."
Besides becoming a worldwide pop
star in the late '90s, Jessica Simpson has continued to find massive success in the
fashion industry with The Jessica Simpson Collection. Forbes reported that in 2014,
the shoe, apparel and accessories company was raking in $1 billion per year.
But not all of Simpson's ventures have been this triumphant. Back when Simpson was still married to
Nick Lachey in the early 2000s and the two were filming their reality show "Newlyweds: Nick and
Jessica," she launched an edible beauty product line called Dessert. According to Pop Crush,
the brand featured lip glosses, body washes, shampoos, and lotions that were all just fine to
eat. But what was odd was that the products were targeting teens, with one description reading:
"Slather it on yourself or a friend to be completely smoochable and delectable."
"To be able to give flavors to my fans that I enjoy and that I love, it's a very cool thing."
InStyle reported that Dessert was hit by a couple of lawsuits and later halted production by 2006.
Rapper Nelly was riding
high on the top of the charts after the release of his debut album "Country Grammar" in 2000.
His first album went to No. 1 on The Billboard 200 list and stayed there for five weeks. His
sophomore album, 2002's "Nellyville," was also a hit and spawned "Hot in Herre" and
"Dilemma." Both songs would sit at No. 1 for weeks on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list.
With his mounting success, Nelly stepped away from the string of hits and launched
a new business venture in 2003: an energy drink called Pimp Juice. The
rapper had already dipped a toe in a men's clothing line called Vokal
in 1997, as well as his 2003 women's fashion launch, Apple Bottoms. According to BevNet,
Nelly's energy drink came in an other-worldly lime green color and contained taurine and guarana,
the same two ingredients in popular energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster. Minus the carbonation.
But upon its release, the group Project Islamic H.O.P.E. called the name of the drink, quote,
"disrespectful and misogynistic," claiming it promoted a negative
stereotype of African-Americans. But even so, Pimp Juice is still a thing around the globe.
In 2012, reality stars Kendall and
Kylie Jenner teamed up with PacSun to launch their clothing line Kendall and Kylie. And a few years
later, the sisters struck out on their own for a similarly named line, Kendall + Kylie. That's when
they superimposed their faces over rap legends on t-shirts that were quickly deemed controversial.
"Everyone wants an excuse to like talk s— and I don't want this to be that."
According to Fashionista, the $125 tees featured altered images of Tupac
and Biggie as well as rock bands including Metallica and Pink Floyd. Voletta Wallace,
Notorious B.I.G.'s mother, posted on Instagram at the time,
"I have no idea why they feel they can exploit the deaths of 2pac and my son Christopher
to sell a t-shirt. This is disrespectful, disgusting, and exploitation at its worst!!!"
According to TMZ, photographer Michael Miller filed a lawsuit against Kendall and Kylie for
the use of his image of Tupac, and the dispute was later settled. Fashionista
noted that not long after their launch, the shirts were pulled from production.
Actor Gwyneth Paltrow's wellness brand Goop has been known for upselling
controversy with items like the $75 "This Smells Like My Vagina" candle, and a $27
Psychic Vampire Repellent Protection Mist. But the brand's $66 Jade Egg
caused a massive outrage among health experts. As Goop's now-edited product information once touted,
"Fans say regular use increases chi,
orgasms, vaginal muscle tone, hormonal balance, and feminine energy in general."
"It's good for balancing hormones and all kinds of amazing benefits."
But several doctors disputed these claims,
including California OB/GYN Dr. Jen Gunter, who stated on her website,
"It is the biggest load of garbage I have read on [Goop.com] since vaginal steaming. […] It could be
a risk factor for bacterial vaginosis or even the potentially deadly toxic shock syndrome."
According to The New York Times, Goop was hit with a $145,000 fine for making outrageous
claims about the Jade egg, and agreed to pay up and also return money to customers.
But Vox reported that the egg is still sold on Goop.com with less dramatic claims.
Korn brought metal to mainstream music in the late '90s and early 2000s with songs like "Twisted
Transistor" and "Freak on a Leash" and found their way to the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 charts.
The band has since released 14 albums, with their latest, "Requiem," dropping in February 2022.
Korn clearly hasn't slowed down one bit. And it could all be thanks to their second
collective passion — coffee. Korn Koffee has apparently been giving the band life since 2018.
Korn announced their new venture on Facebook, with guitarist James Shaffer explaining,
"We drink so much coffee on the road, when we're touring, it's good to have
something to really kick you in the pants in the morning."
As of 2022, you can harness your metal caffeine
addiction with a bag of Korn Koffee for roughly $18 bucks.
Before Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States, he was known for his casinos,
skyscrapers, hotels, golf courses, and "The Apprentice." But considering he spent his
life in business, it came as no surprise when he announced he was launching a line of steaks.
According to Think Progress, 2007's Trump Steaks featured burgers and beef
cuts supplied by Buckhead Beef, for anywhere from $199 to $999.
"When it comes to great steaks, I've just raised the stakes!"
But after only two months on the shelves,
Trump's meat was donezo. As the CEO of distributor Sharper Image said,
"We literally sold almost no steaks. If we sold $50,000 of steaks grand total, I'd be surprised."
The Kardashians have launched some extremely
successful companies including Kim's shapewear line SKIMS, Khloe's Good American denim brand,
and Kourtney's wellness and lifestyle company Poosh. But back in November 2010,
the sisters unveiled a prepaid Mastercard. And the so-called KardashianKard was a total flop.
According to Forbes, the prepaid debit card was aimed at teens as a way for parents to
track spending habits. But it also came with an enormous amount of extra fees.
CNN reported that by the end of its first month, the card was no longer being sold.
As the Connecticut Attorney General said at the time,
"Keeping up with the Kardashians is impossible using these cards."
Lady Gaga launched her first-ever perfume,
Fame, in 2012. And in Gaga style, it outdid any other celebrity perfume release. According to
The Hollywood Reporter, the ad campaign for the fragrance featured a clothingless Lady
Gaga wearing a black mask and tiny men climbing on her body. But that wasn't the most shocking
part of the release. Instead, it was her claim that the scent was made from blood and semen.
Lady Gaga teased the launch of her perfume on "The Kyle and Jackie O Show"
explaining that the scent resembled that of, quote, "an expensive hooker." She added,
"[Blood and semen] is in the perfume, but it doesn't smell like it. You just get sort of
the 'after' feeling of sex from the semen, and the blood is sort of primal. And the
blood was taken from my own blood sample, so it's like a sense of having me on your skin."
"The fans, when they want to smell me, they say, 'Gaga, can I smell the fame?' And I go like this."
Although the product packaging doesn't mention any biohazardous waste,
Gaga tweeted a pic of its ingredients, which read:
"Tears of belladonna, crushed heart of tiger Orchidea with a black veil of incense,
pulverized apricot and the combinative essences of saffron and honey drops."
What made the perfume unique was that it was the first black formula that sprayed clear on your
skin. It was a massive success with Gaga tweeting that 30 million bottles were sold by 2013.