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Celebrity endorsements are nothing new, special, or significant in Hollywood. Since the days of silent films, famous people have been hawking products of all kinds: liquors, sodas, even tools and beauty products. But, celebrities are humans and humans err, meaning that sometimes celebrities will loan their good name to a bad product and not realize the fact until it is too late. Sometimes, sadly, it is much more nefarious and a celebrity will knowingly con their loyal public with products they know are garbage.
But whether it was a failure to examine the product, a con, or just a bad business decision, many celebrities have been caught red-handed shilling out crappy products. One could write a book about celebrity endorsement fails, like the time when OJ Simpson was a spokesman for Hertz rental cars before becoming involved in one of the world's most infamous police car chases. But for the sake of time, let us just focus on a few of the worst products to ever have the thumbs up from a famous person.
10 Hulk Hogan's Thunder Mixer
Hulk Hogan had a series of bizarre products bearing his name at one point, lest we forget the "Pastamania" fiasco. (Why the WWE star endorsed a pasta we may never know.) But another Hulk Hogan misfire was the Thunder Mixer, a sort of half-blender half food-processor sort of thing that was supposed to make your protein shakes better. How? Who knows... something about the power of blending or some nonsense. The product was a complete disaster, it was literally just a badly designed blender.
9 Montel Williams' Obama Coin
If one still watches network television, they are likely to see an ad selling commemorative coins of some kind. Usually, these commercials talk about how finely minted the coin was and how rare they are, and how their value will exponentially increase. These promises are usually bunk and the coins are rarely worth diddly squat. In 2009, to "commemorate" the election of Barack Obama, former talk-show host and medical marijuana advocate, Montel Williams hawked coins "honoring" the election of the first black president. The coins turned out to be ordinary quarters with stickers pasted on them.
8 Khloe Kardashian's Hair Growth Gummies
All of the Kardashian girls have made missteps on social media, and fans seem to love to chastise them for it. Kim was called out for fat-shaming when she endorsed appetite suppressant lollipops (which didn't work by the way), but the biggest of the Kardashian endorsement flops has to be SugarBearHair Vitamin Gummies. Khloe Kardashian endorsed the product via Instagram and supported the product's claims that their multivitamins would help one grow thick and luxurious hair. They were, in reality, just vitamin gummies. FYI dear reader, no product on the market will magically make you grow more hair, period.
7 Lisa Vanderpump's Diet Tea
The reality star ticked some of her followers off when she threw her weight behind Slender Teatox diet tea. Most diet teas that people often see celebrities endorsing on Instagram are complete bunk. They not only do nothing to help speed up people's metabolisms, they can cause some serious health issues. People were furious when reports rose to reveal that diet teas are causing serious health problems, including heart disease, diarrhea, and liver damage.
6 Ashley Tisdale's Hair Growth Pills
We'll say it again: NO PRODUCT WILL MAGICALLY MAKE YOU GROW MORE HAIR! Yes, there are products you can use to take more hair, and some doctors do acknowledge that vitamins like Biotin can promote healthier hair and nails (although this is not confirmed by the FDA). That being said, the former Disney Channel starlet made a big mistake when she endorsed these fraudulent pills.
5 Jeff Foxworthy's Beef Jerky
While it is very in character for the man who made himself famous with his redneck pride would loan his name and face to a product like beef jerky, it is also a little too "on the nose" as the old saying goes. Also, the jerky was reportedly flavorless and stiff. Come on Jeff, even Slim Jims have a flavor to them.
4 Nelly's Pimp Juice
Fans of the movie Tropic Thunder will remember that the rapper character in the film hawked a product called BOOTY SWEAT, a soft drink with a hip hop twist. Fans of the movie might be surprised when they learn it was a parody of a real product. Rapper Nelly once tried to get the world to drink stuff called Pimp Juice, but the public collectively responded, "Nah..."
3 Steven Seagal's Energy Drink
No fat-shaming intended, but Seagal is not exactly known for being a fit individual anymore. It was actually the subject of many a parody that such a, shall we say, jolly sized?, man would be considered an action star. Still, Seagal did have a career as a martial arts action star for a time and as such tried to cash in on it with his energy drink, which looked like a poor man's version of Monster. The short version of the story is as such, it failed, miserably.
2 Trump Steaks
How can one talk about shoddy celebrity endorsements without talking about some of the humiliating debacles attached to disgraced former U.S. president Donald Trump? These products were not just endorsed by Donald Trump, they were a part of his business portfolio. Trump Steaks only lasted for two months as a product line, and they failed before the man became the polarizing politician he is today, so rest assured politics were not involved with this business's failure. No, the product failed because: 1. No one understood how a real estate mogul was qualified to sell meat, and 2. The steaks were poorly packed, tough to cut, and fatty. In other words, he charged high prices for cheap meat. Trump also choose a bizarre medium to sell the steaks; the product was advertised and sold on QVC. Are people seriously grocery shopping on the home shopping networks?
1 Trump Vodka
Another of the biggest failed products to bear the Trump brand and Donald Trump's seal of approval was Trump Vodka. This product, notoriously shoddy and hard to drink, flopped because it was just a bad vodka. Why was it a bad vodka? Well, perhaps the formula could have been tweaked a bit had Trump tasted the product and given it notes. We know for a fact that never happened because Donald Trump, famously, does not drink alcohol and has not had an alcoholic beverage in several years. Celebs, don't loan your name to a product you don't use or consume, it's insulting to your fans' intelligence.
