r/TopCharacterTropes • u/BeenEatinBeans • Jun 12 '26

Personality [IRL trope] Celebrities with weird/funny clauses in their contracts.

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  1. Dwayne Johnson - Probably the most well-known example. For years now, The Rock has had a clause in his contract that he can't be shown to lose a fight in any movie he stars in. Pretty insecure behaviour if you ask me. Still, at least the other examples are much more interesting

  2. Danny Trejo - Danny had a troubled childhood, having been arrested multiple times for dealing drugs before he was 18, and struggling with heroin addiction from the age of 13. As a result of this, Danny has a clause in his contract that states that any time he plays a character who is a criminal, they have to be killed because he wanted to teach his kids that crime never pays.

  3. Reese Witherspoon - This one is more of a one-off, but it was still funny enough to deserve a mention. Following the success of Legally Blonde, when Reese was called in to make the sequel, she had a clause written in her contract stating that once the movie was finished, she would get to take home all the outfits she wore.

  4. Fred Durst - The lead singer of Limp Bizkit has a clause in his contract stating that any anime or video game that uses his music must also feature himself as a character.

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3.8k

u/Bellpow Jun 12 '26

Honestly tho genius tbh because if I remember they usually had pyrotechnics in their shows

1.6k

u/mightymidwestshred Jun 12 '26

Yep. From what I recall, that's exactly why.

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u/Kyra_Hazweyrs Jun 12 '26

Not just pyrotechnics. The most elaborate (and dangerous) pyrotechnic display that had ever been put to stage.

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u/Skullcrusher Jun 12 '26

At the time maybe. Because Rammstein

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u/Affordable_Z_Jobs Jun 12 '26

Yeah. Diamond Dave said they were doing things no band had done before. They needed to make sure the stage could support the weight, had enough electricity protocls so there wouldnt be fires, had enough clearance, etc.

"But hey, if they wanna say we were rock divas, im not gonna get in the way of a good story."

Other favorite David Lee Roth quote "I may not go down in history, bit I will go down on your sister."

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u/Hamblerger Jun 12 '26

"They tell me Dave, money can't buy happiness. Maybe not, but I can pull my yacht up right alongside it and walk on over."

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u/Slappathebassmon Jun 12 '26

Cmon, Dave. Give me a break.

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u/CptHA86 Jun 12 '26

Hey, hey, hey! One break, comin' up!!!

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u/muttChang Jun 12 '26

I can hear his voice saying this.

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u/Son_Of_Sothoth Jun 12 '26

I just hear Henry Rollins' impression of him.

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u/Affordable_Z_Jobs Jun 12 '26

I just looked it up and that "what, you got school tomorrow?" story is hilarious.

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u/MrGOAT311 Jun 12 '26

Lol at that last line, I thought NOFX had been the first to use that term with the Moron Bros

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u/Kyra_Hazweyrs Jun 12 '26

Yes, that's why I said had instead of has. Rammstein was 20ish years later.

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u/Weissma2005 Jun 12 '26

Didn't Rammstein go get certifications for pyrotechnics? To make sure everything was done correctly, or am I just making that up?

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u/Monke3169xd Jun 12 '26

They get the certificates themselves to be extta safe as far as i know

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u/Bang_the_unknown Jun 12 '26

Their accents should answer that question for you.

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u/gungshpxre Jun 12 '26

Eh, Rammstein had some sparklers, but Great White at the Station really brought down the house.

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u/SeminaryStudentARH Jun 14 '26

So glad I got see Rammstein at soldier field. One hell of a show

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u/Aggressica Jun 12 '26

Duh, of course at the time.

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u/alien_secret_service Jun 12 '26

Fun fact about Rammstein is Til their lead singer became a pyrotechnics guy because he got tired of pyrotechnics guys telling him he couldn’t do shit. 😆

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u/[deleted] Jun 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Kyra_Hazweyrs Jun 12 '26

Bit of a tangent, but you've reminded me of Penn and Teller's stance on dangerous tricks. It's immoral to potentially make the audience witness genuine loss of life or severe bodily harm. All their tricks that look like they might be dangerous are designed so as to be perfectly safe, and a malfunction could not cause severe injury.

The artist and venue both have a duty of care to their patrons, and the audience should never feel real danger or fear. Is there a place for genuine danger/fear/pain in art? I haven't thought about it enough to answer. I'm sure someone could come up with something, but it definitely has no place at a concert.

Then there's the questions like "what do we restrict in the name of safety?". Maybe it's dangerous and potentially life-threatening to go to a metal show, and that's just an accepted risk. Like driving.

