Celebrities will do anything to stay in the spotlight. The more surprising their stunt is, the longer they will be talked about. Some celebrities believe that even negative publicity is still publicity, and they don't mind criticism from the public as long as they can get their name out there.
However, there are certain stunts that could have consequences, and it could damage their career instead of helping its kick-off. Here are some celebrities who did the craziest stunts just to get attention.
Jussie Smollett
Actor Jussie Smollett after his court appearance at Leighton Courthouse on March 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.
Jussie Smollett is known as one of the lead stars of the hit show "Empire," and his career is going well. However, the actor wanted more and used his orientation and his race as a way to garner sympathy from the public.
In January 2019, Smollett began his stunt by telling the bosses at Fox that he is getting threatening letters. On January 29, 2019, Smollett was allegedly attacked by two masked assailants who called him homophobic slurs, threw bleach on him, beat him up, and tried to lynch him.
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On February 16, the suspects were identified by the police, and both are of Nigerian descent. That was when the authorities were able to put the pieces together. Smollett staged the whole event, hired the two suspects, and pretended to be a victim, all because he wanted to get a raise from the show that he was in.
Unfortunately, Smollett did not get what he wanted. He was fired from the last season of the show, and he was arrested by the authorities for staging the attack, as reported by ABC News.
DJ Khalid
: DJ Khaled, winner of Best Rap/Sung Performance poses in the press room during the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, California
In 2013, DJ Khalid shocked the public when he publicly proposed to rapper Nicki Minaj on television. The whole thing was romantic, with sweet words accompanied by a massive diamond ring. The public thought he was serious about his declaration of love.
However, it turned out that it was just a publicity stunt, and Minaj did not know that DJ Khalid would even do it. In her interview with Business Standard, she said that she just laughed it off, and the whole stunt was just a promotion for their then collaboration.
Steve Rannazzisi
Actor Stephen Rannazzisi attends the Comedy Central Pre-Emmys Party at Boulevard3 on September 17, 2016 in Hollywood, California.
The 9/11 attacks changed the lives of a lot of people forever, and one of them is that of comedian Steve Rannazzisi. In his 2009 interview with Marc Maron, he said that we were working as an account manager at Merrill Lynch in the South Tower when the first tower was hit.
The comedian explained that he was already in the streets before the second tower was hit and collapsed. He added that the incident inspired him to live his dream of becoming a comedian, as he realized how short life is.
However, an article from The New York Times exposed Rannazzisi when Merrill Lynch stated that the comedian never worked for them. There were also inconsistencies with his story, and that was when the public started doubting the authenticity of it.
Rannazzisi later admitted that he made everything up and apologized. Although he was still able to keep some of his gigs, his ad for Buffalo Wild Wings was pulled out.
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