Thursday, September 2, 2010

She wants pure white baby cats on stage and a team to ensure her dress doesn’t get creased, but Mariah’s not alone with her diva demands, writes Eve Dugdale

She’s a millionaire and the world’s best-selling female artist.

A multiple award winner, she owns houses around the globe, is a loved up newlywed and wherever she goes people scream her name in adoration.
Life is pretty sweet for Mariah Carey.

But it’s obviously not quite perfect enough - otherwise she wouldn’t need to employ an entourage of people to cater to her every whim.

Just this week the singer lived up to her reputation as a diva by having two people lower her onto a sofa during an interview with a British breakfast television show.

Allegedly she didn’t want to crease her dress.

According to British paper The Daily Mirror, Mariah also had one of her entourage walk backwards, in front of her, to stop her from falling over and even took her own toilet roll to the recording. And even though Mariah, who, it was once rumoured, bathes in mineral water, probably spends thousands on personal training and the best grooming available, she still insisted on having members of her crew watch the camera filming her to make sure she was being filmed at her best angle.

Last week the singer demanded she be driven in a Rolls Royce along a pink carpet to a pink podium inside a London shopping centre to switch on the area’s Christmas lights. She also insisted 20 white kittens be supplied and 100 white doves be released as part of the event and that she be showered with pink butterfly-shaped confetti at the end of the ceremony.

The kittens and doves had to be refused as it turned out, due to health and safety concerns.

She’s known around the world so surely she must realise how important she is.

So why does Mariah feel the need to add to her celebrity status by making such diva demands and having her hangers on follow her around and pander to her so much?

If there’s one thing you hear from celebrities time and time again it’s how they want to be treated ‘normally’, so why is it that some famous faces insist on making outrageous demands? And Mariah’s not the only one to make them.

We’ve found a few well-known stars who’ve made ridiculous requests…

Brittany butters up
On set of the film ‘Across The Hall’ Brittany Murphy reportedly insisted on having diagonally cut peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the crusts removed once every hour.

It may be a diva demand but it’s nice to see at least that even some A-list stars ask for peanut butter rather than caviar and champagne.

Can’t ‘handle’ the germs
According to numerous sources adorable singer Justin Timberlake has to have somebody go round every two hours to disinfect door knobs.

Driving everyone crazy
Janet Jackson allegedly caused chaos at a star studded concert by refusing to walk to her dressing room and demanded she was chauffeur-driven in a Mercedes just centimetres from her door.

She’s also been known to demand black roses and a chaise lounge in her dressing room.

Can’t see the light
Ageing rocker Rod Stewart apparently employs a special ‘darkening team’. No, it’s not to make sure he’s always tanned, it’s to ensure no light comes into his room when he takes his afternoon naps. Well, it’s important the older folk get some shut eye isn’t it?!

Completely potty
During her ‘Confessions’ world tour a few years ago, Madonna apparently asked for a brand new toilet seat at every concert she played. The seat had to be inspected by one of her employees and installed with an unbroken seal by plumbers before every gig.

Get me groovy girls
No unusual drinks, strange pieces of furniture or car parking demands for this man - American entertainer Sammy David Jr allegedly requested an assortment of ‘groovy chicks’ at the events he was performing at. We’re assuming he didn’t mean funky baby hens…