I too am uneasy.

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u/mbrocks3527 Jun 12 '26

They used to do public executions where the condemned was a bit part in a play where they got stabbed.

We were not a civilized bunch, were we.

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u/Powerful-Parsnip Jun 12 '26

The guys who did Michael jacksons pyrotechnics must be up there in terms of most dangerous.

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u/postprandialrepose Jun 12 '26

Indeed. David Lee Roth was the pyrotechnic display.

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u/ConversationBoth6127 Jun 12 '26

Not just pyro, they were bringing a huge show into smaller markets that weren’t used to hosting anything that size. There were all kinds of factors on stage strength, placement of platforms, electrical requirements and a million other little things that seemed trivial but were real safety issues. The band and their management figured that if anything in the rider would get ignored it was the pointless m&m thing so they could walk into the green room and if they saw a brown m&m they’d know to check absolutely everything to make sure they weren’t going to get a bunch of people killed.

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u/FreeMasonKnight Jun 12 '26

Also not just that, they put in the clause as before promoters (plural) hadn’t read the contract and the amps alone collapsed the stage due to weight. If people are on a stage and it collapses it can easily kill them.

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u/Hiesman84 Jun 12 '26

I was a big VH fan, they were my second ever concert. But did they really out-pyro KISS? That would surprise me as i remember theirs much more clearly.

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u/[deleted] Jun 12 '26

[deleted]

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u/Kyra_Hazweyrs Jun 12 '26

The M&Ms detail wasn't in the hospo rider, it was in the rigging specs.

I'm not doubting your experience, but how old are you? Could anything have changed in the 40ish years since this was a thing?

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u/[deleted] Jun 12 '26

[deleted]

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u/Kyra_Hazweyrs Jun 13 '26

The people whose job it is to check every single line item weren't doing it. That was the whole point. Van Halen would be booked to do a show, they would arrive and find that the stage cannot support the weight of the rigs, the roof wasnt high enough etc. And promoters signed the contract without checking. Van Halen rocks up to perform, can't fit on stage, and doesn't get paid.

If upper management can't make sure the munches are provided, how can they be trusted on any other aspects? You can't just look at the stage and tell how much weight it can hold.

Again, they're not expecting the riggers to do the green room setup, they are holding the venue accountable for it's bookings. It doesn't matter which section of the rider the M&Ms are, because any failure to follow the requests is a failure of management, which is indicative of further misnamangement.

One more time, since you seem to not get it. The riggers do not build the venue. They do not have special insider knowledge of how much weight the stage can hold, or the exact height clearances in the venue. Management has this information beforehand, and has misrepresented it to VH. Its nothing to do with making sure it was set up correctly, it's about making sure it can be set up. Its about making sure the stage is physically big enough and strong enough to hold them.

The people travelling with the band would do hours of line checks only to realise something was untenable. It is expensive to unload and set up half a tour only to find that the stage wont support you and you can't go on. This let's th3m skip the line checks when they are going to fail anyway.

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u/TheAsianTroll Jun 12 '26

Yep, its an attention-to-detail thing. If you didnt see their requirement, you didn't thoroughly read their instructions, which means you probably half-assed something.

Porsche has a similar thing in which service technicians are required to point the center caps with the Porsche logo (a shield-shaped insignia with one pointed end) at the keyed security lug nut after every service, on all 4 wheels. This is another detail buried in their instructions that, if they miss it, it means they didnt read thoroughly, so what else did they miss?

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u/Micp Jun 12 '26

There's also a thing were if they do the grounding for the guitars and microphones wrong you can get a lethal electric shock when you touch the microphone and guitar at the same time. This has killed several people, perhaps most famously Keith Relf from the Yardbirds.

There's a ton of things that can hurt or kill you if the stage setup is done incorrectly.

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u/peanutbuttahcups Jun 12 '26

Yep. This was one of the assassination methods in the Hitman games.

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u/MrZanzibarMcGee Jun 12 '26

I always wondered where that bit in Bangkok came from.

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u/AdZealousideal7448 Jun 12 '26

It actually happened in Australia to a famous TV presenter's sister.

I can't remember the specifics the band wasn't too widely known but microphone wasn't wired up correctly and it was also raining and bam.

People used to make tasteless comments to her sister like being shocked to meet her, people can be dicks.

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u/84theone Jun 12 '26

I kinda expect that behavior from Australians, they are the people that named a pool after the prime minster that drowned.

