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Pop Hypocrisy: Beyonce's Strict No-Junk Food Rule on Pepsi-Sponsored Tour
Singer Beyonce arrives at the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Musicians are known for their whacky dressing room requests on tour, but a recent story that surfaced about Beyonce has us scratching our heads. Junk food is simply a no-no for the ultra-fit pop star. For sustenance, she requests hand-carved ice balls to suck on after the show, glass platters of almonds and oatcakes, and "green-only" salad bar nibbles.
According to the Daily Star, Beyonce's rider includes some other pretty specific demands:
"It insists that her crew wear only 100% pure cotton clothes, presumably to save her from allergic reactions. She’s also said to ask for special titanium straws which are used to drink a special alkaline water that’s served at exactly 21 degrees. She also demands her dressing room has freshly painted white walls and a new toilet seat, and even makes it clear that she will only use red toilet paper."
But perhaps the most interesting request from Jay Z's wifey is that junk food is absolutely verboten in her dressing room. Mind you, this is on a tour that's sponsored by one of the world's largest soda manufacturers, Pepsi. This, of course, could be a big bad business move.
Says Take Part:
We assume that means Bey and her crew aren’t sipping on Pepsi before and after the show, despite the fact the drink-maker signed the Queen of Pop last year to a $50 million contract to use her likeness on its cans, have her sing at the Super Bowl halftime show, fund many of her upcoming “creative endeavors,” and, yes, sponsor her “Mrs. Carter Show” world tour. If Beyoncé doesn’t regularly drink Pepsi for inspiration, as the current television spots imply, the entire endorsement can be risky for both her and Pepsi, says Margaret C. Campbell, professor of marketing at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business.
But who knows, maybe Beyonce is slurping down fizzy sugary sodas. Why else would she need that titanium straw? She's got to have something that can stand up to that Hulk-like clench of hers, after all.
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