The annual Coachella festival will arrive this weekend. You know what that means — throngs of actors and actresses flocking in wellies (like they’re at Glastonbury) to watch live shows from their favorite hipster bands. Regular fixtures from the past few years include Vanessa Hudgens, who is usually seen making out with her current boyfriend. She took Josh Hutcherson a few years ago and Austin Butler last year. I think she’s still with Austin. It turns out that Vanessa isn’t really there for the music. NY Daily News says Vanessa gets paid for her time. McDonalds is paying her $15,000 this year! What a sweet gig:
The Coachella music festival in California kicks off Friday, and while tickets are selling for hundreds of dollars online, Confidenti@l has learned how much celebs are being paid to attend the event. Lea Michele will earn a cool $20,000 from Lacoste to wear its clothes while she rocks out to headliners OutKast, Muse and Arcade Fire, while Vanessa Hudgens is being paid $15,000 by McDonald’s to hit the festival.
Some stars are still looking for companies to pony up the cash in exchange for plugging their products. We hear Aaron Paul is asking for $15,000 and at least 2 VIP passes, while Kate Bosworth is demanding double that. Joe Jonas is seeking somewhere under $20,000, while British fashion blogger Louise Roe wants $5,000 and three tickets. Coachella runs this coming weekend and April 18-20.
[From NY Daily News]
I guess Vanessa will have to eat McDonalds food during the weekend to earn her check. Even though McDonalds is pretty rank, I’d do it for that much money. Wouldn’t you? French fries and ice cream, baby.
Lea Michele also got paid to host a pool party a few years ago, so I’m not surprised to hear that she’ll be returning this year. I can’t blame either Lea or Vanessa for taking this cash. It’s a pretty sweet deal, but I can help but laugh at Kate Bosworth demanding $30K to show up this year with Michael Polish. If we see pictures of her this year, we’ll know she got her money.
Here is the best endorsement idea OF ALL TIME (sorry, Kanye) — some porta-potty company needs to call Gerard Butler and work out a deal. He’d be totally into it, right?
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN
She’ll be there anyway, so why not get paid for it?
So true
i think what a waste of money.. the rich get richer..
Right? I don’t get these sponsored events that celebrities partake in. So greedy. And how is Vanessa going to McDonalds going to make ME want to go to McDonalds?
I hear ya Allie. I’m oping she has to parade around in McDonald’s gear all weekend – otherwise, how WILL they see any return on their investment. Maybe she’ll be costumed as Ronald McDonald himself if there’s any justice in the universe.
MTE though it would suit her better to team up with some white chocolate company imo ….or rather,
ok my brackets disappeared so once again
*cough* or rather *sniff*
ha!
Nothing says free spirit hippie chick like a corporate sponsorship from McDonald’s.
Also, I refuse to believe this about Aaron Paul.
I know, right?
I’m actually kinda wondering how this is supposed to play out. Does McDonald’s have a food stand at the festival or is there a convenient location nearby? How many products is she contractually obliged to be seen eating? Which ones? I guess we’ll see, for $15k I’m sure corporate will make sure we’re all well aware of the resulting images or whatever. I must say no amount of endorsement by anyone will make me think McDonald’s is a good place to eat.
Why would it be true of the others and no Aaron Paul? Because he’s a guy and we inexplicably go easier on male celebrities? He was named in the same initial report as VHudge and Lea Michele and the Bos. Why would Hollywood Reporter lie about just him, if we’re also assuming it’s true of the others? Either none of them are doing this, or he’s as bad as they are, in this regard.
I just read somewhere that Lea Michele’s team has denied this report. It’s possible she was paid $20k to host the Lacoste pool party at Coachella from a previous year. So who knows how much of this story is actually true.
I agree, I think it’s disgusting the amount of money corporations give to celebrities just to show up wearing/holding/using their product for a very limited engagement. Vanessa H. being paid $15k to endorse McDonald’s for 3 days at Coachella is such a joke. Do corporate heads really think that McDonald’s sales are going to increase significantly just because the chick from High School Musical is seen carrying a McDonald’s cup at the festival?
Algernon, it has nothing to do with gender. More about the type of celebrity they seem to be, and the status of their career.
