I am but a humble blogger, so I’m always wary of credit cards trying to entice me with higher and higher spending limits. I probably charge maybe two or three things a month on just one card, and I keep a small balance on that card just out of habit. Like, I hate owing anything or anyone more than $500. I paid off a car loan crazy-fast because I could feel it hanging over my head and it made me feel itchy. I don’t even know what my limit is on the one card I use consistently – I suspect it’s about $10,000, maybe $15,000. I would never charge that much unless it was an emergency. But I’m not Iggy Azalea. Iggy has been charging sh-t to her AmEx for two years and not paying it off.
Iggy Azalea is being sued for nearly $300,000 for a delinquent credit card bill. American Express filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday morning, alleging that Azalea (real name Amethyst Kelly) owes them $299,147.81 for goods and services that she has purchased over the last two years.
According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the Australian recording artist’s delinquent balance is $250,000 more than her credit card limit. The lawsuit is seeking the full amount owed, plus legal fees.
Azalea released her debut album, The New Classic, in 2014. It went platinum and spawned several singles, including the #1 hit “Fancy.” Her follow up album, Digital Distortion, was originally scheduled to be released in June, but has gone through multiple delays. There is no current release date scheduled. Azalea has not publicly commented about the lawsuit, and the court documents do not list an attorney in this case. A rep for Azalea did not immediately return PEOPLE’s calls for comment.
Regardless of what we think of Iggy’s music at this point, she actually has sold a lot and made a significant amount of money. It’s not a Tori Spelling situation where Iggy is broke-ass-broke and still shopping her nards off. Iggy has the $300K, or at least she should. So why didn’t she make any payments on this card? And why did AmEx let her go so far over her spending limit, which was obviously $50K? (I’ve never had an AmEx, how do they do it?) Not to defend Iggy or anything, but surely she has an accountant or manager who pays her bills? Hm.
PS… Does anyone else think that Iggy’s plastic surgery has made her look like she’s morphing into Ice-T’s wife Coco?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Yes, Iggy has made a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been spending a lot too. Plenty of people can owe more than what they make.
This I will reserve judgement. Money is less about making it, than managing it when it comes to the wealthy. That’s why PLENTY of wealthy people have gone broke. Also, I’m trying to get better about spending too. It’s not a lessons my parents taught me, and I realize I’m morphing into them when it comes to money, and not in a good way. Money management is something you either learn the easy way or the hard way. I’m trying to make it as least bumpy a road as possible. 😉
Totally agree, this is where my head is at trying to manage money, taken a while, I am just over 40
Part of me is shocked American Express let her go far over her limit (by 250k!) but another part of me isn’t surprised because charging over your limit, late fees, etc. is how companies like that really start making money. (Side note: I also feel like a $50k limit on a credit card is kinda on the low side for someone famous like Iggy, right?)
It’s probably for her engagement ring.
Hahahahahahaha
i wasn’t always good with money, though i’m getting better at it now…
but what i realize is some banks are more stringent than others. my husband knowing my lax spending habit had once convinced me to stop using the card that belonged to the lackadaisical bank (they’re not really lackadaisical, they just lured me into a sense of security and then suddenly… BIG DEBT).
there’s this one bank that’s really strict about payments, limits, etc and it really suits my personality that tends to be more flighty.
my husband has good self control so he’s okay.
Not condoning this but it serves greedy Amex right for allowing that sort of card abuse. Had they declined payment on anything that went above her available credit limit, then they wouldn’t be in this position now. Allowing her to continue to (ab)use her card to the tune of (including penalty fees/interest I’d imagine) $300k on a $50k limit is gross irresponsibility on its part.
Agreed.
Might not be a first with Amex. Approx. 30 years ago (feels like in another lifetime lol) I had a friend who worked at Amex German headquarters. At the time she told the story that Elton John owed Amex a huuuuge amount of money (some not too small six figure number if I remember right). I never saw it for myself, like in Amex’s system, so at the end of the day it’s hearsay, BUT she told it in order to illustrate that they were less than strict when it came to chasing payments by VIP clients they knew would continually spend big, in contrast to “normal” people (apparently Elton wasn’t the only case). Me and my circle of friends were travelling a lot in those years, juggling with credit cards – never had an Amex though and never will, not least because my friend absolutely anti-recommended them – but you always had to stay within your limit otherwise no more spending. That’s why she told us about this, when we talked credit card stuff. To be fair, she said Elton had a card with no limit, but still… it was a lot of money he owed them for quite a while. My friend stopped working at Amex after a few months, so I don’t know when he did but I would suppose he paid everything at one point.
Her real name is Amethyst Kelly. Amazing.
Every time I see a picture of her I think it’s a Wayans brother in their White Chicks costume. Seriously, every time.
Her real name is Amethyst Kelly. Amazing.
Every time I see a picture of her I think it’s a Wayans brother in their White Chicks costume. Seriously, every time.
I seriously laughed out loud at this & now I can’t unsee it!
The quality of Real Dolls has really gone downhill.
That ain’t fancy.
I have no credit cards and that’s the way it’s going to stay. I have an account which only ever gets touched for real emergencies. I also don’t understand why AmEx let her go so far over her limit, and then waited so long before calling in the debt. Iggy needs to learn not to spend big when she’s not earning big, and to pay her credit cards regularly. On time. It makes me wonder if this isn’t the only big debt she has.
She looks so plastic now – Coco Austin is a good comparison. Iggy looks like three of about 20 porcelain dolls my mother gave my daughter when she was 9 or 10, even though my daughter was never into dolls. When we did her room up, I suggested having a display of Nonna’s dolls in a bare corner. My daughter said, “ Nuh-uh. No way. Not ever. They are too, too creepy-looking.” I had to agree. They’ve never come out of the boxes since the day she got them.
I do not understand why celebrities use credit. I can’t have any type of debt hanging over me. It makes me panic. I only have a loan for my home to keep my credit rating up. That is super small too.
AmEx sounds like they are taking advantage of their rich customer’s allowing them to go over their limit. I know the credit card companies love their late fees and that is where they make their profits.
I think Amethyst is a beautiful name. Much better than Iggy.
Credit cards are dangerous for those who don’t understand how to budget or their true purpose… to build credit, NOT to buy items/ things you can’t afford. My parents taught me if you don’t have the money, don’t charge it until you do. That way you can pay off easily and still build up your credit. Several friends are in debt because it was never explained to them how it works or how interest rates van destroy you if you miss one or two payments