'Diva' contracts: Sarah Palin vs. Mariah Carey
The demands in Palin's speaking contract have raised eyebrows — but how do they compete with the stipulations of pop's superstars?

A media uproar has ensued after California State University students found a copy of Sarah Palin's speaking contract — listing her numerous beverage, housing, and transportation demands — in a trash can. The State of California has launched an investigation to determine why such a confidential document was not shredded. (Watch a report about the confidential document.) But one might ask: Why all the fuss? Compared to the tour-rider demands that real celebrity divas have made over the years, Palin's requests are really quite modest:
Sarah Palin: Demands that her lectern be stocked with two unopened bottles of still water and two bendy straws.
Mariah Carey: One-upped Palin by demanding a box of bendy straws and a tea service for eight (brewed with Poland Spring water only), plus myriad other treats including a "selection of sugarless gum."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sarah Palin: Stipulates that any questions directed at her by audience members be pre-screened.
Barbra Streisand: Stipulated that anyone who enters the building pass through metal detectors, while a 24-hour platoon of security guards and police sniffer dogs conduct a "thorough inspection."
Sarah Palin: Demands a "tall, wooden lectern with a lip and fixed microphone."
Paula Abdul: Demanded that she and her crew be provided with 72 "large bath-sized" towels.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sarah Palin: Specifies that three hotel rooms (a one-bedroom suite and two single rooms) must be reserved for herself and her entourage in a "deluxe hotel."
Jennifer Lopez: Specified that a 45-foot trailer dressing room be drained of all color: "White room, white flowers, white tables and/or tablecloths, white drapes, white candles, white couches." (Reportedly, she had to make do with a "greenish" couch.)
Sarah Palin: Requires that her hotel suite be equipped with a laptop computer and printer.
The Rolling Stones: Required that their accomodations include a full-size snooker table with a complete set of cues (the Stones agreed to "provide their own snooker balls"), five videogame arcades, and a ping-pong table.
Sarah Palin: Insists on two first-class seats when flying from Alaska to the lower 48; in the event a private jet is made available to her, it must be a "Lear 60 or larger."
Metallica: Each member of the band insisted on riding in his own 45-foot bus, while a convoy of 14 trucks (each 48-feet-long) followed the bus brigade. Despite this less-the-compact transportation, the tour-rider notes: "We do not want to park miles away from the venue, please."
Sarah Palin: Must be transported on the ground in an SUV or black town car.
Jay-Z: Asked to be transported on the ground in a "late model Black Mayback 57 or 62 with tinted windows."
Source: All tour-rider details courtesy of the Smoking Gun's document archive
-
Trinidadian doubles recipe
The Week Recommends 'Dangerously addictive', this traditional Caribbean street food is the height of finger-licking goodness
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK
-
Labour and the so-called 'banter ban'
Talking Point Critics are claiming that a clause in the new Employment Rights Bill will spell the end of free-flowing pub conversation
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK
-
Andor series two: a 'perfect' Star Wars show
The Week Recommends Second instalment of Tony Gilroy's 'compelling' spin-off is a triumph
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK