10 Times Celebs Got Caught Wearing Fake Jewelry, Watches, and More
Whether it was Lil Baby's fake $400,000 Patek or Soulja Boy's bootleg Gucci collection, our favorite celebs have been caught wearing some hilarious fakes.
Lil Baby’s Fake $400,000 Patek
When: 2021
When Lil Baby attended his first Met Gala in 2021, he came prepared with a classy outfit designed by Coach. The label’s creative director, Stuart Vevers, didn’t play when it came to icing out Lil Baby. He sent out the Atlanta rapper in an elegant black suit covered with glistening brooches. Clearly, Lil Baby was feeling himself and elevated his look even further by purchasing a Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5711/1P "40th Anniversary" watch to wear to the event. Lil Baby was so hyped about his purchase that he even flexed it on his Instagram story with the price he paid for it, which was $400,000. However, after he posted an up-close picture of the watch on his socials, the Instagram page @fakewatchbuster pointed out several discrepancies that proved Lil Baby’s Patek was actually fake. After that post went viral, Lil Baby tagged Patek Philippe on his Instagram story and wrote that he should be added to its infamously long waitlist and that “after market jewelers [are] going to make me do some I shouldn’t be doing.” Lil Baby then threw shots at the jeweler who sold him the watch, Rafaello & Co., in a now-deleted Instagram post. “I stand on my name the same way y’all should! Ain’t no such thing as a mistake when that money involved,” wrote Lil Baby. The jeweler ended up apologizing to Lil Baby and shared a statement on Instagram taking responsibility for the costly mistake. The jeweler refunded Lil Baby’s $400,000 and also gifted the rapper a set of four iced-out rings. While this certainly seemed like an honest mistake by a reputable jeweler, the fact that Lil Baby wore a fake Patek to one of fashion’s biggest events is one for the books.
Rick Ross’ Fouis Vuitton Fiasco
When: 2009 (and 2020)
Rick Ross is known for living a lavish lifestyle. The Boss allegedly owns over 100 cars and millions in real estate properties. But even the richest rappers end up getting finessed when buying designer goods. Sometimes it even ends up in print so it can live in infamy forever. Unfortunately, that happened to Ross in May 2009. His XXL magazine cover featured a full head shot of Ross wearing a pair of black Louis Vuitton Millionaire sunglasses. There were glaring, full-frontal, discrepancies on the LV Millionaires Rozay wore for the XXL cover—which ironically included a quote from Ross that reads, “I never had a credibility problem and still don’t.” Ross’ pair included an interlocking LV logo on the nose bridge, which isn’t included on the originals, and did not have the house’s monogram embossed in gold on top of the frame. Louis Vuitton’s legal team ended up getting XXL to publish a letter clarifying with its readership that the sunglasses were counterfeit. Ross never commented on the authenticity of the sunnies, but shortly after the news broke an eyewear dealer named Jacob “Jack” Bernstein (who dubbed himself “The Sunglass Pimp”) claimed he sold Ross legit frames and that they were just customized with solid gold accents. Who knows what the truth really is. But considering sunglasses are an iconic part of Ross' look, this fake Millionaires fiasco must have hurt. We just hope Ross has gotten himself a legit Louis Vuitton plug by now, since he also got caught wearing fakes from Louis Vuitton’s LV2 collection designed by Nigo in 2020.
Dwyane Wade’s Supreme Italia-A** Box Logo Hoodie
When: 2017
It seemed like everyone and their mother wanted a Supreme box logo in 2017, when the brand was valued at $1 billion and releasing a collaboration with Louis Vuitton. Like any highly coveted clothing brand, horrible bootlegs skyrocketed as Supreme’s popularity grew. This Dwyane Wade fit is a perfect example of some of the worst Supreme bootlegs that surfaced. Here, Wade is seen wearing a screen-printed Supreme hoodie with a comically large version of the brand’s iconic box logo. Respectfully, D-Wade tried hard to nail down the skater look, pairing the Canal Street box logo with some Sus-preme shorts and black Vans. Although this Supreme hoodie dupe looked ridiculous, Wade was far from being the only person who fell for fake Supreme around this time. For years, an Italian father-son duo, Michele Di Pierro and his son Marcello, exploited trademark loopholes to sell fake Supreme gear around the world—filing trademarks under “Supreme Italia” and “Supreme Spain” in countries that the real Supreme had not touched yet. The Di Pierros were eventually sentenced to some hefty prison time along with having to pay millions in fines in 2021. Since then, Supreme established its trademark rights overseas by recently opening stores in countries like Korea, China, and Italy. However, we’ll never forget this era of cringey Supreme fakes that led to many people dressing like D-Wade in this photo. Remember that unreleased collaboration between Supreme Italia and Samsung?
