Last updated: February 5, 2023 at 3:03 p.m. ET
First published: February 5, 2023 at 3:02 p.m. ET
Talk about bluster.
It’s a long-standing tradition for artists nominated for awards like the Grammys to be treated to gift suites with luxury goods and services. But the giveaway bag for the 65th Grammy Awards on Sunday night is so rich, it’s literally a suitcase filled with over $60,000 in loot.
Lash Fary, who…
Talk about bluster.
It’s a long-standing tradition for artists nominated for awards like the Grammys to be treated to gift suites with luxury goods and services. But the giveaway bag for the 65th Grammy Awards on Sunday night is so rich, it’s literally a suitcase filled with over $60,000 in loot.
Lash Fary, who has hosted the Grammy Giveaway Show for more than 20 years, gave NBC a look at what artists can take home this year, win or lose. And the loot includes:
- The still unreleased $80 MINTiD Dog-E robot dog
- A $300 fine-bubble showerhead from ReFa that creates micro-bubbles, said to create a spa-quality mist and remove scalp buildup and skin impurities
- A $27 heart-shaped rose gold brush, also from ReFa
- Turbo-flex sunglasses from Aspex Eyewear said to be virtually indestructible
- GrosséJapan luxury costume jewelry, a brand worn by artists like Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Cyndi Lauper and Little Nas X
- A $400 robot pool cleaner from Aiper
- A $68 Expressio personalized chocolate video box from M Cacao, aka a high-tech box of chocolates you can personalize by uploading a video on top of the box
- A pair of $118 Havaianas flip flops dazzled with Swarovski crystals
- A bottle of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from Frontera Wines, which is the official wine of this year’s Grammys
- $10,000 Voucher for “Celebrity Arms” Liposuction with Dr. Thomas Su at ArtLipo Plastic Surgery
- A Bugaboo Fox 3 stroller over $1,000 (which obviously won’t fit in the suitcase, but will be available at the show.) And Bugaboo will donate a stroller to a family in need through Baby2Baby for every celebrity who catches a stroller in the living room.
“If you go home because you lost to Beyoncé or Lizzo or whoever ends up winning, you still get fabulous loot,” Fary told NBC.
And some 150 people are expected to walk out of the Grammys at Crypto Arena with those loot bags.
But they should keep in mind that there is no free lunch or goodie bag.
Artists will still have to pay taxes on all these goodies. And that’s because the IRS notes on its Gift Bag FAQ page that goods and services offered in conjunction with star appearances at awards shows aren’t “gifts” in the true sense of the word. “Organizations and merchants who participate in giving away the gift bags do not do so solely out of affection, respect, or similar impulse for the recipients of the gift bags,” the IRS notes. On the contrary, giveaway suites are huge marketing opportunities for brands hoping celebrities will take over and promote their products.
Thus, the value of gifts is considered income, according to the IRS. “Generally, the person received taxable income equal to the fair market value of the bag and its contents and should report that amount on their federal tax return,” the IRS page reads.
And for some successful Hollywood actors and other high earners in California, that can mean a tax rate of over 50%, as CNBC reported while reviewing the 2022 Oscars giveaway suite worth nearly $140. $000.
But Fary says celebrities are often not on the tax bill. “For these people, taxation is a pretty irrelevant issue,” Fary said.
