Be honest! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most ridiculous instances when celebrities misrepresented their upbringings with over-the-top tales of hardship, to make their rise to fame seem more dramatic.
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00:00What kind of did your dad drive you to school in?"
00:03"'So, my dad did…'
00:04"'No, why not?'
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be looking at the most ridiculous instances when
00:09celebrities misrepresented their upbringings with over-the-top tales of hardship to make
00:14their rise to fame seem more dramatic."
00:16"'I bet you'll hear my whistle blowin' when my train rolls in.'"
00:20Bob Dylan
00:21Regarded as one of the greatest songwriters ever, Bob Dylan crafts intricate tales with
00:25his tunes.
00:26"'My son's a singer who actress 24 years, owns a tobacco farm of 600 acres.'"
00:33However, some of the stories he has told about his own life border on outright fiction.
00:37Dylan, who was raised in Minnesota by both parents, once claimed that he didn't actually
00:40know them.
00:41"'My father and his brothers, they had an electrical store.
00:45The first job I ever had was sweeping up the store, and I was supposed to learn the
00:50discipline of hard work or something.'"
00:52This lie was later debunked by a reporter who spoke with Dylan's brother, and revealed
00:56that he'd brought his parents to his shows and put them up at nearby hotels.
00:59The singer also claimed he was raised in New Mexico and ran away to join a carnival in
01:03his teens.
01:04"'Circuses came through.
01:05There were tent shows at the Kearney Midways, and they had barkers.'"
01:09In reality, he remained in Minnesota until he dropped out of college in his first year
01:13and moved to New York to chase his musical dreams.
01:19Kylie Jenner
01:20In 2019, Forbes magazine stirred up quite the commotion by declaring Kylie Jenner as
01:24the world's youngest self-made billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $1 billion.
01:28"'I knew I was passionate about makeup, but I didn't know I could have fun every day doing
01:32my job.'"
01:33In the same interview, Jenner, who was 21 at the time, backed the self-made label, claiming
01:37she was cut off financially by her parents at 15.
01:40She essentially implied that she had single-handedly built her cosmetics empire without any inherited
01:45wealth.
01:46"'I was so focused on formula and color, but everything else just kind of fell into
01:51place.'"
01:52But many in the public weren't buying it.
01:53After all, Jenner had a massive head start, born into immense privilege, and able to capitalize
01:57on her family's famous name.
01:59With the public backlash mounting, Jenner eventually did an about-turn, admitting she
02:02had a lot of help and a huge platform.
02:04"'If you're building something from the ground up, like, do something that you're passionate
02:08about so you just have fun every day and you love what you do.'"
02:14Drake
02:15Started from the bottom, now he's here.
02:16But just how long was that bottom for Drake?
02:18"'I done kept it real from the jump, living at my mama's house, we'd argue every Monday.'"
02:23According to the rapper, his childhood was downright miserable, growing up dirt poor
02:27in a broken home.
02:28Makes for a dramatic rise to the top, right?
02:30Well, not everyone agrees with this depiction.
02:32"'We don't like to do too much explaining, stories stay the same, I never changed it.'"
02:37Drake's critics argue that he spent part of his childhood in Forest Hills, one of the
02:41wealthiest areas in Toronto.
02:42Plus, he shot to fame in his teens on the hit Canadian series Degrassi The Next Generation
02:47before pivoting to music.
02:48Nevertheless, Drake insists he started from humble beginnings.
02:51If living in a posh neighborhood and being a TV star is his definition of bottom, we
02:55can only wonder what the top looks like.
02:57Started from the bottom, now we're here.
02:59Taylor Swift
03:00Taylor Swift hasn't exactly gone around claiming she grew up poor, but you don't always have
03:04to say something outright to give people that impression.
03:06"'I was raised on a farm, no it wasn't a mansion.'"
03:11Through her music, she's managed to craft the image of a modest upbringing, notably
03:15in tracks like, "'I Bet You Think About Me.'"
03:17Granted, she did spend her early years on a farm, but her parents were finance executives
03:21who ran the farm as a hobby, not out of necessity.
03:23"'In My Heart' is a Christmas tree farm where the people would come to dance under
03:29sparkles in life.'"
03:31Swift's childhood was quite the opposite of underprivileged.
03:33She grew up in Pennsylvania, enjoyed summers at her family's vacation home in New Jersey,
03:37and jetted off to New York City for vocal and acting lessons.
03:40But that wouldn't make for a very compelling song, would it?
03:43"'When the world isn't fair, I pretend that we're there.'"
03:47Rebel Wilson
03:48If we're to believe Rebel Wilson, then she's lived quite the adventurous life.
03:50"'So I went from this girl who has just worked her absolute ass off to get where she was,
03:59to just being torn down in a second, in a 24-hour period.'"
04:03In past interviews, she's claimed to have grown up in a poor Sydney neighborhood, entered
04:07a leopard's cage in Zimbabwe, gotten caught up in a shootout, and contracted malaria in
04:11Mozambique.
04:12The shootout with malaria allegedly landed her in the ICU, where she hallucinated about
04:16winning an Oscar and rapping her acceptance speech.
04:19Quite the wild ride.
04:20"'Yes, I'm an actress, and I'm in the public eye, but I'm a human being who worked really,
04:25really hard to get to that point.'"
04:26However, in 2015, an Australian magazine challenged her tales, claiming Wilson had a very normal
04:31upper-middle-class upbringing, and embellished parts of her childhood.
04:35Wilson denied these allegations, sued the magazine for defamation, and won.
