During this year’s Oscar season, some celebrity women made a big deal about #AskHerMore. It was all pretty asinine and I ranted about it repeatedly – go here and here to read some of my thoughts. I’m all for asking celebrity women more questions beyond “who are you wearing?” and “how did you choose your jewelry?” but my main argument was: the actresses are getting thousands of dollars in freebies under the condition that they’ll name-drop designers, which is part of the whole red carpet ecosystem you’re signing up for when you, you know, walk a red carpet. Here’s another point: actresses don’t really want to answer the real questions. Like, Reese Witherspoon made #AskHerMore into her pet cause, but I f—king dare a red carpet reporter to ask Reese about her arrest in Georgia and what she thinks of her hammered AMERICAN CITIZEN rant now.
Why bring this up? Because there were some interesting admissions during a panel discussion of some of the big-name celebrity stylists a few days ago. The stylists say that at this point, it’s not even a case of the designers giving freebies to celebrities with the understanding of the quid-pro-quo of a big red carpet name-drop. No, it’s gotten to the point where celebrity women are consistently being paid to wear designers clothes and jewelry.
Celebrity stylists Jessica Paster, Erin Walsh, Brad Goreski, and Brandon Maxwell recently sat down with The Cut senior editor Isabel Wilkinson at the Vulture Festival to discuss a side of the business that is rarely talked about — the financials. Oftentimes, designers pay celebrities and their stylists for a certain dress to be worn at a big event. While stylists Goreski and Maxwell said they’ve never been offered money to dress an A-list client, Paster painted a very different picture.
“It’s prevalent across the board,” said Paster, whose clients have included Cate Blanchett, Emily Blunt, Miranda Kerr, Sandra Bullock, and Rachel McAdams, among many others. “Jewelry people are paying, shoe people are paying, tampon companies are paying, everyone is paying!”
When it comes to celebrity dressing, Paster says the financial breakdown looks something like this:
“It could be just paying the stylist and we get anywhere between $30,000 to $50,0000. Or it’s paying the actress something between $100,000 and $250,000.” But, she warns, “Nothing is ever signed, if a dress works, it works. But if the dress looks awful on a client, $250,000 or less is not worth wearing it. If it looks gorgeous on you and this is the dress we were going to pick anyway, why not be paid?” asked Paster, explaining that she prefers to call paid relationships between celebrities and brands “ambassadorships.”
“They’re ambassadorships and you start relationships with them [the brand], and then eventually, the actress often does get a campaign from them because they have a relationship with her,” explains Paster. “I don’t seek these things out, but I think you put the most beautiful dress on the girl and if you get paid that’s a plus. I’m not going to use a dress that’s not right for a girl and get paid, that’s wrong. I always tell my assistants, don’t worry about the money the money will come, just do a beautiful job.”
Celebrity stylist Goreski admits that brands often do pay to be showcased on the red carpet.
“If someone shows up to the Oscars in a black dress and huge statement necklace, chances are they’re being paid by a jewelry company,” Goreski revealed.
But as for why the topic of celebs being paid to wear certain gowns is so hush-hush, Goreski thinks it’s nobody else’s business.
“Why do any of us need to know how they’re making their money?” asked Goreski. “It’s not like they’re trafficking drugs, they’re being paid to wear a dress. So what? If someone offered me $150,000 to show up in a beautiful custom made gown by X designer, I’d be like, ‘Where do I sign?!'”
Maxwell summed it up quite nicely: “The whole point of an actress having a stylist is so you can make more money, or more people want to hire you, or the brand that you’re wearing is making more money because it’s driving sales. It’s all wrapped up in money — it’s Hollywood — we’re not at church.”
I agree that it’s not illegal or unethical for a celebrity woman to get paid to wear a certain designer, but it’s hypocritical and rude for those women to turn their noses up at the very idea of talking about the designer who A) gave them a free dress and B) paid them to wear said dress. I wonder how much Lupita gets paid? I wonder how much Cate Blanchett gets paid? I’ve heard that Gwyneth Paltrow has gotten seven figures to wear certain jewelry too, so for some of the biggest red carpet women, something like $150,000 is on the low end. Think about that. Crazy, right? And those are the same women who have the audacity to demand that reporters NOT ask them about fashion.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
So they get paid thousands of dollars for WEARING PRETTY CLOTHES but I mean it’s to much work to mention the designers.
Yeah that sounds reasonable.
I don’t think the point is that it’s too much work, it’s that they are above being asked superficial questions that are beneath them. They are Deep Thinkers who want to be asked Meaningful Questions. Which..ha…yes…how delicious would it be if they could be asked real questions regarding arrests and divorces.
