Being a celebrity comes with a lot of cool stuff — money, mansions, private jets, a bazillion Twitter followers. Not included, however, is guaranteed immunity from accident or illness.
In fact, celebrity-hood can sometimes be a dangerous occupation, what with all the movie stunts, the dramatic stage shows, the walking down red carpets in Louboutins. And if a star is sidelined, big paydays can quickly turn into big losses.
Here are five celebrities who might wish disability insurance had been included in one of their swag bags. Fingers crossed, you guys.
Lady Gaga is basically the MVP of celebrity mishaps. She suffered a concussion on stage a while back — and kept performing through 16 more songs. She's vomited while performing … multiple times. And, of course, she's publicly tripped on her towering heels/platforms/foot sculptures more than once.
But in February, Gaga, 26, announced she had a more serious injury, a torn labrum in her hip that would require surgery, several months of downtime — and the cancellation of the remaining 22 dates on her "Born This Way" tour. The shutdown meant roughly $25 million worth of ticket refunds as well as plane tickets home for 130 cast and crew members.
Ouch. We doubt the reduced paycheck will mean bare cupboards at Casa Gaga. But at least she has that meat dress to munch on, just in case.
(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, file)
As the lead singer of the band Poison, Bret Michaels had years of experience in head-banging. Too bad it did nothing to prepare him for the very real head bang he suffered in 2009, when a set piece at the Tony Awards fell on him.
The "Celebrity Apprentice" winner suffered a broken nose and a split lip and, less than a year later, was sidelined by a near-fatal brain hemorrhage. Michaels had to cancel several tour dates and ultimately sued CBS and the Tony Awards, claiming the hemorrhage was caused by his head trauma at the awards show. The suit was settled out of court last year, for an undisclosed amount of money.
Thankfully, Michaels' head is doing a lot better these days, and he has time to focus on what really matters in life. Like crying after getting voted off "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice."
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Everyone knows Adele can sing. Except when she can't.
After missing several tour dates in mid-2011 because of laryngitis and other voice complications, the singer had to cancel her sold-out 10-city North American tour later that year because of a vocal cord hemorrhage. The injury required surgery and several months of vocal rest — no concerts, no recording, no touring.
