Imagine discovering a water bottle backstage that belongs to a celebrity who has left it behind, and deciding it should go to the museum. Then picture the water bottle is actually a trash can containing Lady Gaga’s urine. That’s basically the kind of strange celebrity story that started in 2013 when Lady Gaga made a homemade perfume out of the substance.
The unlikely story features Lady Gaga, television host Andy Cohen, and an assistant who apparently thought it would be an interesting way to preserve pop culture history.
How a Dressing Room incident Became Celebrity Memorabilia
In 2013, Lady Gaga came on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live. Andy Cohen hosted the show. Cohen later said Gaga needed to use the bathroom, but there was no easy place to go. So, she reportedly used a trash can in her dressing room.
Before leaving, Gaga supposedly apologised for what had happened. That would have been the end of a weird backstage incident for most, but Cohen apparently saw it as an opportunity for something else.
During an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Cohen explained that he wanted his production assistants to save the urine because he thought it would be a pop-culture artefact. His reasoning was typically outrageous: if celebrities can have their clothes, photos, and personal belongings collected up for preservation, why not something more unexpected?
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One of his assistants, identified in Cohen’s account as Ryan, soon pointed out a concern that the urine might deteriorate rather than be a harmless novelty. That caused an even stranger solution to come about.
The Homemade Perfume Experiment
In addition to not giving up on the idea, the production assistant apparently searched online for a recipe that used alcohol and other ingredients to transform the urine into a perfume-like mixture.
The resulting concoction was poured into a decorative perfume bottle as a way to turn an embarrassing behind – the – scenes moment into something that could be displayed on the show’s set.
It’s important to note that the experiment wasn’t really a professional perfume production. Commercial fragrances are made to have select ingredients, solvents, and other elements added in order to achieve the desired effect. The reported homemade mixture would be considered a novelty rather than a professionally developed fragrance due to the lack of a verified formula currently available to determine exactly what went into it.
Cohen later described the scent as having a urine-like quality mixed in with a floral touch. That certainly would make a memorable story but probably isn’t something a luxury fragrance company would put in an advertisement.
Lady Gaga Had a Warning for Andy Cohen
The story might have been just an amusing television anecdote had it not been for the fact that Gaga herself got involved.
On November 12, 2013, she posted a message on social media acknowledging Cohen’s claim that her urine got turned into a perfume. Her warning was light – hearted but clear that viewers should be cautious if Cohen ever tried to spray it on them.
So @Andy told me they made perfume out of my pee from the trash in WWH dressing room (long story) U HAVE BEEN WARNED IF HE TRIES TO SPRITZ U
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) November 12, 2013
Her reaction helped to shift the story from a strange backstage rumour into a widespread entertainment headline as well as a look at how celebrity culture works in the social media era. An unusual incident gets turned into news and the celebrity responds, which gives the story yet something else to live on.
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The episode was fitting for a Gaga who has a long public image of being unafraid to embrace unconventional styles and performances, but there’s no apparent evidence that she got involved in making the homemade perfume.
Why Would Anyone Preserve Something Like This?
The strange part is that it did not seem to be about perfume at all. More than that, It’s the fact that anyone even wanted to save something like that.
Celebrity memorabilia can include things like concert clothes, signed photos, written lyrics, or other items tied to a big event. After a release, these pieces can draw strong interest. Many fans want proof of a connection to a specific person, a particular moment, or a wider shift in pop culture.
Cohen’s unusual creation followed the same type of logic, but took it to an absurd level. The potential appeal came more from the story attached to it rather than what actually went into it.
A bottle of regular perfume might be forgotten after a few years, but one that’s been associated with Lady Gaga, a television production, and an outrageous behind – the – scenes tale has a more distinct history.
That’s not to mean it would necessarily be worth a lot of money. There’s no verified sale or formal valuation of the homemade perfume mentioned in the sources reviewed. It’s an example of how at times, celebrity stories can turn otherwise worthless objects into conversation pieces.
The Mystery Behind the Bottle
Cohen talked publicly about the creation in 2013, but the later whereabouts and current condition are unclear. That should be pointed out when considering that claims that it’s still sitting unopened somewhere are supposedly unverified.
There is also a practical side to this. You should not get overly sentimental about the experiment. Mixtures you create at home that include living material can be dangerous to store, touch, or mist. Using alcohol does not guarantee that every unwanted contaminant is gone. Also, if a bottle is old, you should not wear the smell like a perfume.
In the end, Lady Gaga’s accidental backstage moment became memorable because someone thought that even the most bizarre celebrity incident deserved to have a place in pop culture history.
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The homemade perfume wasn’t really about having a nice scent; it was about having a story that almost nobody else could tell.
And that may be the strangest thing of all: sometimes, the actual value of a celebrity collectable has absolutely nothing to do with the object in the bottle.
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