That would be awesome and on the red carpet they couldn’t just walk away as easily as during an interwiew;).
Why do you think “real questions regarding arrests and divorces” are appropriate on a red carpet? No one asks male actors about their personal life. #askhermore wasn’t about trying to jump over the clothes questions it was about not getting the rabbit food question when all your male co-stars are being asked about their “process” etc.
I know what an awesome thought! Ask EVERYONE some serious questions. We’ll see how that goes.
@Bea: except that was exactly how actresses like Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington played #askhermore.
Sigh. Rich people get all the financial breaks – and they’re already rich! Poor people (me) pay extra bank fees, interest fees, etc. until it’s impossible to get out of debt.
Testify!
Oh how great to be a star! Once you make it, it seems like money is literally thrown at you from every direction!
I know the irony. Ginger Spice said when she was poor no one gave her anything but when she got rich and famous she got free stuff. I didn’t know these celebs were paid to wear the clothes. That’s knew but I did know that they get paid for appearances. Hollywood Reporter ran a piece a few years back about Hollywood fashion girls like Kate Bosworth and DIan Kruger who get paid thousands to attend events. The article gave a lot of insight and how this stuff works and how much they get paid.
I remember this article …it’s how I knew that the celebrities were paid to go to the opening of brand events or wear clothes/jewels …
The reasons why I was against #AskHerMore was because I knew they were paid to wear the dress…
For the male actors ,it’s a few different.Usually they wear the suit of the designer who also wear their wife( they lend the dress and the suit)
As Leonard Cohen tells us, the poor stay poor, the rich get rich. (Although he also falls into the latter group.) One of life’s many great unfairnesses.
The “Mocktress” article. Freebies are flung at celebrities all the time – just look at those Kardashian eBay sales, they’re typically items they’ve been given for free.
Okay, cool – from now on, reporters should only ask Cate Blanchett why she is such a consistent Woody Allen apologist. I get the feeling she’ll be back to talking about shoes in no time flat.
Or why she’s wearing a dress by a known anti-semit?
So is Amal getting paid too?
Exactly.
Hawk the substantive sob stories to Charlie Rise, Today e.t.c in pursuit of your Oscar
The 2 minute red carpet interview is supposed to be fun & frivolous.
And Cate practically moonwalked onto the red carpet, that’s how much she twirled when she wore that gorgeous embellished Gallinao dress to the Awards years ago.
I guess since she has won her Oscars, she’s too good for all that now.
Let’s be sure to ask Emma Stone, Kristen Stewart and Blake Lively (among many others) why they continue to work with Woody Allen also. I have no problem with calling out actors who continue to support this pedophile, but I don’t understand why only Cate Blanchett seems to be the one on this site who is consistently used as the example who works with and supports him. There are so many actors who have worked with him since the allegations and the Vanity Fair article, so let’s be consistent and ask all of them why they continue to work with him.
Cate has been far more vocal than the others. The others will dodge and weave when he comes up. Cate is probably the most vocal supporter. She’s also one of the biggest critics of the red carpet and how she wishes reporters would ask her more “substantive” questions. Well, I say they should. Ask her about Allen. Ask her about why she’s okay with wearing Galliano, given his nasty history. Let’s give her what she asks for. None of the others, to my knowledge, have carped about the “sexism” of the red carpet.
What vocal supporter? She hasn’t been more vocal than the other at all (Like Scarlett Johanson) but still some pressed souls on the Internet think she is to blamed for this. She was repectful of both parts as any person who has nothing to with the issue at hand could be. And pliss she only did a print interview saying how it is borderline ridiculous all the fuss the media does for just a dress, instead you have women like Reese Witherspoon moaning about #Askhermore and none says anything.
Agreed. Ask her more?
How about, “how did you feel when Woody Allen’s daughter publicly called you out for working with a child molester?”
There. I “asked you more”.
@zinjojo
I agree, we should ask the other actresses as well. Cate just comes to mind first because she has gained the most for working with a
Allen. But you are right. They should all be called out.
I’ve been pretty cynical about the #askhermore thing in the past, but I guess all they’re really asking for is to be treated with the same respect as men on the red carpet. They don’t deserve to be asked inappropriate and embarrassing questions.
But men always get asked who they are wearing, and I’ve seen men do mani cams if they had rings on their fingers.
Women seem to generally interviewed more so if they are not asked about fashion they would get less questions unless they are A-listers.
I hear you mispro… but hold on there one second.
I understand most actresses think it’s dumb and ridiculous, and they have a point.
