Wherever there is a celebrity on the brink of legendary status, an impersonator is not too far behind ready to mimic their mannerisms. You can usually find them across the Internet, but they mainly reside in Nevada’s economic center. Las Vegas is the home of many celebrity impersonators, offering caricatures of celebrities like Elvis Presley and more. They typically do impressions of musicians through dancing, appearances, or comedy, offering entertainment to tourists for economic value.
While some can be entertaining, there are instances when the impressions turn dark. Some even going as far as changing their physical appearance to commit to the bit.
An example of this would be content creator, Paige Niemann, who gained traction in 2019 after impersonating Ariana Grande’s infamous character, Cat Valentine. What started with red wigs and lip syncing famous sayings turned into Niemann walking red carpets in full Grande-adjacent attire and recreating her wedding photos. Grande’s fans even accused Niemann of impersonating her on her OnlyFans account.
For this reason, her social media accounts have gone through an endless cycle of being banned and reinstated.
Despite the public’s discomfort, this doesn’t seem to be an issue for Niemann, who, most recently, attended the premiere for the sci-fi film, Companion, fooling many into thinking they were seeing the ‘7 rings’ singer. It isn’t just the public feeling uncomfortable with Niemann’s actions. In 2020, Grande spoke out against her impersonators, calling the matter “degrading.”
Most impersonators, like Niemann, have used their impressions as a way to generate income. Another example would be Fabio Jackson, Michael Jackson’s most famous and controversial impersonator.
Jackson is amongst the most talked-about due to his viral moment running into another impersonator in the Las Vegas strip. With his arms crossed, he nodded his head in approval to the performer, seemingly giving off the impression of being the ‘Billie Jean’ singer himself.
He denied these claims by commenting that he was simply admiring the performer. However, this didn’t calm down the backlash. He eventually found himself in hot water once again after the trailer for the late singer’s biopic, Michael dropped. After the full-length trailer was released, Jackson live-streamed his reaction in contemplative silence, causing people to question whether impersonators are less entertainment than they are an identity crisis.
According to Jackson, the answer is the former. Not unused to going viral for his reactions, he says he doesn’t agree with the word “cosplay.”
“When I saw the trailer, I saw some things could have been done better,” Jackson explained. He went on to express his grievances over the appearance of (Michael) Jackson’s portrayal in the biopic. Specifically, his Motown glove, his lack of edges, and other minor details that have little relevance to the authenticity of the film.
The list of celebrity impersonators is long and often hard to keep up with, if ever interested. They seem to depict no harm when viewing it from a shallow lens. However, once it appears to bleed into their lived lifestyles or borders on harassment of the celebrity, it’s understandable why someone would question the ethics.
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