The craziest requests celebs had backstage or on-set
Can you guess which rapper wants a pond of koi fish in his dressing room? Or which pop princess needs a fresh toilet seat at every venue?
Many people will know the story of the '80s rock band that always requested there be no brown M&M's backstage at their concerts, via a clause embedded in their tour rider.
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What many don't know is that it wasn't actually about the M&Ms or their egos.
The band's lead singer, David Lee Roth, eventually shared that this was a safety measure, not just an excuse for "typical rockstar behaviour".
However, from the start of the 2000s to 2026, it's less likely that the crazy, eccentric, and strange requests made by celebrities are due to concerns for everyone's safety.
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Sometimes, it really is just diva behaviour.
Here are some of the requests made by singers, actors and other famous stars.
- Graham Norton: the TV host, shared that an unnamed celeb on his show asked for nine dressing rooms. They changed their mind and asked for a tenth room to charge their phone.
- Barbara Streisand: reportedly asked security personnel to dress smartly, which meant no T-shirts at all.
- Madonna: reportedly asks for a new toilet seat in every venue she works.
- J-Lo: the singer's 2007 rider allegedly included all-white everything, including couch, drapes, and candles.
- Grace Jones: asked for closed oysters, because "Grace does her own shucking," according to her book.
- Selena Gomez: allegedly asked that no crew members on an Adidas commercial she was filming use the name Justin after her breakup with Justin Bieber.
- Lindsay Lohan: after being asked to appear on a Russian talk show, she reportedly demanded $860,000 and a one-on-one with Putin. Her requests were not met, and she probably expected it and used it as her way to get out of it completely
- Cher: reportedly wanted a whole room for her wigs during her '99 tour.
- Joe Jonas: admitted that his rider included "12 puppies."
- Eminem: allegedly asked for an entire koi pond.
- Metallica: wanted bacon with every single meal during their 2004 tour. The rider read: "BACON VERY IMPORTANT THAT BACON BE AVAILABLE AT EVERY MEAL AND DURING DAY".
- Jay-Z: allegedly asked for "high-quality" PB&J sandwiches in his 2009 tour. He also supposedly requested seven dressing rooms on tour.
- Christina Aguilera: reportedly can't stand traffic and allegedly gets a police escort to avoid it.
- Katy Perry: A leaked 2011 rider allegedly stressed that there be absolutely no carnations backstage.
- Prince: his 2004 tour rider asked for all his food to be wrapped and/or unopened.
- Weird Al Yankovic: once asked for one "garish Hawaiian shirt" every show. He stopped when the collection became too big.
- Pharell Williams: requested a framed Carl Sagan picture in his dressing room that started off as joke but since then, it's become a regular part of his rider.
- Mariah Carey: reportedly asked for 100 doves and 20 kittens when switching on a British shopping centre's Christmas lights in 2009. The requests were denied for health and safety reasons.
- Iggy Pop: wanted a Bob Hope impersonator at every show.
- The Foo Fighters: allegedly, the bands riders included many wild requests, like venue staff choosing four magazines that "show us you have a brain and fantastic interests."
- George Clooney: allegedly had a custom-built beach hut and hot tub placed next to his trailer while filming 'Gravity'.
- Britney Spears: allegedly wanted a picture of Diana hanging in her dressing room while performing at the O2 Arena in London.
- Jennifer Lawrence: The actress had many emotionally draining scenes while filming 'Mother!' and dealt with them by setting up a full Kardashian-watching tent. "I eventually had to bring The Kardashians in," she joked when speaking of filming one particularly harrowing scene.
- Will Ferrell: The actor once had a joke rider that demanded an electric three-wheel mobility scooter, a flight of stairs on wheels, a fake tree on wheels, and a rainbow on wheels.
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If you are new around here, you might not know that our very own Rob Forbes and Rozanne McKenzie have released the first Drive show single!
'Wit Warm Boude' is currently only available here, but that's all about to change.
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Rozanne McKenzie received an email we never expected, and now the team could soon be headlining festivals.
Rob and Roz aren't divas or out-of-control rock stars, but what would they request if they had a rider and they could have anything in the world:
'Wit Warm Boude' official release:
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