However, it’s the red carpet.
Inside the actors studio or charlie rose or other interviews/magazine articles where they are asked the more in depth, and thought provoking questions are there at their disposal, are always present for them to get to have a thought provoking conversation about their ‘craft’ or how they relate to a character and all those other things that will get them too that oscar.
The read carpet is about style p0rn. That’s the place where you sit and look at nothing other than hair/make-up/clothing. Whole fashion industries are built on those 3 minutes in front of ryan secreast, and the 19 minutes slowly walking down a path, standing still and smiling…WHOLE INDUSTRIES I tell ya.
My point is that it’s supposed to be light, fun, dumb and HAS to have some fashion in it, because that’s the point of slowly walking down a f*cking path like an idiot, stopping and smiling for 20 minutes or whatever. And that’s the point of ryan seacrest shoving his microphone in front of you asking you dumb questions and asking you to twirl, it’s supposed to be dumb. It has NOTHING to do with the actress, it has to do with her dress, it has to do with entertainment and glitz and ‘show’ and cheesiness.
That’s what I understood of it too. I saw some stuff about it long before it hit the mainstream media, and it was simply an effort to ask women some interesting questions beyond just the usual clothes, hair, makeup, jewelry, diet, etc. It was not about excluding fashion talk completely, and it drives me nuts that it’s turned into this mess people rant about, when the intention was good.
This. I think I love you.
ITA Lucy2
I don’t get how it turned into: Oh, you don’t want to just talk about you dress? Then I’ll ask you about your drunken rant to the cops years ago. Since we always bring up the rehab stints and infidelity scandals when talking to the male actors on the RC. Sigh…
I get your point, but I just don’t think a 90 second interview on the red carpet is really the place for it. Honestly, as a viewer, I don’t care about anything else when I’m watching the red carpet. I think the reason why men are asked different questions on the red carpet specifically is that their fashion is mostly boring. Nine times out of ten it’s just a tux so who cares? There’s just not as much to talk about, so they get asked more about their work, etc. I do think if you look at media in general, there is a call for better interviewing/ questioning of women, but I just don’t think the red carpet is the place to wage that war.
Regardless, I think MP brings up an excellent point, I resent the idea that the only options are talking about the dress or bringing up shameful episodes from one’s past.
michkabibbles, when I saw it first starting, it was at premieres or fundraiser events I think, and they did the typical 60-90 seconds. I remember mentions of the clothes, but then a question like “what do you like to do when you’re not working?” They don’t have to be deep philosophical questions, and it can be a quick thing, but it’s just nice to mix it up a little, especially for the women who are answering the same questions over and over down the press line. Those who were asked stuff like that looked pleasantly surprised and eager to answer.
I think it’s dumb that Reese Witherspoon and some others refuse to answer the standard red carpet questions, but I’ve seen other actresses use #AskHerMore to ask for more interesting questions during the sit-down, promotional interviews not the red carpets and I applaud that. I’ve seen so many of these interviews, where men were asked about the meaning of their character’s journey, their preparation, craft etc. and women who were in the same movie, sometimes even sitting in the next chair, were asked about diets, make-up or motherhood. For me this cause is very good if used properly, but Reese et al. damage it by barking at the wrong tree.
Good points. Did you happen to see the Avengers interview where they reversed the questions meant for Scarlett Johannson and Mark Ruffalo? Suddenly Mark was being asked about diet and fitness. Pretty interesting.
Yes, I saw it. I like these reverse interviews. Men are usually either completely clueless and don’t know how to answer these kinds of questions or try to mock it like it’s the dumbest thing they’ve ever heard.
Wow. If you paid me 6 figures to wear a pretty dress, you better believe I would wear it with a smile on my face and have no problem talking about it.
No wonder the red carpet have been so boring the last couple of years.
This is why I was annoyed when JLaw said she’s wearing “a top and a bottom” or when they pretend they’re so annoyed b ythese questions, and they get paid more money than my dad would make in years.
It’s disrespectful to say the least.
My father always said rich people don’t stay rich by spending their money.
True, they stay rich by speculating other people’s weaknesses over and over again.
HA, so cynical and so true 🙂
I can just picture Reese’s bitchy facial expression if someone asked her that question, her dresses are boring so meh for her
I don’t care if they get paid but don’t stand there and pretend like someone insulted your mother if the question is asked. It’s almost a certainty they all do, like plastic surgery it goes hand in hand
Her bitch face would be epic! I’d pay cash money to see that.
Reese not only gets paid for red carpet — she does candid walks with handbags and other accessories. Girl needs to sit down!
