These days, all kinds of celebs are getting into the NFT business.
Whether you love NFTs, totally hate 'em, or still can't quite get your head around what the big deal is, I think we can all agree that these celebrity NFT projects from this year are weird, wild, and worth talking about:
1. Lindsay Lohan's Fursona
🔥UNBELIEVABLE!🔥 @lindsaylohan's Friends of the Cartel #NFT sold for 1.3 $ETH ($4,408.77)!! Congrats to the winner claiming the 1st minted #FotC piece, and a big thanks to Lindsay!!! Let’s give them a howl in the comments mutts! Be on the lookout for more Friends soon! https://t.co/zfLEVswbYd
Lindsay Lohan is into NFTs in a big way. She told Forbes, "It’s only a matter of time till everyone in Hollywood and beyond gets involved...I see a future where crypto, NFTs and blockchain will be the norm, rather than the exception." But her NFT projects have also attracted controversy. In September, she released an NFT of her canine fursona, which was widely panned by the furry community for a lack of authenticity in representation and over environmental concerns. One critic told Rolling Stone, "Most of the top tier furry artists and furries at large (but not all) stand against NFTs due to the environmental impact of them." Lohan has since deleted her tweets featuring the fursona.
2. Snoop Dogg's NFT Sitcom With the Harlem Globetrotters
Check it. An NFT sitcom feat. me, Junebug and THE Harlem Globetrotters drops at 2:11 pm EST/11:11 am PST at https://t.co/u55yw1GuKB. It’s 1 of 1. #spreadgamedrop1
In October, Snoop Dogg announced that he's starring in an NFT sitcom with the Harlem Globetrotters titled "Da Dogg Gone Gym." The sitcom's release will be part of a larger NFT project and will promote the Globetrotters' new theme song penned by Snoop himself. Outside of this venture, Snoop Dogg is also an avid NFT collector. In September, he revealed that he's the man behind the alias Cozomo de’ Medici, the proud owner of $17 million worth of NFTs.
3. Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction Friction
The original, handwritten screenplay of the "Royale with Cheese" scene will soon be on sale! Alongside the screenplay, is a recording of Quentin Tarantino revealing secret details only available to the owner. Buy a piece of cinema history: https://t.co/geYd0rWtaS
Quentin Tarantino is actually being sued over his NFT offerings. The director announced plans to auction off scans of his original handwritten Pulp Fiction script as NFTs. But the film's production company, Miramax, filed a suit against him, saying that the NFTs would violate their copyright and trademark. The suit hasn't been heard in court yet, but when it's resolved, it could set a precedent for how other copyright cases involving NFTs are handled in the future.
4. Grimes' Army of Space Babies
5. Jack Dorsey's First Tweet
just setting up my twttr
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold his very first (and TBH not very exciting) tweet as an NFT in March 2021 for more than $2.9 million. Though anyone reading this could easily screenshot the tweet and add it to their JPEG collection literally right now, the NFT version was "signed and verified" by Dorsey, kinda like a digital autograph. The proceeds from the sale were converted to bitcoin and donated to GiveDirectly for their COVID relief efforts in Africa.
6. Eminem's NFT Beat
SHADY CON is goin down Sunday on @niftygateway hit the site for more - https://t.co/zihP6IDviC
In April, Eminem fan Tom MacDonald bought a beat called "Stan's Revenge" for $100,000 from "Shady Con" — an online festival where Eminem sold a variety of digital collectibles. But the story doesn't stop here. MacDonald took the beat and rapped a tribute to Eminem that's been watched on YouTube more than 13 million times. Talk about a Stan.