Aaron just came off a hugely successful show and has some big movies in the works, and doesn’t seem the type to go to something like this for cash. Vanessa on the other hand, is more famous for being famous these days and career is nowhere near his, so I could see someone like her being more likely to do such a deal.
If you told me Jessica Chastain and Kellan Lutz were both trying for such deals, I’d be far more likely to believe it of him rather than her.
This didn’t come from the Enquirer. This came from Hollywood Reporter. They’re not in the habit of making things up. If they sat Aaron Paul is a buy-able celeb at Coachella, then I’m going to believe them. They aren’t a gossip magazine, they’re a proper trade paper. It doesn’t sound likely because he is from a high tier of celebrity, but in the end, they all take the freebies.
Actually it came from the NY Daily News, THR cited them in their article, and as of this afternoon, had to update that almost everyone mentioned has denied it.
When I think of Coachella, I think of Jimmy Kimmel interviewing attendees last year about fake bands that they were dying to see or had already seen and really liked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_IzYUJANfk
Me too! Over half the ppl go just to hang out, get effed up, or say they’re going to Coachella. They dont even know the music! Pathetic.
Oh Aaron, nooooo. I thought Need for Speed did decent box office?
Hey if you were planning on going anyway, may as well get paid! Smart I’d say. I’m sure it’s a great show but anyone who thought it is some pure, non-corporate, celebration of freedom needs their head examined!!
Fair enough. I just wouldn’t have expected from Aaron Paul this early in his career.
I think I’m less harsh on it these days because of Kickstarter. If a huge corporation wants to pay your way, go for it. Just don’t go looking to the public to fund your party (Zachary Levi and his Comic Con stuff come to mind).
If this is true though, Paul needs to up his quote. No way should Bos
True enough, true enough. I’d still personally prefer him to take a clothing/perfume endorsement to get the dollar dollar bills rolling in. It just seems a little bit classier, you know? Ah we’ll, hopefully he gets something better to shill than Macca’s.
I seem to be the only person who doesn’t like Aaron. He seems so stuck up.
@tatjana I feel the same about Aaron Paul. Given I’ve only seen a few interviews, but from that little I’m not a huge fan of his. The only thing I know he’s done is Breaking bad and Need For Speed. Only seen clips of both.
On a side note: if I got paid that much just to show my face at some event, I’d be there in a heartbeat. I got bills to pay.
I like him when he’s alone, but when he’s with his wife they become the most annoying couple on the planet. Soooo much PDA. We get it, she’s perfect and you have the most perfect marriage ever. Enough.
Sigh. I would LOVE to get paid to be there, too!!!
Coachella, and its dress code makes me roll my eyes. Playing Woodstock. Whatever. I might go for fifteen grand.
I call bullsh*t on Kate Bosworth not showing up unless she gets that much. Her life revolves around music festivals and I can’t imagine anything keeping her from the biggest American Festival of the year. I’d say the same about any of them in fact. They will still show up, but won’t be plugging anything.
“Her life revolves around music festivals”-she only attends Coachella.
That is outrageous! Can someone remind me what she has been doing recently that would justify that amount of money? I haven’t seen her in anything. WTF?
She might as well get it before everyone forgets about her. In 3…….2………1
Who were we taking about again?
15K to look like shit do drugs and listen to one’s favorite bands?!? *slow Claps* Get It Girl!
Coachella, while I appriciate good music in any festival, it has become the heaven of the YOLO movement / pseudo hippie bohemian hipster posers. And also a celebrity papparazzi playground. So boring.
Cant wait to see Vanessa’s horrid atrocious outfits and have a good laugh, that girl is so fcking annoying and such a poser.
To be fair, at least she dresses like that all the time. I’m more annoyed by celebrities who dress normally and then go all bohemian during Coachela.
A lot of gossip sites are using Vanessa as the “poster child” for getting paid to attend Coachella. But other celebrities, who are more famous than she is are also doing it, so why target her by using her picture and name in the title as if she’s the only one doing something awful? Why not use Jennifer Aniston’s picture holding a bottle of Smartwater?
If someone’s dumb enough to pay her that much, then she may as well be smart enough to take their money.
I will be broke as long as I live because I haven’t yet figured out how to get paid for something I’d do anyway.