MTV Cribs was probably one of the best-known shows on MTV. Even people who had no interest in MTV enjoyed watching this show. There was something genius about it, despite its simplicity. According to one producer: "Cribs was very grassroots... This is a little bit before VH1 exploded with all of the celeb reality shows. A lot of what we were doing was more in the bucket of MTV News, where you cover a celebrity and do a sit-down interview about their album. You didn’t really get into the reality of their life."

As I'm sure all of you out there already know, the show comprised of a small video crew going into the houses of famous celebrities, peeking into their lives in a way that had never been done before. A home is a sacred place, and it usually reflects the personality of the person it belongs to. Therefore, looking at someone's house is kind of like looking into someone's mind. Maybe that's why the show was so compelling.

Looking back, there were a lot of memorable moments on this show. But the most interesting facts might have been the things that happened behind the scenes. It was only years later that these secrets started to be revealed, and you might be surprised at some of these dirty secrets. Let's just say that celebrities might not be what they appear to be.

They Tried To Make Redman Rent A Mansion

Probably one of the best moments on MTV Cribs was Redman's "mansion." Except for the fact that it wasn't a mansion. It was a decidedly normal looking house, the kind that regular folks watching back home might have lived in. It featured luxuries such as a doorbell that was so broken you had to rub two wires together. As the camera crew walked in, they found Redman's cousin passed out on the floor of the living room. And the highlight was when Redman revealed where he kept all his money - in an old shoebox by his fridge.

But later on, some stunning revelations were revealed by Redman. According to the rapper himself, the crew of MTV Cribs tried to persuade Redman to rent a mansion in order to make the episode more glamorous, but he refused. He wanted to be honest with himself and his fans, and you have to applaud him for this, even though his crib wasn't as impressive as some others on the show.

Those Weren't 50 Cent's Cars

50 Cent was another memorable celeb who made an appearance on MTV Cribs. He showed the world his impressive mansion, and we were hardly surprised at how luxurious it was. After all, 50 Cent is one of the most successful rappers of all time. He also has a penchant for luxurious items such as mansions and amazing sports cars. He always shows these things off in his music videos, so a show like MTV Cribs should be no different.

But new evidence came out about how he had lied to everyone during this episode. He himself admitted that all of the cars he showed off during his episode were rented. These included three Ferraris. This all came to light in 2015 after 50 Cent filed for bankruptcy. He revealed that pretty much all of his wealth was just an illusion. Renting cars and claiming that they belong to you is actually really common in the rap world, as you will see later on in this article.

Ja Rule Lied About His House

Another huge celebrity who made an appearance on MTV Cribs was Ja Rule. You may have actually forgotten he even existed, he's really fell off the face of the Earth recently and is nowhere near as famous as he used to be. But back in the day, during the time MTV Cribs was popular, Ja Rule was huge. His episode of Cribs was very memorable as a result of his fame. He showed off to the audience a massive mansion that looked like it had been thoroughly partied in.

But there was one problem - it wasn't actually his house. That's right, this mansion that was supposedly owned by Ja Rule was actually rented out from a wealthy third party. And if that wasn't embarrassing enough, Ja Rule was actually sued as a result of this lie. The owner of the house didn't like the fact that Ja Rule allowed the house to be filmed without their permission. The owner also sued him over the fact that Ja Rule threw a raucous party with 600 guests, a clear violation of the rental agreement.

That Wasn't JoJo's House

Another very memorable episode of MTV Cribs featured JoJo. This mega star made it big back in the mid-2000's, and is trying to make a comeback in recent years. This star was very popular back during the time of MTV Cribs, and so it only makes sense that she would appear on the show. When she showed off her mansion, everyone was amazed. But she later admitted freely that she didn't own the house  - in fact she lived in a hotel at the time.

JoJo revealed: "The thing is, we didn't have a home at that point. My mom and I were living out of suitcases and we were mostly in hotels. So that was actually my uncle's house, on the Cape. That wasn't my house. That wasn't my stuff. When I was sitting on the spinny thing, that was his kids'. That's the truth. I should've balled hard, and been like, 'Welcome to my crib, look at how luxurious it is,' and I should have rented out a place. But no. I just used my uncle's crib. So that was me lying on Cribs."