Like many . The brands send some free stuffs to the stylist or the celebrity and suddenly some it girls have the same expensive It Bag who still doesn’t release .
I am pretty sure that Trashadians sisters are paid to wear some outfits
Let’s not forget how they turn their noses at the Internet as well, ignoring the fact that without the Internet they wouldn’t be such huge stars so they probably wouldn’t be paid as much.
These are no longer actors or actresses, they are typical, shrewd business people.
These are the Artists.
If you’re being PAID to wear a pretty dress, what’s the big deal about being asked who you’re wearing? They’re in the acting business, which is largely based on looks. They’re not doctors or ambassadors, etc. I think asking “What are you wearing?” is totally appropriate for the red carpet. Many actresses have an inflated sense of self importance though, so I guess they feel they shouldn’t have to answer such questions.
ITA. ffs, their whole skill set is dressing up and pretending. not rocket science.
i’ll go a step further and include male actors.
they all believe what they contribute is far more lofty than it actually is.
This. They make their living playing Pretend, much as I played when I was 8. They are not curing cancer, taking care of the sick or elderly or teaching inner city children, all for mostly low wages. They aren’t even cooking for someone, or babysitting for terrible wages. They are playing Make Believe. And getting huge bucks to play Make Believe and wear gorgeous clothes. So smile and pimp the clothes.
I can’t believe they think we care about their opinions on anything – if I want an intelligent opinion, I’d listen to Hillary Clinton or Stephen Hawking. Not Reese “I’m an American citizen” Witherspoon. LOL!!
I think all the journalists that cover the events should not mention what they’re wearing at all. Ask about child soldiers, genocides, human trafficking, etc. I bet by the sixth reporter they’d be sweaty, desperate messes with runny mascara blurting out who they were wearing before the “hellos” were finished.
Maybe I just PMSing and need chocolate, though.
Lol! Exactly what would happen. They are in a superficial business, not sure why they expect to be asked deep questions.
The endless questions when they will marry or who they are dating and the status of their uterus should be their number one target when complaining about the sexism in the media.
Hypocrisy knows no bounds eh? Duh. Laughing so hard at the fact the stylists are willing to say these things. Good for them.
+1 Busted, ladies! You can all slide off your high horses now.
There’s a book called “Deluxe: How Luxury lost it’s Luster” that I found really eye opening about the concept of luxury and about how celebrities use and are used by brands. After reading that I’ve never looked at a shining label (Chanel, Dior…) the same way. It also talks about stylists being paid by fashion brands in liposuctions and other enhancements in order to convince a celebrity to use a certain dress.
i have always been of the opinion that Hollywood actresses as feminist spokespersons will only damage the cause tremendously. i dont care about the rare exception, those people mainly care about themselves and their bankaccount and image.
Yeah, the rich get gifted and then the companies write it off as a marketing expense..so what else is new? I would guess certain celebs are also gifted and paid to wear/carry certain items on their pap walks too.
I don’t get why the celebrities don’t just treat this as one of their advertising campaigns.
I think a LOT of companies use photos of celebs with their products for promotion, both with and without their permission. I remember Valentino had to apologize for doing that after they tried to turn a photo of Amy Adams with one of their bags (going to PSH’s memorial service) into a marketing opportunity. And remember Katherine Heigl tried to sue Duane Read or something like that?
But the ones who parade around for the paps regularly definitely get sent stuff for free, or probably even get paid for carrying it around.
+1
For 250,000$ I would wear anything, no matter how awful it was.
Last Beyonce MET mess springs to mind…. I wonder how much was she paid….
I’d wear a rotting version of Gaga’s meat suit for that kind of coin.
I have said in the other post with Chiwetel Ejiofor post the last time the I want to be an actress , which will lead to destruction at this point. @Keiser I happen to agree with you 100% on your point well taken, I will add a few extra points on this not only on #askhermore but #tomuchcomplaintsonbeingfamous (My take on #) . Anyways, actors and actress are so engulfed with being a “good talent” ant yet are so tired of being ” oh I hate to famous” that it make the mass public so sick of the, and wished they just disappear, whether being smug or modest. They have to realize that acting and being famous for your acting come with the territory. Do I want to be an actress? I am side ways on that question because I have mouth that doesn’t have a cover.
I had to laugh so hard over:” I’m not going to use a dress that’s not right for a girl and get paid, that’s wrong.”
SO uncorruptable a person! Who would have guessed.
With an ocean of cut on a bias dresses or column dresses, which differ only in colour I wonder on which basis a stylist recomends a certain outfit.
