Taylor Swift, Mr Bean, Tina Turner, Britney Spears, and more: Times when impersonators of pop stars courted controversy

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Taylor Swift, Mr Bean, Tina Turner, Britney Spears, and more: Times when impersonators of pop stars courted controversy

Imitation is the best form of flattery. What could go wrong? Turns out, a lot.

Published: August 23, 2023 14:07 Rajagopalan Venkataraman, Assistant Editor-Features

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Taylor swiftt1-1691516684817 — From being shown the door to facing lawsuits and generating outrage on an international level, the impersonators of famous celebrities have done it all, and faced punishment. Let's look at some incidents that's made you raise your eyebrows. Image Credit: AFP

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Taylor Swift — Aah, Taylor Swift, perhaps among the greatest performers of our time. How could impersonators leave her alone? On Aug. 20, a likeness of the 'Anti-Hero' and 'Love Story' hitmaker waltzed into a Los Angeles showroom with security guards in tow. In no time, she attracted autograph hunters and selfie seekers. Somehow, someone smelt a rat and the look-alike, TikToker Ashley Leechin, was escorted out. Image Credit: AFP

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BILLIE EILISH — "Fool me once, fool me twice ..." runs the lyrics of Billie Eilish's title track from Daniel Craig's last outing as James Bond in 'No Time To Die'. A fan of hers seems to have taken those words seriously by posing as the hitmaker in Moscow, in her traditional oversized clothes, bandanna and shades. The singer's reaction to the incident? "This is not me y'all lmaooo." Image Credit: Instagram/billieeilish

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auto bean — This is where posing as someone takes a serious turn. Asif Muhammad from Pakistan, a doppelganger of the lovable TV character Mr Bean, visited Zimbabwe as the real deal. Soon, people found out and arguments ensued on social media. Image Credit: Supplied

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Tina Turner7-1684998126171 — There can be only one 'Queen of Rock N' Roll', the late Tina Turner had made it clear. After getting to know that an impersonator of her performed for 2 hours in Germany, Turner filed a lawsuit against Dorothea ‘Coco’ Fletcher, the impersonator in question, according to 'Daily Mail'. Fletcher, Turner's lawyer contended, looks too much like the real deal. Image Credit: AP

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Copy of 844020-01-02-1633080194640 — In another bizarre instance, the singer Lorde turned up at a public library in Auckland, New Zealand, to perform, to wide applause in 2017. 'The Guardian' reported. The catch: Lorde was in London with her mother at the same time. Turns out, the impersonator did an excellent job of imitating the original. "Weird," was Lorde's reaction to the incident. Image Credit: AFP

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TAB Britney 12-1613395352349 — Here's an instance of a celebrity deploying an impersonator. Singers Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears dated for a while before breaking up in 2002. Timberlake accused her of cheating on him when he hired a lookalike actress to appear in the video for his single 'Cry Me A River'. Timberlake received backlash for his move and later issued an apology, according to BBC News. Image Credit: AFP

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Beyonce-1658385552478 — Beyonce, or 'Queen Bey' to her fans, is also among the most recognised artistes today, and it should come as no surprise that there must be lookalikes modelled after her. One of them, Leanne Harper, faced criticism, for appearing like her. It later emerged that the impersonator, a white woman, faced flak in the UK for using cosmetics to darken her face while performing like her on stage, Mirror.co.uk reported. Cambridge University, the outlet reported, issued an apology after Harper performed at a Beyonce tribute act at the Robinson College. Image Credit: AFP

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