Robbie Williams Borrowed A Mansion

Another star caught lying on MTV Cribs was Robbie Williams. This singer was a huge star and still is to some extent. With a net worth of $200 million, he's surely made his mark on the music industry. It should come as no surprise that he was included in an episode of MTV Cribs. His mansion that he showed off was incredible - it was one of the most luxurious houses ever featured on the show. Fans were amazed and other celebrities were put to shame when they saw how this man lived.

There was only one problem - it wasn't actually his house. What he did was borrow the home of an actress, Jane Seymour. This actress once played the Bond girl in Live And Let Die. He made it seem like the house belonged to him, and everyone was convinced. But the truth later came out, and if that wasn't embarrassing enough, he later had to refilm a new episode with his real home. Ouch.

Kim Kardashian's House Was Actually Her Mother's

Another celebrity that was featured on a very memorable episode of MTV Cribs was Kim Kardashian. The social media and reality TV star made a huge deal of showing off every corner of her delicious mansion, complete with quirky additions like a stripper pole in a bedroom. The mansion was certainly very impressive, and many people weren't too surprised that a star as big as Kim K had managed to land a house this nice.

But there was just one small problem - that house didn't actually belong to her. Although she somehow failed to mention this at any point during the episode, the house was actually her mother's. Located in Hidden Hills, this mansion most certainly did not belong to Kim K, although she probably spent a lot of time there. That still counts...right?

Usher Had Crystals Everywhere

Another celebrity who was featured on MTV Cribs was Usher. This star is one of the biggest names in music, and although his career is waning these days, he's still making big contributions to the music industry. After all, he was the one who first discovered Justin Bieber. With a net worth of $180 million, it should come as no surprise that Usher was featured on MTV Cribs, and that his mansion was one of the most impressive ever seen on the show.

But if you weren't watching carefully, you might have missed some weird details about his house. The most glaring detail was the fact that the man seemed to have crystals all over his house, and some were massive stones the size of cupboards. Why is Usher so obsessed with crystals? Some people believe that crystals have healing powers. Could it be that Usher is one of these new age nuts?

Mariah Carey Claimed To Own Marilyn Monroe's Piano

Another celebrity who famously made an appearance on MTV Cribs was Mariah Carey. This celeb had one of the most memorable episodes, and there was a bunch of weird stuff that went on when she was filmed showing off her house. These included her working out in her home gym wearing stilettos, getting into her bath while wearing just a bath towel, and many more quirky acts. Her house was definitely very nice, although it wasn't without some suspicious details.

Mariah Carey is well-known for doing questionable things these days, but this behavior extended well into her past. For example, she claimed during her MTV Cribs episode that she was in possession of Marilyn Monroe's piano. But she never once made an attempt to show the cameras this piano, so we're left wondering whether it even existed in the first place. Did Marilyn Monroe even play the piano...?

The Ying Yang Twins Rented A House

One of the most famous episodes of MTV Cribs featured the well-known hip-hop duo Ying Yang Twins. This group is famous for hits such as "Get Low" and many more. The audience loved them back in the day, and their appearance on MTV Cribs was inevitable. They showed off a pristine, luxurious manor that looked incredible. This episode was hilarious and remembered by many even to this day, although the reason for this was pretty much the opposite of what made Redman's episode funny.

You see, the Ying Yang Twins did not actually own this home. This was painfully obvious when they walked into a living room that looked like it had been decorated by an elderly white couple, and tried to play it off as their own. The episode was filled with hilarious moments as the Ying Yang twins pointed to decorations like pictures of fish on the wall, and said things like, "That was the fish I caught in Johannesburg." It became obvious that not only was this someone else's house, but that the Ying Yang twins had never even seen the home prior to the episode's filming, and were ad-libbing their way through the whole segment.

Destiny's Child Used Cribs To Promote Their Shoe Brand

Another memorable episode of MTV Cribs was the episode that featured Destiny's Child. This episode was another strange one because it showed a situation where all of the members of the Girl Group were living together in Texas. Were they really living together? Probably not, but it was better for their overall image to show them as one cohesive unit. The band was incredibly popular during the time MTV Cribs was all the rage, so they were basically a shoo-in for an episode of the show.

