The Biggest Celebrity Stories to Come Out of Coachella
While “Beyoncé gives birth to twins onstage at Coachella” would have a been a helluva headline, that isn’t happening now that she’s bailed. However, the music festival held in Indio, Calif., which is overrun with celebrities (and celebuspawns!), will go on. In fact, the stars are already descending on the desert — via private plane, of course — to get the party started.
Because it’s a popular event for the Hollywood crowd, it’s also been the backdrop for some good gossip through the years. Think: drug drama, hot hookups, and — gasp — dad dancing. We look back at some of the most memorable celebrity-related headlines here. …
Vanessa Hudgens and White Chocolate-Gate
The Disney Channel alum has become one of the faces of the festival through the years. In 2011, the queen of hippy chic found herself in a scandal when she was photographed sampling a “strange white substance” from a “zippered pouch” as she soaked up the Cali sun. Bloggers went wild speculating what it was — ranging from cocaine to Fun Dip — and her publicist actually issued a formal denial, saying that the High School Musical star wasn’t using drugs; she was licking “white chocolate” instead. Perfectly logical, right?
Much like her nude photo scandal, ole white-chocolate-gate has followed the actress for years. She was asked about it in 2013 in a Marie Claire profile and said, “I couldn’t do anything but laugh. It’s amazing how people like to create something out of absolutely nothing.”
Rihanna, the Great and Powderful
Rihanna’s love of ganja is well known, and there were many photos like this of her in 2012.
However, one of the photos she posted herself showed her sitting on her bodyguard’s shoulders as she poured a white substance on his head. Commenters speculated that she “rolled a blunt on that dude’s head,” but others suggested it was cocaine. In this case, there was no publicist trying to suggest it was chocolate, and she later told Vogue that year people should have known it was marijuana. “I don’t do cocaine,” she said.
Memories don't live like people do #coachella
A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on Apr 17, 2012 at 9:19pm PDT
Three years later though, she found herself in a similar position at a Coachella party. Video footage showed her sitting at a table fiddling with something and then rubbing her nose. That time, the Barbadian beauty took to Instagram to rant, “Any fool could see that’s a joint that I’m basing with cigarette. Who tF snorts tobacco??!! FOH witcho ‘never been to a rodeo so someone squeezing their nose means they’re doing coke’ lookin a**!!” OK then.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Dancing King of the World
Not all the stories are drug-related. Remember when Leo danced like this in 2014? It remains one of our favorite thing on the Interwebs.
Speaking of Leo, he also made headlines last year there when he met up with Rihanna (when they were romantically linked) at the Neon Carnival. Whatever may have been happening soon fizzled though. After all, he’s a tried and true modelizer and has been dating Nina Agdal since last year.
Robert Pattinson: The Dad Dancer
The world also had a chuckle over RPattz’s dance moves in 2015. What lit the Twilight alum’s fire that night, alongside FKA twigs, was a Drake performance.
But, hey, at least he was having fun. A few years earlier, in 2013, he was there with then-girlfriend Kristen Stewart. Interest in them was at record levels (the cheating scandal was the year before) and it seemed like every photo of them was overanalyzed by Twi-hards and us. When you think of it that way: Dance on, Rob.
Justin Bieber Gets Bounced
The Biebs really wanted to dad dance himself at the Drake show in 2015. But when he arrived with his entourage, the venue was at capacity and they weren’t allowed in. Needless to say, that didn’t sit well with the shirtless selfie lover. Security was called and he was put into a chokehold before they were tossed from the event. Bieber threatened legal action against the security guards. No word on how that is going (but we can only guess nowhere).
Gerard Butler Did What in the Porta-Pot?
The Scottish actor was fresh outta rehab in 2012 when he went to the fest, which is definitely a temptation tester. While he reportedly stuck to his sobriety pact, he couldn’t resist the ladies. According to Page Six, he was dancing all up on one brunette (not necessarily the one below) during a show before they headed out to a porta-potty together to … draw your own conclusion.
The Time Lindsay Lohan Planned Rehab Around Coachella
LiLo has done so many rehab stints that they blend together a bit, but in 2013, she was facing a court-ordered 90-day stint. Because she was such a royal mess, she planned it around going to Coachella because she couldn’t miss the big party. So that year there was a big focus on whether or not she would stay sober there — or do something Lindsay-level stupid. She even had her people deny that she was drinking and drugging there. As for that stint in rehab — number six — she ultimately completed it, no doubt going in kicking and screaming.
A Disney Kid Gets Arrested
This sad face belongs to Disney XD’s Lab Rats actress Kelli Berglund, who was arrested at Coachella last year. The brunette, who was busted for using a fake ID, brought the tears for her mug shot. All that said, it didn’t derail her weekend. After she was cited and released, she continued to enjoy herself at the fest — and document it all on social media. Good news for her if she goes back this year? She’s 21. Party on.
Aaron Paul Meets His Future Bride
As the story goes … boy met girl at Coachella. Girl was involved with someone else. Boy vowed to get girl to fall in love with them. The next year, boy and then-single girl shared their first kiss on the Coachella Ferris wheel.
The Path actor and the Kind Campaign co-founder have been married since 2013 and are now talking babies. The music-loving couple also regularly hosts jam sessions with emerging artists at their home. What do they call it? Paulchella.
What will happen this year at Coachella that will be added to the list? Time will tell. Coachella, which will have Lady Gaga stepping in for headliner Bey, kicks off today and runs through Sunday — and they’ll be doing it all again next weekend.
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