No wonder only a few and usually the huge messes stay in mind.
I’m not at all surprised that stars get paid to wear that stuff. It is probably the greatest advertisement for a designer, especially if the gown or jewelry piece is a hit and gets a ton of attention. It’s kind of gross that the rich get richer, and so easily, but what can you do? Fame, attention, followers, media coverage, etc – it’s a commodity.
I know I’m one of the few here who supports the idea of AskHerMore, but I don’t think it should be a ban on all fashion talk and mentioning of designers. It’s silly that some media outlets, and a few actresses, took it to that extreme.
I always considered #AskHerMore to be “Ask her more than just about what she’s wearing, what diet she had to do with the role, do you have a maaaaaaaaan yet, what are your thoughts on kids”. I never took it as a reason to NOT ask about fashion like people seem to be grump about.
And every designer has a skeleton in the closet. I’m sure Hugo Boss would really like you to forget they designed Germany’s uniforms from 1933-1945.
This. No one was saying no fashion questions ever. Just don’t follow up ‘who are you wearing’ with questions about spanx and diet and what other people are wearing and whether your shoes hurt and what other dresses you considered wearing…
Well dressed men get asked who they’re wearing, maybe one follow-up question if they actually have cool style like Redmayne. Then they get to talk about their work or share a funny anecdote. Women just get asked about their clothes and bodies.
BTW, the top tier designers don’t give a damn if the actresses name drop them when talking to Ryan Seacrest. The customer base they’re appealing to with their couture designs isn’t watching E!’s red carpet specials. In fact it can actually put their customers off, hence why someone like Tom Ford usually only dresses one woman per event and sometimes dresses no one at all.
Many high end designers wait for their cloths to be photographed in magazines. Not the generic ones but the big sellers. You see many of them on social media tweeting that so and so is wearing their design. Only a very few celebs matter in the long run. There are tons of dresses photographed. But only a select few that are going to make the international press.
Thing is many of the women signing on to AHM spend a lot of time talking about the superficial things. Weight, diet and such.
Yes, exactly – hence the MORE aspect of it.
Jessica, you’re probably spot on about the designers and the E coverage.
Exactly, they used that short interview as a promotional device, so it’s fair to expect the reporter is going to ask about the movie the actress is selling, not just the dress.
Do male actors also get paid to wear suits? This made me think about how women actors get paid less to star in films, but with getting paid a quarter of a million dollars to wear one dress, that can add up over a coarse of a year if you are popular on the red carpet.
Usually the actors has a suit of the designer who also lend the dress of his girlfriend/wife or a suit of his stylist’s fav designer brand ( if he has no girlfriend). For example,Damon and Bale will wear a Gucci suit because Gucci lend a dress to their wife’s
Except the superstars ( Pitt or Clooney…) ,I don’t believe they are paid to wear some outfits.
add other fashion and make up deals to it, some make more than ten million $ for that.
#AskHerMore….LOL LOL no, no, because seriously #IDontCare
The RC at an awards event is a bit different than the RC for the celeb promoting their movie or whatever. One is filled with a diverse group. The other is about you. I don’t expect serious questions on and Awards RC. It should be light and fun. Yes they should ask you who are you wearing.. because it gives the designer a bit of PR. Nothing wrong with that. The consumer gets to see what is is on the runways and decide if this is a designer they want to wear or dream about.
Every celeb gets asked the baby question if they just got married. Men too. If you are newly dating then you get are you going to get married.. or if you are engaged you get the when are you getting married.. These are the same questions people get asked everyday. If you think about your workplace or when you are with family/friends; nothing new. Especially when women are tweeting or on FB or instagram flashing their rings for all to see or making the announcements public. You are saying HEY LOOK WHAT HAPPENED IN MY LIFE. So don’t turn around and say but don’t ask me about it.
I can understand during a photocall or Q & A then yes that is the time when more interesting and varied questions can be asked; but not on a RC when you have about 2 to 5 minutes going down a carpet with many news outlets. You end up getting asked the same thing over and over. That is boring; but there are some celebs that handle it well mainly because fame is not new to them and they know and understand how this game works. I think many of the people that are just now getting attention are the ones that are complaining.. But when the press stops caring to ask them anything you will see them complain about that too.
I would wear a dirty baby diaper and earrings made out of soda cans for 250,00. That’s all I got on this.
“Jewelry people are paying, shoe people are paying, tampon companies are paying, everyone is paying!”
Question: How do I know what brand tampon somebody is wearing on the red carpet? Is it polite to ask? #AskHerMore