The Daily Tonic: Herd Mentality

Over the years, Mariah Carey has really leaned in to her bonkers millionaire diva persona; a journey into eccentricity neatly summed up in her choice of pet names.

Back in her sensible Sony/Tommy Mottola days, Mariah had plenty of pets – each of which had a simple name. There was Jack, Ginger and Bruno the dogs, plus a cat called Clarence.

Now that she’s pop royalty, dripping in diamonds with money to burn, her dog names have become all the more elaborate. Her more recent pups include Cha Cha, JJ, Jackie Lambchops, Jill E Beans, Squeak E Beans, The Good Reverend Pow Jackson, Pipitty L Jackson, Mutley P Gore and Jackson The Third.

Today marks eight weeks since we first started sending out daily editions – and as the lockdown doesn’t look to be ending any time soon, we’re going to need to take up a new hobby to get through it all. So we’d like some celebrity inspiration.

Today’s Question: Which superstars do you know with strange or incongruous hobbies?

Send your examples of curious celeb pastimes to hello@popbitch.com and we’ll dish out some digital goody bags to our favourites.

K writes:
“Lewis Hamilton’s dogs used to have their own motorhome in the paddock for pre-season testing. They had been VIP guests at Mercedes but they lost their privileges after leaving a few too many reminders of their presence on the carpets…”

Someone who once paid Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson a visit in Paris in later life says the couple were so in love with their pack of little dogs that they allowed them to overrun their home. Consequently, the entire place was covered in dog shit.

They join some extremely distinguished company in that regard. Someone who was a regular visitor to Katie Price’s place says they have rarely seen a house quite so caked in dog shit and cat piss – and could think of only one other person who had ever let their domestic pet waste situation get so out of hand.

Sharon Osbourne.

Over the weekend we told you that one of Alan Yentob’s favoured power moves was to invite people into his office and then make them wait while he called up someone famous on the phone and had a chat with them.

The practice wasn’t just confined to his office it seems. People who used to share a floor with him at the BBC would be treated to regular games of “Guess Who?” where Yentob would pace around their desks for no apparent reason while talking loudly into his mobile.

He’d drop all sorts of identifying information into the conversation, using the caller’s first name a lot and making it clear where they were calling him from. After enough clues had been given, the call would end and Yentob would drift off silently, leaving the disturbed workers to figure out who he’d just been talking to.

Apparently the game would have been a little trickier had he not called Richard Branson quite so often.

To commemorate our 54th audio round, this one is a disco special – in tribute to the iconic New York nightclub, Studio 54.

You get a point for each correctly guessed artist, and a point for each correctly guessed song title. Ten songs; twenty points.

[Play it here]

Celebrity lego portraits
[Joe Exotic, RuPaul, Winehouse]

Baboons appear to be the only primates that don’t contract Covid-19
[Advantage baboons]

Want to be in the new Bill And Ted film?
[You can be]