Land of the Freeloaders

By ELISA LIPSKY-KARASZ April 17, 2005

WE all know celebrities get free stuff - swag - just for being famous. But did you know that there are some stars who eat, fly, sleep, party, do virtually everything in their day-to-day life for free? All they do is demand it, take it, or simply walk out on the tab. The Hollywood "gimme!" syndrome has run amuck. "It's at a fever pitch right now. It's assumed that if you are a celebrity and show up that you will get something. There are so many real stars and quote-unquote stars who don't even understand that you 'buy' things anymore," says Lori Majewski, executive editor of Us Weekly. It's one thing if you are Cameron Diaz, who has free clothing forced on her even if she offers to pay for it. When she wears a top on the cover of Us Weekly, it's free advertising for that company. But it's another when you are Lara Flynn Boyle, who was famously Punk'd by MTV cameras when she was told she would have to actually pay after a major shopping spree in Los Angeles. Oh, the horror! "Jessica Simpson probably has not paid for things since she started with 'Newlyweds,'" says Majewski, who has worked with Simpson. "People will give her anything. It makes sense. Celebrities are walking billboards. But there are now lesser-known celebrities who think they are entitled. "Reality stars are the worst. They want a free house, a free wedding, they want everything for free. You have C- and D-list celebrities and their hangers-on, and it's created this frenzied environment." There's also the delicate issue of relationships. "Celebrities borrow stuff from designers all the time and don't return it. It depends on the garment, but designers are often reluctant to chase somebody about it," says Mark Silver of Factory PR, who reps lines like Halston and Tracey Reese. So the result is Star Jones, one of the Gimme Syndrome's most notorious victims, throwing a virtually "free" wedding to Al Reynolds by getting "sponsors" to providing services in exchange for press coverage. But she's not the only one manipulating the system. Here are some of the most notorious celebrity freeloaders. Britney Spears The pop tartlet used to be a huge star - and as such is accustomed to the freebie life. Spears would often visit a Greenwich Village Starbucks to load up on caffeine. But one day, she had enough of shelling out for the drinks. She looked at the cashier and said, "Don't you know who I am?" to which the cashier replied, "Yes, but you still have to pay. Sorry." It wasn't the only time: She once attended the Broadway show "Cabaret" at Studio 54 and, according to a spy, "She ate and drank a ton and left early, and never paid for anything. She assumed it was free." (A Spears rep denies the story). Now that Britney has a baby on board, companies better watch out. She'll be looking for gifts for two. Sharon Stone The "Basic Instinct" actress suffered the 'gimme' syndrome early. In 1993, Stone thought that Harry Winston had "given" her a $400,000 diamond necklace while she was promoting the movie "Sliver." When they threatened her with criminal charges unless she gave it back, she sued them for $12 million for "breach of contract." The suit was settled, she gave the gems back and the jewelers agreed to make a gift to AmFar. David Spade The TV funnyman is a popular party guest, until he walks out on the tab, that is. Spade was invited to a concert for a local band at Club Cherry in Los Angeles, and his ticket was "comped"- given to him for free. While he watched the band play, Spade ordered up a mass of drinks. But when he got bored, he simply left - without paying the bill! Instead, the confused wait staff approached other guests thinking that they would take care of the tab for him. Rachel Hunter Hunter, says one event publicist, never met a gift bag she didn't like. In fact, she likes them so much she often takes four or five at a time. She's so determined that, a few years ago, at a Maxim Magazine party in Los Angeles, she left the party but came back to collect a few more bags. Unluckily for her, the police had shut down the event due to overcrowding and were attempting to clear the area. Hunter gamely ignored them, until finally a policeman was forced to yell over a megaphone: "Ma'am! Step away from the goodie bags!" Marisa Tomei The indie princess knows that the best things in life are free. At this year's Sundance, she demanded two of everything, since she was starring in two movies that were in competition. One publicist said: "I was working at a 'swag house,' and Marisa came in twice. She said that she was in two movies and was entitled to more electronics. What can you do but give it to her?" Tomei also demanded that celebrity hairstylist Kevin Mancuso visit her almost daily at her condo to prep her hair for free. Andy Dick He might have had his own reality-TV show, but Andy Dick knows his own worth, and in his mind he's at least a free Vespa. At a party for Vespa in Los Angeles, Dick reportedly threw a fit, said a witness, when he wasn't offered one of the fancy Italian scooters in return for showing up. "The organizers told him, 'We are not giving out Vespas at this party, but maybe we can work something out.' They gave him a goodie bag, but he wasn't happy." Danny Masterson & Bijou Phillips The young hipster couple can be double trouble. Phillips, a notorious party girl, and her boyfriend, Masterson, invented a new game to play while they were staying at a friends house in Park City, Utah, during the Sundance Film Festival. They organized a contest among the houseguests - boys against the girls - to see who could collect the most free gifts from places like the Shutterfly suite at the temporary Marquee West nightclub. But the boys took a day off to go skiing, so Masterson's team lost. "They didn't care what it was, they just wanted to see who could collect the most free stuff!" said a source. Masterson's rep denied that he participated. Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs The rap mogul knows that time is money: He reportedly charged $100,000 to Miami's Hotel Victor for partying at its opening. But on his last trip to Miami, Combs surpassed even his own bounds of penny-pinching. He went to the nightclub Bed, but when he arrived, every table was full of revelers. According to a spywitness, "he demanded the best table with free booze. They gave him a table, but they didn't give him the booze." Combs grabbed the microphone and started rapping. But in revenge, "He stops in the middle of the song," said the witness, "turns off the music, and said 'A bottle of Hypnotq finishes the song.'" That did the trick. It's not the first time this has happened: When Combs was partying with Mick Jagger at Hiro last year, he walked out on a $1,500 tab. Since he had been gifted a dinner at neighboring restaurant Matsuri, he thought the Cristal was on the house, too. Combs later paid up. Anna Nicole-Smith The bodacious former stripper went on a shopping trip at New York's Big Drop boutique - and waltzed out with everything for free! "Entertainment Tonight" was filming her as she was taping her "Anna Nicole Smith" show for E!. She said she would come to the store if she could get $2,000 worth of clothing for free. "That was the condition that she wanted to bring her show there," said a source. Smith had better hope that she gets a lot more free shopping trips: She famously lost her multimillion-dollar inheritance.