Busta Rhymes' Busted Supreme x Louis Vuitton Sweater
When: 2018
Now, we’re not knocking Busta Rhymes’ style. His outlandish outfits in the 1990s truly paved the road for rappers to take fashion risks and not prescribe to preconceived notions of what they should dress like. But with that being said, this fake Supreme x Louis Vuitton crewneck Busta wore to Coachella in 2018 is just unacceptable. It’s a shame that his hype man, Spliff Star, got dragged into it, too, by wearing a blue iteration of this bootleg. While this crewneck would sit nicely next to some bootleg Supreme x Louis Vuitton AirPod cases or slides, we can’t lie and act like Busta’s never worn a good bootleg. In the past, he has donned some beautiful unofficial Louis Vuitton pieces by Dapper Dan. The most notable looks include this custom leather set he wore to the 2009 BET Awards and all the outfits he wore in his 2013 music video for “Twerk It.” Let’s just hope this fake Supreme Louis Vuitton look never appears again.
Tekashi 6ix9ine’s BBS Diamond Chain
When: 2018
When you consider the fact that Tekashi 6ix9ine lied about many things throughout his career, such as “growing up” with Nine Trey Bloods leader Seqo Billy, it’s not surprising that he got caught flexing fake diamonds. In this memorable video, 6ix9ine talked up his diamond chain while holding a diamond tester to see if Jimmyboi and Ugly God’s diamonds were as real as his. Although the celeb jeweler and meme rapper passed the diamond test, 6ix9ine’s rocks failed to beep under the tester. “Hold up, you’re not getting on the stone,” 6ix9ine says to no avail. While it’s unclear if one of hip-hop’s biggest trolls was just doing this for clout, his BBS diamond chain is still more real than his ties to the Nine Trey Bloods he testified against.
Famous Dex’s Dior Air Jordan 1 “Mids”
When: 2020
In recent years, replica sneakers have plagued the secondhand sneaker market. Resale channels like StockX have even caught lawsuits from Nike for selling fake Air Jordans. One of the most faked sneakers in recent years were the Dior x Air Jordan 1s originally released in July 2020. Famous Dex was one of many buyers who got his hands on a particularly bad pair of fake Dior Jordans. Based on the tone of Dex’s voice, it seems like he was flaunting over these fakes in jest. Regardless, many pairs of fake Dior Jordans flooded the streets after their initial release in 2020. So many that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a $4.3 million shipment of fake sneakers headed for Mexico in 2020 that included 1,800 pairs of fake Dior Jordans. This is one sneaker you should not attempt buying on the secondhand market unless you’re absolutely sure you can prove the pair you’re buying is real. But if you copped anything that looks like this pair Dexter is holding, you smoked that L because you truly played yourself.
T-Pain’s Temu Richard Mille Watch
When: 2023
Fast fashion has always made knockoffs of popular clothing. But T-Pain’s fake Richard Mille off Temu is certainly a first. Recently, on an episode of his podcast Nappy Boy Radio, T-Pain flexed a piece sold as a “fashion watch” he found on the Chinese marketplace. The watch, which cost a meager $11.18, looks like a poorly made Richard Mille dupe crafted out of plastic with a silicone wrist strap. “I might wear this watch,” T-Pain joked on the podcast. “It’s a Richard Mille. I’m gon’ see what I can get away with. If you see me out with this, just don’t say nothing. This shit literally says fashion watch. I’ll tell you what, it’s about to be for a fuckin’ adult going to a Goddamn awards show for real.” Although Temu is basically another version of Shein, T-Pain attested that the dirt-cheap pieces he picked up aren’t too shabby and that it would pass in the club. “When the light hit the ice, it twinkle and glisten," T-Pain said while showing off a piece of Temu jewelry he purchased for less than $1. "You see a real n***a with this bitch on, you ain’t asking no questions. It’s actually metal, n***a. This motherfucker’s heavy, bro. That bitch from Johnny Wang!”
Big Boi’s Retro Air Jordan F8kes
When: 2009
Perhaps one of the most notorious fake sneakers ever worn by a celeb was Big Boi’s red and blue Retro Air Jordan 8s. It was a fake widely seen by everyone on the Internet because Big Boi flexed them in an interview with CNN.com during a Sneaker Pimps convention in Atlanta. A month after he got caught wearing the fakes, Maurice Garland interviewed him about the sneakers he wore. Big Boi claimed he ordered them off the Internet around 2000 and that he paid $500 for them. “I ain’t really perpetuating fraud or nothing, I liked them because of the colors,” he said. He went on to clarify that he didn’t have money to wear OG Air Jordans 8s while he was growing up, so he was quick to buy a pair he thought was dope while he was on the come-up. On a 2020 episode of Full Size Run, Big Boi revisited the 8s and said his brother was actually the one who ordered them online for him. He also revealed those sneakers are still in his collection today and are cemented in Outkast’s own history. On the back of Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Big Boi can be seen wearing them while standing on a set of speakers. While it would be embarrassing for most sneaker collectors to spend $500 on fugazi Jordans, Big Boi emphasized on FSR there’s more to life than what shoes he wears. “That album [Speakerboxxx/The Love Below] went on to sell 17 million copies,” he told Complex. “Fuck them shoes!”
