Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Inside the publicity stunt and urban legend-fueled business of insuring the world’s most famous appendages, where getting a policy can really cost an arm and a leg.
By James Hibberd
Writer-at-Large
How much are Taylor Swift‘s legs worth? What about Gordon Ramsay‘s tongue, Nick Cannon‘s balls and J.Lo’s butt? All these celebrity body parts reportedly have been insured for millions just in case something goes improbably yet horribly wrong.
But as you’ll soon discover, while some tales of celebrity liability coverage are legit, most were either onetime publicity stunts or have been debunked. (Which of the above examples are bogus? The answer, as they say, may surprise you.)
Take the recent wild story that Cannon, father of 12, just got a policy protecting his nuts for $10 million, lest the world be denied more Cannon fodder. “Haters say it’s time for me to stop having kids and put this super sperm to rest, but I’m doubling down on these valuable balls,” Cannon declared. The policy is apparently real, but it’s also to promote a line of ball-care products.
Related Stories
This report is similar to porn studio Brazzers taking out a 2012 policy on their star Keiran Lee that insured his penis for $1 million (or, as we’re duty-bound to clarify for the curious: $100,000 per inch). As Lee assured fans at the time, “I don’t plan on losing my penis anytime soon.”
Here’s a more innocent example: In 2007, America Ferrera made headlines for her smile getting insured for $10 million, yet it was all part of a promotion for Aquafresh. “It’s very flattering,” Ferrera said, “[and] not something I ever imagined happening.”
Ferrera’s policy was via Lloyds of London, which has positioned itself as the go-to celebrity body-part insurer since the 1940s, back when it insured Betty Grable’s legs for $1 million. It’s rarely reported what potential calamities famous appendages are actually insured against (Fire? Flood? Surely not theft!). Skeptics point out that standard long-term disability insurance can cover a performer becoming disabled, but where’s the fun in a policy that doesn’t single out your best-known asset?
More believable examples include singers who have allegedly taken out policies against the threat of losing their voice. In 2010, Time reported that Bruce Springsteen insured his voice for $6 million. (The Boss has never confirmed this.)
More recently, Ramsay reportedly insured his tongue for $10 million should his expert palate diminish. Judging by Ramsay’s new frozen food line, the chef might already even have a claim. Ramsay had no comment on the report, but “taste insurance” is a real thing among some high-value chefs and tasters. Once again, many examples edge into the realm of self-promotion — such as leading wine taster Ilja Gort insuring his nose for $8 million in 2008.
There also are several models and singer-dancers who have had policies on their legs. Supermodel Heidi Klum confirmed a client gave her a legs policy worth a combined $2 million. Strangely and sadly, Klum noted on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last year that one stem was valued at $200,000 less than the other due to a childhood accident that resulted in a scar she routinely covers with makeup, which makes you wonder what kind of heartless Lloyds underwriter takes their job that seriously. Rihanna likewise had a $1 million legs policy taken out by Gillette when they named her Celebrity Legs of a Goddess in 2007.
But perhaps the most oft-reported legs policy is Swift getting her gams insured for $40 million in 2015 ahead of her 1989 tour. That this tale originated in The National Enquirer hasn’t stopped its spread. Swift hasn’t confirmed or denied it, but did address the headline in the best way possible while tweeting a photo of her scratched leg and referencing one of her cats: “Great work Meredith. I was just trying to love you and now you owe me 40 million dollars.”
Other famous examples of body-part insurance have been outright denied. In 2022, Dolly Parton busted a long-standing rumor she insured her 40DD breasts for $600,000. The same year, after more than a decade of stories claiming Julia Roberts insured her megawatt smile for $30 million, the actress told The New York Times Magazine: “If my smile was insured, there would be someone at my house on a nightly basis saying, ‘You need to floss longer.’ ”
Similarly, there long have been reports that Jennifer Lopez insured her butt for $27 million (admittedly, we really wanted this to be true). But in 2020, she mocked the idea to James Corden, saying, “There is no such thing as that.” Kim Kardashian is likewise reported to have insured her tush for $21 million in 2014, but sources tell us this report is also false.
So while insurance can provide celebrities with plenty of protection, you can never really cover your ass.
This story first appeared in the June 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Send us a tip using our anonymous form.
