These artists were managed by their terrible fathers
Dua Lipa has her father not only as her biggest fan but also as her manager. And with a spot on the soundtrack of The Devil Wears Prada 2 that collaboration seems to be working more than fine. Her song End Of An Era is mentioned as the successor to Suddenly I See in the delightful opening montage of the first part. But not every artist came out of a family business structure without scars. In the new film Michael about Michael Jackson, we see how father and manager Joe Jackson put immense pressure on his son during the rise of The Jackson 5. The nauseating details of that you can read here. But Michael is not the only one with a showbiz father who went too far.
Macaulay Culkin
Macaulay Culkin may now be an adult man, but for almost everyone, he remains that little blonde Kevin McCallister from Home Alone who outsmarted burglars during Christmas. Behind the scenes, his childhood was a lot less pleasant than the film that made him world-famous. Culkin, the third of seven children, revealed that his father and manager Kit Culkin was violent towards the large family and even called him “the worst person I have ever known.” According to the actor, jealousy played a big role in this, as he had already achieved more by the age of ten than his father. Macaulay Culkin has a good relationship with his mother, but he hasn't spoken to Kit in thirty years. And he wants to (rightly) keep it that way.
Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston was of course ‘the Voice’ to the world, but at home, her father called the singer, model, and actress ’Nippy.’ Very cute, which only makes the bigger story sadder. John Houston played a huge role in her career for many years and was intensely involved in the business side of her life, and he must have done something right to manage a star of that caliber . But as Whitney increasingly struggled with addictions and personal problems, her relationship with her father also deteriorated. Eventually, his company even took her to court over 100 million that she supposedly owed him from a record deal. The ultimate betrayal for Whitney, of course: not only her manager but her father ultimately chose cold hard cash over his lovely daughter. John Houston died a year after the lawsuit was filed, and the millions never touched his account.
Britney Spears
One of the most discussed examples of terrible management is the family of Britney Spears. Her father, Jamie Spears, was appointed in 2008 along with a legal team as her conservator due to a series of public meltdowns. You know: she shaved her head and attacked her dad with an umbrella. From that moment on, he was not only in charge of her finances but also of her booming career, daily life, and when she could see her children. The arrangement was supposed to protect her, but Britney had hardly anything left to say. Performances, money, work choices, children: everything went through him. Years later, she described how trapped she felt during that time, and eventually, after the #FreeBritney movement, the terrible power structure came to an end.
