7 Celebrity NFT Fails

Since 2021 when they broke out, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have caught the fancy of all and sundry. Not to be outdone, many celebrities have been quick to board the NFT hype train. However, not all NFT projects are created equal. Many have failed to live up to the hype, either fizzling out shortly after launch or plunging in value soon after hitting an all-time high.

Jonathan Merry, the CEO of BanklessTimes.com, has been closely following the development of the NFT space. While many celebrities have been quick to jump on the NFT bandwagon, Merry believes their lack of understanding about the technology will ultimately lead to their downfall.

NFTs are a complicated technology, and unless celebrities are willing to put in the time to understand them, they're bound to fail," he said. "We've already seen a number of high-profile Celebrity NFT fails, and I don't see that trend slowing down anytime soon.

Jonathan Merry, the CEO of BanklessTimes.com

Although there are many examples of failed celebrity-backed NFT projects, BanklessTimes has picked a few that stand out prominently. In this article, we look at 7 such projects that didn't pan out as expected. The listing follows no particular order and shouldn't be taken as a ranking of the projects in terms of their degree of failure.

Ellen DeGeneres

Talk Show queen Ellen DeGeneres made her foray into the NFT world in March 2021 by releasing her Woman With Stick Cat digital art collection. The NFT collection, which came in gold and silver editions, featured the talk show queen taking a selfie with a stick figure sketch of a cat. It also had an accompanying video monologue of Ellen announcing her entry into NFTs.

Despite Ellen's celebrity status and the collection's charity focus, it raised a measly $33,455. The Gold edition was disappointing, selling only half of the ten NFTs for $2,500 each. The silver edition didn't do much better, attracting just 64 buyers and raising $6,400 in sales. The only silver lining was the $14,555 that the video monologue fetched.

So what went wrong for Ellen? BanklessTimes CEO Jonathan Merry puts it down to laziness on Ellen and the project managers. He says, "If you don't do the work, you won't get results. It's sad, but Ellen's low-effort NFT didn't provide any utility.

John Cena

If John Cena had looked to cash in on his WWE and acting fame to sell his NFT collection, he had another thing coming. The wrestler-turned-actor released 500 gold package NFTs, targeting to sell them at $1000 each. But only 37 found suitors, netting him $37,000 in total.

Cena's second-tier collection fared worse after it yielded only $21,000 in sales. But credit to him, he confessed in a September 2021 interview that the project was a catastrophic failure. He agreed that he and the WWE were wrong on the pricing.

Chris Brown

Chris Brown is another celebrity who discovered that fame and NFTs aren't necessarily a match made in heaven. The hit song maker, who has a cult-like following, released his Breezyverse NFT collection in July 2022.

Unbeknown to Brown, not many of his hordes of fans would be enthralled to part with 0.35ETH (nearly $440 at launch) for his digital animation. With his kind of reach, one would expect his collection to sell out within hours of launch. But no, that didn't happen, as a week after the auction, he'd only sold 297 of the 10,000 NFTs he was offering.

In defense, the Breezyverse team said it had anticipated a slow adoption. It insists that it is a long-term project aiming to build a Chris Brown community through the digital space. Only time will tell whether the project becomes a hit or a miss, but it will have to do more to pique the enthusiasm of Chris' fans for it.

Floyd Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather is one of the latest celebrities to get caught up in an NFT muddle. The decorated boxer is facing accusations of masterminding NFT rug pulls. For instance, he's reported to have netted $4.9M from the sale of his Floyds World Collection.

But since April, he's gone quiet on the project, his last known Twitter communication on the project came in April 2022. Meanwhile, the floor price of the NFTs has fallen from an ATH of 0.15ETh to the current 0.006 ETH. Not surprisingly, many people feel duped by Mayweather and his Floyds World NFTs.

Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson's foray into the world of NFTs has been a rollercoaster ride. After an initial post-mint FOMO frenzy saw his NFT collection attract as much as 14 ETH a piece, things went south, with floor prices tumbling to 0.12 ETH as of 10th October 2022.

Fans have expressed dissatisfaction with Iron Mike for the dismal performance of his NFT project. They accuse him of shilling a useless project that's left them counting their losses.

Lana Rhoades

Lana Rhoades is another celebrity that has seen her foray into the world of NFTs go awry. The adult film star behind the cryptosis NFT project, which promised investors big returns, is now facing accusations that she rug pulled investors. Lana has denied the allegations claiming that just because the project didn't do well doesn't make her a scammer.

The bone of contention is that Lana withdrew ETH worth $1.5M from the project. According to her, she withdrew the funds to pay the project's developers. The artist went on a Twitter tirade calling her accusers slanderers and other unprintable epithets before deactivating her account. But before that, she disassociated herself from the project leaving investors in limbo over their funds.

John Wall

John Wall's "Baby Ballers" NFT project is in hot water after being accused of plagiarism. The collection includes 4,000 NFTs with a child playing basketball, but the background image for the NFTs appears to be screenshots from Fortnite. This led many in the community to accuse Wall and his team of plagiarism.

John Wall has been MIA on Twitter for some time now, as he seems to have turned off his page. The Baby Baller's website is also down, and some users claim the project’s Discord channel has blocked them. Meanwhile, the NFT's floor price has tumbled 99%, with Open Sea recording the last activity on the project on December 31, 2021.

So, What Lessons Can We Learn From Celebrities Who've Successfully Launched NFTs?

Despite the failures, several high-profile individuals have launched their own NFTs and seen tremendous success. So, what lessons can we learn from these celebrity NFT launches?

First and foremost, it's crucial to have a good idea. While one can turn any old digital file into an NFT, there needs to be some element that makes it unique or desirable. Beyond the art, there must be a real-life utility that will draw fans into the project.

Secondly, the project needs to be authentic to the target audience. Many Web 3 natives can readily see through money-grab schemes and will shun them. The artist must show a genuine interest in NFTs and their development. Unfortunately for the celebrities whose projects have failed, they appeared more interested in shoring up their bottom lines than advancing NFT technology.

Moreover, it's also crucial to price the NFTs reasonably. There's no point in pricing your NFTs so high that only the super-rich can afford them; you want as many people as possible to be able to enjoy your work. However, at the same time, you don't want to undervalue your art by pricing it too low. Finding the right balance is essential for a successful launch.

Finally, NFT issuers should take time to cultivate their communities. Web 3 natives desire authentic engagement and interaction with NFT developers. Constantly reaching out to the community via social media or other physical engagements helps build a dependable following, enhancing the project's chances of success.