The Northern Express Herald

Celebrities with the most diva staff demands

news.com.au

Sarah Jessica Parker, Mariah Carey and Lady Gaga. Photos / Getty

Sarah Jessica Parker's strict household demands have been laid bare after one of her employees reportedly leaked a private email from the star, revealing some very particular requests.

In the email, Parker instructed staffers to refill a tiny container of Vaseline with a small spoon or knife for her children's use.

She stressed that the refill jar not be too big (so as to not clutter the house), and that the cutlery used to handle the Vaseline must be handwashed using a paper towel followed by a cycle in the dishwasher.

She also requested that a bottle of face wash and Neutrogena body wash be continually replenished for her 14-year-old son, James Wilkie, in his personal shower.

It may sound incredibly nitpicky, but Parker's requests are actually pretty tame compared with some other celebrities' household demands.

LADY GAGA

In 2012, Lady Gaga was embroiled in a legal battle with her former employee Jennifer O'Neill, who claimed the singer owed her roughly $US390,000 for more than 7000 hours of overtime.

During her 13-month stint as the singer's helper, O'Neill said, she was expected to be on call 24/7, wake the star up, and even make sure she had a towel waiting after a shower.

At the time of the case, The Post reported that O'Neill claimed she was "required" to sleep in Gaga's bed "because [the star] didn't sleep alone."

Gaga dismissed her former girl Friday as a "f ***ing hood rat," but settled the case out of court.

MARIAH CAREY

Mariah Carey's reality TV show Mariah's World was largely forgettable, but there's one moment that has stayed with us.

Carey's assistant Molly had a full-blown meltdown when she couldn't get the star's Apple TV working correctly at her hotel in the UK.

"The Apple TV is the most important thing for Ms. MC," Molly said in the scene, while crying hysterically.

"If she can't have the Apple TV playing while she's sleeping, then she can't sleep. If she can't sleep, she can't perform."

Her tears weren't a smart move either, considering one of Carey's other rules is that staff aren't allowed to cry at work (or date anyone for a year, but that's another story).

ROB LOWE

Earlier this year, a job description was leaked detailing actor Rob Lowe's requirements for an assistant - and it was pretty intense.

The successful applicant must "never assume anything" and - for a salary of $US70,000 a year (not bad) - duties include informing "estate staff if [Lowe] wants a jacuzzi turned on or a massage ordered," and scheduling a haircut before every single taping of Lowe's TV drama, Code Black.

ANNA WINTOUR

While it's never been confirmed, it isn't hard to join the dots to work out that ice queen Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada was most likely based on Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

The author of the original book, Lauren Weisberger, was an assistant for Wintour for approximately 11 months before quitting and writing a novel about a girl who lands a job as the assistant to an infamously cutthroat editor-in-chief of a major fashion magazine.

Miranda Priestly was one of the most intimidating and terrifying movie characters of all time, and her near-impossible demands ranged wildly from obtaining a copy of the still-unpublished new Harry Potter manuscript to chartering a private jet in monsoon weather.

But to Wintour's credit, she appeared to be a good sport about the whole thing, even famously wearing Prada to the movie's New York premiere.