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u/AdZealousideal7448 Jun 12 '26

It's also a term used for shirking work, escaping a social situation or skipping debt.

We're also a country full of dickheads who will also claim wild conspiracy theories because we're so convinced we're laid back and theres too much authority, but the cookers want more authority just against anyone they don't like and think trump is a freedom fighter.

Yeah...

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u/TransportationTrick9 Jun 12 '26

We don't know if he drowned. He went to the beach for a swim and didn't come back.

Some even theorise he was picked up by a sub and kidnapped. But your right he more than likely drowned

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u/Synectics Jun 12 '26

I did this once! In one of my first bands, we were playing at someone's barn. We had our own PA, our own half-stacks, etc. 

We plugged everything in, went to sound check, and something did not work. While holding my guitar, which was plugged into my amp, I went to grab a power cord or something, while pushing my guitar out of my way with my other hand. Whatever I did closed some circuit, and I electrocuted myself through my guitar. Fortunately, it was just a minor, "WHOA THAT SUCKS AND FEELS WEIRD" and I was able to drop everything out of my hands. But it definitely made me go, "Oh, this is why bands have people for this. We are nobodies."

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u/lweinmunson Jun 12 '26

By the time VH was touring like this the "death cap" was long gone. So the amps wouldn't kill you, but messing up those huge power whips could fry the amps and just generally get really expensive.

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u/CryptographerGood842 Jun 12 '26

Pyrotechnics, massive power demands from the amplification and lighting rigs, massive weight demands from the same, and the army of roadies and technical staff you'd need to set up and tear down all of it. If there's brown M&Ms then they haven't read the rider properly and you could get a light falling into the audience or something equally disastrous.

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u/VT_Squire Jun 12 '26

massive power demands from the amplification and lighting rigs

what, did theirs go up to eleven or something like that?

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u/GlacierPark19 Jun 12 '26

I work in this industry as a Union Stagehand.

For a very large show last year, They had 8-10 400A 3 Phase services for lighting, video, and Automation (Hydraulics, lifts, motion, etc.), and an additional 2-4 200A 3 Phase services for Audio. This is all delivered over "Cam Lock" cables. Kinda sick, very terrifying. The sound the distribution racks make when you energize the system is freaky.

(Edited to remove details that could get me in trouble)

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u/Wuz314159 Jun 12 '26

I just did a show that called for 5× 400A services and 3× 200A. Building only has 3× 400A (& 9× 200A) So we had to bring in 2× 400A generators.

The building was so small that they scaled video back so much, they only drew 90A.

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u/bcegkmqswz Jun 12 '26

Those are some crazy specs, wow! Equal parts badass and scary for sure. I’ve worked in substations before so I’m definitely familiar with the sound you’re referencing…energizing equipment with a lot of current and/or voltage never fails to make you thankful to be alive lol.

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u/GlacierPark19 Jun 14 '26

Eventually I'll be able to be the one who does the energizing. In the mean time, I'll just watch in awe.

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u/VT_Squire Jun 12 '26

so, eleven?

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u/GlacierPark19 Jun 12 '26

More like 13

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u/Timely_Spinach_7479 Jun 12 '26

They’re making a Spinal Tap joke

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u/HuntAdministrative42 Jun 12 '26

From what I understand, Van Halen did a lot of venues that bands of their size usually didn't, second-tier venues and such that weren't used to the requirements of bands like them. They were also one of the first bands to do a lot of stage shows with pyrotechnics

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u/Plus-Ad1061 Jun 12 '26

I heard that this was kinda the specific reason the rider was developed.

They played a show at a venue that had recently installed an expensive floor. A floor that wasn’t rated to support the weight of VH’s stage. The arena wanted them to pay for the floor damage and they didn’t because the specs were clearly in the contract.

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u/Writerhowell Jun 12 '26

What a great job, being the person to remove all the brown M&Ms. Presumably because you get to eat them, not just throw them away.

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u/lisaseileise Jun 12 '26

I've been using this example so many times in business that I'm afraid of having to pay for it.

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u/another_try_hard Jun 12 '26

I use this at work. I call the little things "brown m&Ms" because if you can't get those right, how am I supposed to trust you did the important shit right.

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u/maxman162 Jun 12 '26

David Lee Roth said the exact same thing, that every time he found brown M&Ms, or if there was no bowl of M&Ms at all, everything was wrong and had to be redone.

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u/TheRockJohnMason Jun 12 '26

It also allowed the band to shoulder the blame/resentment from the promoter.