04:38However, some folks from her pre-fame days maintain that her upbringing was more privileged
04:42than she's let on.
04:43"'Now that the career seems back on track, I feel like hopefully next year I can have
04:50more balance in my life and aim towards that.'"
04:54Vanilla Ice
04:55In 1990, rapper Vanilla Ice shot to stardom with his smash hit, Ice Ice Baby.
04:58The song was a huge success, becoming the first hip-hop single to top the Billboard
05:02Hot 100.
05:03"'Deadly.
05:04When I play a dope melody, anything less than the best is a felony.'"
05:07With this newfound fame came an increased scrutiny into his personal life and background.
05:11Ice had claimed he grew up on the tough streets of Miami, and won multiple National Motocross
05:15Championships.
05:16"'Quick to the point, to the point, no faking, cooking emcees like a pound of bacon.'"
05:20But as the press dug deeper, they discovered that he spent most of his youth in an affluent
05:24Dallas neighborhood, and there was no proof of any championship wins.
05:27It all seemed like a flimsy attempt to gain street credibility in the rap community.
05:30Spoiler alert, it didn't quite work out.
05:32"'If there was a problem, yo, I'll solve it, check out the hook while D.Shay revolves
05:36it.'"
05:37Ice Ice Baby
05:38Whitney Cummings
05:39As kids, we often latch onto TV shows with characters we can relate to.
05:43For Whitney Cummings, that show was Roseanne.
05:44"'But yeah, I grew up watching Roseanne.'"
05:46The comedian claims she identified with the working-class family because she grew up in
05:50an underprivileged household herself.
05:52This sounds all fine and dandy until you dig into her actual background.
05:55"'We're living in a fascinating time.
05:57We're living in a time where women have money.'"
05:59Cummings is said to have grown up in a swanky part of West Virginia.
06:02She attended a $50,000-a-year prep school in Maryland, and even had her own horse.
06:07From her fancy prep school, she then moved on to the University of Pennsylvania, a private
06:11Ivy League college.
06:12We're not saying she's lying, but there's a reason why Two Broke Girls had more viewers
06:16than, say, The O.C.
06:17"'Ryan, stay out of this.
06:20It's none of your business.'"
06:21Kid Rock
06:22Kid Rock was born in 1971 to millionaire car dealership owner William Bill Ritchie.
06:27"'Well, I'm packing up my game and I'ma head out west, where real women come equipped with
06:31scripts and fake breasts.'"
06:33Raised in a mansion on his father's luxurious estate in Michigan, the musician had a comfortable
06:37childhood.
06:38If he ever got bored of that house, he could simply travel to their second home in Jupiter
06:41Island, Florida, rubbing shoulders with neighbors like Celine Dion and Tiger Woods.
06:45So how does Kid Rock describe his upbringing?
06:47Well, he's painted a rags-to-riches picture, claiming he hustled his way from the ground
06:50up with sheer grit, business savvy, and self-taught skills.
06:54If you're paying attention, you'll know that's a far cry from the truth.
06:57The people that don't like me, they can go on this internet and find enough stuff to
07:02make them hate me."
07:03It appears not many celebrities realize that the first step to being relatable is honesty.
07:07Ed Sheeran
07:13In 2014, award-winning singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran released his memoir, A Visual Journey.
07:18"'I haven't slept for the past week, and two hours ain't enough for me.'"
07:23In it, he recounted a time before he became famous when he had nowhere to stay.
07:27He claimed he scraped by playing tiny gigs and that he couldn't afford rent.
07:30So he resorted to couch-surfing and even once slept outside Buckingham Palace.
07:33"'I was very lucky in the sense of people giving me sofas and spare rooms every now
07:40and then.'"
07:41This experience apparently inspired his song, Homeless.
07:43"'Cause it's not a homeless life for me, it's just I'm homeless and I'd like to be.'"
07:48But all of this was surprising because Sheeran was reportedly born to wealthy parents who
07:52made their living in the art industry.
07:54When fans pointed out the inconsistency, Sheeran clarified that he actually wasn't
07:58homeless, he just went without a bed some nights.
08:00"'It's not a homeless life for me, it's just I'm homeless and I'd like to be.'"
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08:21Victoria Beckham
08:22If you're going to misrepresent your upbringing, make sure the person who knows you the best
08:25isn't in the room.
08:26"'I mean, I think also we both come from families that work really hard, both of our parents
08:31work really hard, we're very working, working class.'"
08:35"'Be honest.'"
08:36Victoria Beckham learned this lesson the hard way.
08:39During an interview for the Netflix documentary about her and her husband, David, Beckham
08:43claimed to have come from a working-class background.
08:45David wasted no time in setting the record straight, pushing her to reveal what type
08:49of car her father drove her to school in.
08:51"'It's not a simple answer, because…'
08:52"'What car?
08:53What did you get your dad to drive you to school in?'
08:55"'It depends.'
08:56"'No, no, no, no, no.'"
08:57After attempting to dodge the question, Beckham ultimately confessed the truth.
09:01"'Okay, in the 80s my dad had a Rolls Royce.'"
09:03The clip received mixed reactions online.
09:06Some loved the couple's playful banter, while others criticized Beckham for trying to bend
09:09the truth.
09:10Well, what did anyone expect?
09:11There's a reason she was called Posh Spice?
09:13"'Are you funny?'
09:14"'Are you funny?''
09:15What other celebrities do you know that have lied about their childhood?
09:18Let us know in the comments below.
09:20I ain't no chief, I'm just a regular failure I ain't straight out of Compton, I'm straight
09:24out the trailer
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