Top 10 Obvious Celebrity Publicity Stunts

Back in 2007, Kanye West and 50 Cent were two of the most popular rappers out there. And in the rap game, that means beef, right? With Kanye’s “Graduation” album, and 50 Cent’s “Curtis” set to release on the same day, tensions were high, with 50 claiming he’d stop releasing solo albums if he was outsold by Kanye. Well, guess what? 50 lost that battle, but the hip hop industry won the war, as their ‘beef’ was later revealed to be a marketing ploy to boost sales, as both albums sold big. It worked wonders, shooting both albums to platinum. So… are Kanye’s presidential ambitions just another publicity stunt? Only time will tell.

During the 2010 MTV VMAs, Lady Gaga took her penchant for odd attire to new heights with a dress made of raw flank steak, hat included. Created by fashion designer Franc Fernandez, the dress took center stage when Gaga received an award, and eventually became Time’s Fashion Statement of 2010. So why did she wear raw meat? Well, the singer explained that it was a statement against the military’s “don’t ask don’t tell” policy. Unsurprisingly, many people had trouble seeing the connection. It did manage to rouse Animal Rights groups however. She never wore it again, but it’s currently preserved in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame… as jerky.

Talk about method acting. It started in 2008 when Joaquin Phoenix suddenly retired from acting to pursue a hip-hop career. He later appeared on Letterman and, almost completely unresponsive, had one of the most awkward interviews ever. The pieces finally came together when “I’m Still Here” was released in 2010: it was a mockumentary of Phoenix’s supposed drug and prostitute-filled life. After the fact, Phoenix and director Casey Affleck said the whole thing was a publicity stunt, and that the film, along with Phoenix’s descent into madness, was totally scripted. Meant as a commentary on scripted reality TV shows, the end result was highly divisive… but there’s no denying that the process got people talking!

We’re gonna let you finish this list, but this entry’s the greatest of all time! Yup, at the 2009 VMAs, Kanye West famously interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video. After claiming Beyoncé should have won the award instead, he then left the stage as quickly as he arrived. T-Swift was reportedly found crying backstage. Thankfully, after winning Video of the Year, the ever-classy Beyoncé called her back up to the stage to finish her speech. West was lambasted in the media, and even President Obama got in on the fun. Apparently... Mr. West subscribes to the idea that there’s no such thing as bad press.

Miley Cyrus arguably brought twerking to the mainstream in 2013, and it was her performance with Robin Thicke at the 2013 VMAs that really sealed the deal. All the foam finger crotch-poking and explicit dancing resulted in an uproar, but participants stood by their performance, saying it was all in good fun. Sure, Miley’s earned attention by acting out before and since - like when she smoked weed at the EMAs that same year - but the twerking incident really boosted her popularity, reportedly netting her an estimated 213 thousand new Twitter followers, 226 thousand likes on Facebook, and 90 thousand downloads of her “Wrecking Ball” single in the weeks that followed.

The man and mind behind Borat isn’t really someone you want attending an award ceremony in character. Appearing on the Red Carpet as General Aladeen from his film “The Dictator”, and holding an urn which he claimed contained the remains of former North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il, you just knew something was gonna happen. And sure enough during his interview with Ryan Seacrest, Cohen tipped the urn upside down, seemingly by accident, covering Seacrest in powder. The host kept it relatively calm all things considered, while the Dictator and his bodyguards were escorted away by security. Well, that’s one way to promote a movie.

#4: Kim Kardashian Breaks the Internet

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Top 10 Celebrity Relationships That Seemed Like Publicity Stunts

Kim Kardashian has legions of fans and haters alike, but regardless of which camp you belong to, one has to acknowledge that she’s good at staying relevant. Case in point, November 2014, when Paper Magazine came out with this cover, showing the reality star’s most prized (ahem) asset. The caption read “Break the Internet”, and it sure did. Editorial director Mickey Boardman denies the image is fake or extensively photoshopped, much to the public’s disbelief. But really... how does that champagne glass stay on her butt like that?! Regardless, it’s all in a day’s work for Kim, as she’s known for her publicity stunts. We know you remember that sex tape.

In case it’s not obvious by now, if you wanna see tomorrow’s headlines, you better watch the VMAs. In the 2003 edition, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Madonna performed together in tribute to the veteran singer’s 1984 single “Like A Virgin”. Things were tame... well, tame-ish, until Madonna puckered up and kissed Britney sensually on the lips, and then went over to Christina to finish the job. The crowd generally loved it, but the shot of Britney’s ex, Justin Timberlake, does kinda make you feel sorry for the former NSYNC member. Record sales shot up for all three artists after the kiss, so unsurprisingly, Madonna has reused this particular trick.

Sure, Paris Hilton’s a household name now, but back in 2003, the word “Hilton” still meant “hotels” first and foremost. Well... that all changed when her sex tape leaked. Despite the fact that it came out just weeks before her reality show The Simple Life debuted, she maintains both publicly, and in court, that it was done without her consent. Eventually dubbed “1 Night in Paris”, the movie featured Paris Hilton and then boyfriend Rick Salomon doing the deed. While Paris claims to have gained nothing from the video and regrets making it, she did win $400,000 from suing Salomon (much of which she gave to charity). Intentional or not, The Simple Life certainly benefited from it.

While performing at the Super Bowl XXXVIII (38) halftime show in 2004, Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson’s costume, exposing her breast for upwards of 140 million viewers to see. Over 500,000 complaints flooded in, sparking debates over censorship. The fallout was palpable, as MTV was barred from producing future Super Bowl shows, and Janet’s singles and music videos were blacklisted from many stations. It wasn’t all bad though, as Janet became the most searched term in Internet history at that time. And when a certain Jawed Karim had trouble finding the clip, he and some friends were inspired to invent a video-sharing platform, which we’ve come to know as YouTube.