CELEB: JENNIFER LOPEZ
DICTATOR: GURBANGULY BERDIMUHAMEDOW
WHEN: 2013
Jennifer Lopez made big news when she sang “Happy Birthday” to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. Now, you’re probably wondering two things. One, did we fall asleep on our keyboards? No. And two, what’s the big deal? Well, the big deal is that Berdimuhamedow is the crazy dictatorial president of Turkmenistan, a place Human Rights Watch has labeled one of the “world’s most repressive countries.” Whoops!
Lopez — who was paid a cool $1.5 million for the gig — and her reps tried to spin it by saying she was hired to do a corporate gig for China National Petroleum Corp., then was asked to do a last-minute b-day shout-out to Berdimuhamedow. We’re calling bullshit, but that’s the story they’re sticking to.
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