7 Celebrity Businesses That Totally Flopped

Vegan shoes? 'Pastamania'? Really?
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 15, 2012 8:33 AM CDT
7 Celebrity Businesses That Totally Flopped
A sign for singer Britney Spears' new restaurant Nyla hangs above the entrance June 27, 2002 in New York City.   (Getty Images)

You'd think that a celebrity endorsement would be a surefire way to get a business off the ground—but that's not always the case, as these seven celebrities and their epic business fails prove, the Huffington Post notes:

  • Natalie Portman: She tried to hawk vegan shoes in 2008, but for $200 a pop, they weren't very recession-friendly. Té Casan, the store that partnered with Portman, ended up going under less than a year after the shoes were launched.

  • Hulk Hogan: Though a fast food pasta restaurant called Pastamania—complete with dishes like "Hulk-U's" and "Hulk-a-Roos"—sounds quite appetizing, the wrestler's business ended up shuttering after less than a year.
  • Britney Spears: Soon after opening her New York restaurant Nyla, the eatery began to be plagued with complaints about bad food and poor service. Health code violations probably didn't help, nor did a drastic menu change; Spears eventually abandoned the project.
Click for the entire list, including one celebrity who purchased an entire town for $20 million—only to sell it for $1 million four years later. (More Natalie Portman stories.)

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