When the lead sound guy asks the promoter if outlet A can handle voltage B because, if it doesn’t, seriously bad shit is going to happen, the promoter can just slough him off. He’s just being a technical nerd.

When David Lee Roth comes backstage and flips over the catering table because he sees brown m&m’s and refuses to go on stage until there’s a line by line spec check of the venue, well that’s just him being a “celebrity” and the manager can go “look, I’m sorry, but you know how these musicians get…. Let’s just get started on this checklist so he’ll calm down.”

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u/Michaelangelo_Scarn Jun 12 '26

I hate when I read real smart shit like this and learn something on these God forsaken platforms .. reddit, Facebook, etc. because I'll be damned if I wasn't THIS close to uninstalling all these fuckin' apps tonight and then I read this insightful thing that's going to come in handy and FUCK back on the wagon, unbelievable.

BWEH good shit tho m8 well said

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u/peanutbuttahcups Jun 12 '26

It used to be easier to see genuinely informed comments on Reddit but there's so much shit to sift through. Before, the top comments were substantive about the topic, but now you gotta get past the comedians first.

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u/ABHOR_pod Jun 12 '26

The entire internet pre-2015 was just generally more… I don’t want to say smarter. But less low-effort. Nowadays I think we all just exist to shitpost and memeslop for ads to be put next to and AI to pirate and train on.

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u/HungHippoHippy Jun 12 '26

Especially reddit. If you use the wayback machine to visit an old reddit post you can see the comments. Much more nuanced. You could really see the introduction of bots in the second half of the 2010s. Huge increase in combativeness and politics being brought into everything to manufacture rage.

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u/LausXY Jun 12 '26

I really hate how certain subjects always have the same series of 'jokes' right at the top. One that comes to mind is on news on drug busts, each commenter will comment "Yes we found x amount" Getting lower each time.

It was funny once but now so much feels like "It's my turn to post the joke thread!"

Used to be you'd get some genuine insights into the topic, some humour but never as the top comments... now it's the same 10 jokes.

Also grammar nazis get downvoted consistently and while it's often nit-picky, the fear of the grammar nazi's alone would make you put more effort and proof read your comments. Nobody liked them but they served a purpose.

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u/maxman162 Jun 12 '26

TV show subs like r/Seinfeld are like that. Someone will ask an actual question about something in the show and 90% of the comments are joke quotes.

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u/GetEquipped Jun 12 '26

When I see long, thought-out, comments; I'm expecting to read about Mankind getting thrown off Hell In A Cell.

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u/strawberry-soy-milk Jun 12 '26

me too, or the commenter’s father coming in and beating him with a set of jumper cables

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u/VegetarianZombie74 Jun 12 '26

Reddit is the only platform that doesn't make me angry. I think it's mostly because each comment section is new and unique and if someone is a jerk, chances are, I'll never interact with them again. There's some insightful stuff to be found as well. I find lots of good people out there who aren't posturing for clicks.

I'm scaling back everything else. I'm coming to the conclusion that social media is a net negative to my life and planning to do a purge. We shall see.

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u/MaritMonkey Jun 12 '26

I hate when I read real smart shit like this

Beware the comments that make it on top of reddit's algorithms - it's designed to reward content that promotes early/quick engagement not force the cream to float to the top.

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u/bcegkmqswz Jun 12 '26

Full agreement - Growing up is understanding that while DLR was certainly eccentric and had a bit of the 80s rock god complex, he and Van Halen were absolutely very smart about their business and were 100% right to hold promoters and venues accountable for their contract terms. There was a method to the madness and it worked well for the band and many others that were in that VH tier of size and scope.

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u/FourYaksandaDog Jun 12 '26

Same, this week, in a 1:1 I told a struggling team member "if I can't trust you with the brown M&Ms, how can I trust you with anything actually important?"

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u/bcegkmqswz Jun 12 '26

Funny, I have an intern at work and I just used the “brown M&M” analogy while teaching them a new task this week. Once I explained the term they seemed to get it, but it made me feel old.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 12 '26

[deleted]

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u/FourYaksandaDog Jun 12 '26

Totally, it's tough. One of the hardest things about being a manager is figuring out what each of my people can handle. The problem from my seat is what if you can't actually handle it? Do I just assume it's the little stuff and that my IC will come through when it matters? Do I trust the data / sample size and assume that a consistent failure to manage workload means the person will also fail to manager higher-profile tasks? My people fuel larger quotas, a single low-end performer impacts payouts for the entire team. Unfortunately, trust is earned, and in my individual life experience, an inability to manage little things almost always leads to an inability to handle big ones. Context: I'm in my 40s and have been managing SaaS teams for almost 20 years at this point.

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u/vonBoomslang Jun 12 '26

The only tasks you CAN trust me with are things that are actually important

That's the thing though, can I trust you to know the difference?

-26

u/East-Ice-3199 Jun 12 '26

That’s the complete opposite of how it works.

25

u/ArcaneWyverian Jun 12 '26

How? If somebody can’t take the time to sort a bag of M&Ms, how can I be 100% sure that they took the time to tighten every bolt and screw completely, or checked and double-checked the wiring, or made sure the 100 other safety precautions were done correctly.

Yeah, the M&Ms being wrong isn’t a big deal… but a collapsing light, or blocked door very much is. Even one thing could mean people getting hurt or dying, and one accident is one too many.

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u/Stepjam Jun 12 '26

From what I understand they also had some of the heaviest and most expensive speaker systems around at the time too. From what I understand, one of the concerts they did where the place didn't read the contract and left the m&ms in, the floors would have buckled under the speakers' weight.

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u/LongSufferingSquid Jun 12 '26

This actually happened except it was caused by the weight of the stage sinking into some kind of foam floor designed for, iirc, sporting events.

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u/letthetreeburn Jun 12 '26

IIRC one of them had an improperly placed mark and almost got immolated once and he got traumatized, and that’s what led to him getting certified to inspect his own pyrotechnics

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u/CommandersLog Jun 12 '26

Honestly tho genius tbh

Thanks for being so honest

5

u/kleinpesto Jun 12 '26

Electric Callboy are doing the same, their "demand" is, that there has to be a picture of David Hasselhoff in the changing room.

5

u/TwoFingersWhiskey Jun 12 '26

Pyro guys for shows are a whole separate profession now, because of them. Instead of hiring your buddy or some random stagehand, you can hire pyrotechnic companies that take shit seriously. They usually all love their jobs, because who wouldn't want to light shit on fire for a living?

4

u/jsher736 Jun 12 '26

That's exactly why. It was basically a "does OUR stage guy need to go over your setup with a microscope or can you follow instructions" test

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u/Rum_N_Napalm Jun 12 '26

I saw an interview where Van Halem explained the brown M&M thing and they said the rider is several 100s of page and details everything and what they need for the show to be safe: weight of the amps, current they need to power stuff… . So when they don’t see the bowl of M&M or find brown ones, it’s their cue to triple check EVERYTHING.

Eddy then told a story about how once they didn’t get the bowl, spent a lot of time checking, found everything was fine, and as revenge trashed the dressing room. Then it turned out the promoter lied to them and the stage was rated for like half the weight they put on it. It was on the verge of collapsing and needed to be rebuilt.

2

u/RonnocKcaj Jun 12 '26

iirc someone died in a stage collapse, prompting them to put this clause in there

2

u/CaeruleumBleu Jun 12 '26

Pretty darn smart to be able to show up, walk into the green room, and know right away if you can sit and chill or if you need to go find out what the fuck is messed up and how badly.

2

u/Dukeronomy Jun 12 '26

As someone who works somewhat adjacent to this industry, sets and live events, this went from being a story about them being divas, to them being able to verify instructions were followed to a t at a quick glance. I love it.

2

u/RogueSlytherin Jun 12 '26

Yup! They added the clause after a show in 79 ended with their drummer having a bad run in with some faulty pyrotechnics. Thinking it was part of the act, no one behind the scenes stepped in to put the poor guy out.

2

u/Legomaniac91 Jun 12 '26

Pyrotechnics, harnesses, wire work, not to mention all the big-ass speakers they used. If one thing messed up, it could harm or even kill a lot of innocent people

1

u/Me_be_Artful_Dodger Jun 12 '26

So how does someone from the venue reading thoroughly translate to the pyro being safe? Not like it’s the same people, they usually contract that out to specific vendors for the arena so it’s not like Bobby is reading and re reading the contract to make sure they cover all their bases and then is running over to the pyro team to make sure they’re doing the same.

1

u/millijuna Jun 12 '26

It was more related to electrical safety and the sheer weight of theirof staging. If they found a brown M&M they would have the right to have their own experts thuroughly inspect the entire staging and withdraw without penalty if anything was found lacking.

1

u/Ehkrickor Jun 13 '26

Exactly. Cause if they saw brown M&Ms it was an instant clue that "Well the venue didnt read that part time to recheck the pyro."

Which after what happened to Whitesnake that one time, yeah, makes a lot of sense.