Edward Archbold had just won a cockroach-eating contest at a reptile store in South Florida when he began vomiting and was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. But eating bugs—whether for a contest or just as part of dinner—isn’t as far out as many might think. Insects are considered delicacies all around the world, and many celebrities indulge in the occasional creepy crawly. The Daily Beast takes a look at the stars who will eat a cricket or a worm from time to time.
Clockwise from top left: AP Photo; Reuters / Landov; Getty Images
It’s not like the Hollywood power couple we’ve come to know as Brangelina can’t afford food for its large brood. But sons Maddox and Pax enjoy chomping on crickets. “My boys love to eat crickets,” shared their mom, Angelina Jolie. “They ate them like Doritos.” Jolie herself has snacked on a few, saying they’re like potato chips. “When I first gave it to them … I wanted them not to be turned off by something that was of their culture,” Jolie said. Nothing to worry about there. Jolie eventually had to ban the insects for fear the boys might get sick from eating too many.
Poor Curtis Stone. The celebrity chef can’t shake the memory have having to chow down on some worms during a taping of Bravo’s Top Chef. The episode revolved around the cast of Discovery Channel’s Man, Woman, Wild, which was on hand to challenge the chefs to create dishes out of night crawlers and beetles. “No matter how good of a chef you are, it's hard to make bugs taste good,” said Stone. “I still have memories of biting into the worms and feeling their grit.”
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Fried ants, smokey grasshoppers, and worms, oh my! These are a few of Salma Hayek’s favorite things. In 2010 the actress told David Letterman that insects have been a part of her diet—and culinary heritage—since she was a child. “These little ants fried are amazing with a little guacamole,” Hayek said. “And the worms, there are many different recipes for those. The little grasshoppers have a smoky flavor to them. It’s the way they cook them, and it’s really good.”
Francois Mori / AP Photo
Jessica Simpson traveled the world looking for answers as to what defines beauty for her VH1 reality series The Price of Beauty. The first episode took her to Thailand, where in an effort to boost her metabolism, she tried to eat a few bugs from a street vendor. But alas, her gag reflex got in the way.
How far will Jessica Biel go to promote a movie? She’ll eat a chocolate-covered cricket on The Tonight Show. The gambit was part of Jay Leno’s “Earn Your Plug” bit, where celebrities have to earn the right to publicize their movies. At least Leno allowed Biel to work up to eating the insect. First she had some chocolate-covered bacon. Then she had some chocolate-covered pizza. After that it was on to the cricket.
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Zac Efron says he likes eating exotic foods, and he put his fondness for the bizarre on display when he dropped by the George Lopez show in 2010. Scorpion on toast? No problem! “It's really good,” said Efron. Taiwanese cricket? “That is the best one,” the actor enthused. But Efron met his match with the Super Worm Cocktail, a concoction of creepy crawlers marinated in lime juice in a martini glass. That one was “the worst,” he said.
On the football field, Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Danny Watkins is known for his ability to help the team put points on the board. Off the field, he is known for taking friendly bets he can most definitely deliver on. Eating a cricket? No problem. For his efforts, Watkins raked in a cool $120. Not bad for a guy making $7.9 million.
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