7. Kings of Leon
RT @StJude: This just in...from space! You're looking at the phone that played the first-ever minted NFT song in #space, @KingsOfLeon's "Time in Disguise." The winner of this auction will win the phone and meet the @inspiration4x crew and the band. https://t.co/w9t3TJjEOr
In September, Kings of Leon became the first band to send an NFT to space. They recorded a live version of their song "Time in Disguise," minted it as an NFT, and loaded it on an iPhone. Then, to get the song into space, they teamed up with Grimes' ex's company SpaceX. The NFT orbited the Earth for three days on the first human space flight with only civilians on board. Proceeds from the sale were donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
8. Paris Hilton's Incredibly Cute NFTs
In honor of my Grandma, I’m so grateful to have included her memory in my first #NFT exhibition with the piece “Hummingbird In My Metaverse.” 💕🕊Today is her birthday, I miss her so much.🥺 She was such a force in my life. Thank you @BlakeKathryn for helping me create this piece
Environmental impacts aside, another common critique of NFTs is that many of them aren't super aesthetically pleasing. But Paris being Paris, she's partnered with designer Blake Kathryn to create digital art NFTs that are actually super freakin' cute — and the collection sold for $1.1 million. The heiress is so big on the blockchain at the moment that she even named two of her dogs Crypto Hilton and Ether Reum.
9. Tony Hawk's Last Ollie
10. Shawn Mendes' Digital Clothes
Thanks @genies for partnering with @shawnfoundation to launch a Wonder Grant for digital artists, & an auction/digital drop on @opensea, proceeds going to SMF. Text WONDER to 16503767980 to claim a free digital wearable & nominate a digital artist https://t.co/P0W8O4Egsi
In February, Shawn Mendes announced he was auctioning off digital wearables, including a virtual copy of his guitar and a vest that he wore to perform in Mexico City. Buyers are able to "wear" these items on their personal digital avatars. All told, the NFT collection sold for just over $37K, and Mendes donated his portion of the proceeds to the Shawn Mendes Foundation Wonder Grants.
11. Stan Lee's Posthumous NFTs
From championing diversity to embracing new tech, Stan was 1 step ahead of the curve. To honor his innovative spirit, Stan's 1st Indian hero, Chakra The Invincible, debuts in his own NFT (digital art) collection from 7:30pm PT 12/27-12pm PT 12/29! Sign up: https://t.co/Crub8yo09X
In December, a tweet posted by comic creator Stan Lee's verified account announcing an NFT project stirred up controversy among his fans. Lee died in 2018. The tweet was made to promote an NFT collection by Orange Comet centered on Chakra the Invincible. However, fans felt that using Lee's legacy to market digital collectibles was disrespectful and disingenuous. Even Dictionary.com weighed in on the debate, tweeting, "The verb 'defile' was first recorded in 1275–1325, and comes from the Old French word 'defouler,' meaning 'to trample on, violate.'"
12. John Cena's NFT Mistake
Grab your limited-edition @JohnCena NFT RIGHT NOW! @bitski Available NOW: https://t.co/6vCaEYoL9I
In August, the WWE announced it had minted a series of NFTs in honor of wrestler John Cena. The NFTs were offered for sale as part of a bundle with physical merchandise like hats, shirts, and autographed pictures, but they didn't sell as well as had been hoped for. In fact, only 7% of the items sold. By September, Cena was calling the project a "catastrophic failure," saying, "Myself and the folks in the WWE thought $1,000 was a fair price point. We were wrong. We were absolutely wrong." It goes to show that not all celeb NFT projects are big moneymakers.
13. Emily Ratajkowski Buys Herself Back
Buying Myself Back: A Model for Redistribution. This NFT will be available at auction @ChristiesInc on May 14. https://t.co/lyiHPpG8EI
In May, model Emily Ratajkowski auctioned off an NFT of herself posing with a controversial art piece by the artist Richard Prince. Prince had taken the model's Instagram posts without her knowledge (one of which was a nude), printed them on large canvas, and exhibited them as part of his "New Portraits" series. In the past, Ratajkowski has expressed discomfort with Prince's art, and told the New York Times that she sees her NFT as a way of reclaiming her ownership of her own image. She said, "As somebody who has built a career off of sharing my image, so many times — even though that’s my livelihood — it’s taken from me and then somebody else profits off of it." The NFT sold for $140,000.
What's your take on NFTs? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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