This brings us to one major sticking point when it comes to Destiny's Child's episode. During the segment, Beyonce goes into a dresser and pulls out a shoebox with a giant logo on it - which was Candie's shoe brand. Many people say that the group was just using the show to promote Candie's shoe brand, and you have to admit, this is a little shameful.

Birdman's Best Car Wasn't His

Another celebrity who famously made an appearance on MTV Cribs was Birdman. This man is one of the most successful contributors to the music industry, and founded Cash Money Records. He has a net worth of over $110 million, and was the person who made people like Lil Wayne, Drake, and Nicki Minaj famous. He also has his own solo rap career, but most of his money comes from his record label. As a result of his wealth, it should come as no surprise that MTV Cribs wanted to do an episode about him.

But what should come as a surprise is the fact that he lied during the episode to make himself look more rich than he actually was. His mansion was indeed his own, but when he showed off his cars the audience started to ask questions. His best car, which was presented by Birdman as his pride and joy, was actually a rental. This was made pretty obvious by the fact that the license plate read: "Prestige," which coincidentally (or not) is the name of a car rental company in Florida.

Bow Wow's Cars Were All Rentals

Another celebrity who was one MTV Cribs was Lil Bow Wow. This rapper is someone that pretty much everyone remembers from back in the day, when Bow Wow was the hottest thing to hit the hip-hop scene. As a child, he made it big as a rapper when he was just 13 years old. He showed off his dance moves in plenty of music videos on MTV, so it was only right that he get his chance to show off his fortune on MTV Cribs. Although he's definitely not as famous as he used to be, there's no doubting the fact that Lil Bow Wow was huge at the time this episode of Cribs was filmed.

But it seems that despite his seemingly immense wealth at the time, Bow Wow still felt the need to inflate his image by artificial means. Those cars he showed off during the episode? They weren't actually his. Once again, if you look on the sides of the cars, they have the word "Prestige" emblazoned on them, meaning they belong to a car rental company, not Bow Wow.

Brooke Hogan Lied About Who Built Their House

Another celebrity that appeared on MTV Cribs was Brooke Hogan. In reality, she was only part of a family-themed episode of the show that centered around the entire Hogan family. This episode was a pretty impressive one, and it revealed a stunning picture of the Hogan family's wealth and their luxurious living situation. The house was designed pretty well, and the house seemed very tasteful, especially when compared to the choices of some of the other celebrities.

When you're on TV and the cameras are rolling, it's easy to get a little carried away. Before you know it, things are coming out of your mouth that you're not even aware of, and you can't take it back. One would assume that this is what happened with Brooke Hogan when she made the bizarre claim that her mother had lived in Paris for 5 years to study architecture, and that she had personally designed the Hogans' house. Somehow I doubt that ever really happened...

Dame Dash Borrowed Mariah Carey's House

Another celebrity who was featured on an episode of MTV Cribs was Damon "Dame" Dash. He's known for a variety of business ventures, such as movies, acting, clothing lines, and many more. He inherited $50 million dollars, and tried to invest it into businesses. His episode of Cribs was pretty impressive, and the house he showed off looked pristine, clean, and luxurious.

But there was one small problem. It wasn't actually his house. The house he showed off as his own actually belonged to Mariah Carey, who was renting the house to Dame Dash at the time. This shouldn't have actually come as a huge surprise to anyone, considering the fact that Dame Dash was (and still is) in major debt at the time the episode aired. When you owe millions of dollars, you generally don't have the funds available to live in mansions...

There Were Adult Tapes Scattered In Redman's Crib

The famous episode of Cribs with Redman was so hilarious we just had to revisit it for the final entry in this article. This episode has probably been rewatched millions of times since it aired, and the episode can be now be found on YouTube for your viewing pleasure. He really showed off what it was like behind the scenes, and didn't try to fake things. That was made obvious by the fact that he really didn't make any effort to clean the place (although that might've been because MTV showed up earlier than he expected). If you look carefully, you can even see porn tapes scattered around his house!

Redman admitted in an interview: "While everybody was trying to show a lavish house, the lavish life of living, that’s not always the case. Not every entertainer’s living lavish. They may have a more lavish set on the street, but it’s still real for a lot of cats out here in the entertainment game. We’re okay, but we’re not rich, and that’s what I wanted to display to my fans... I always try and think about what the 'hood would say when I do things."

Sources: looper.com, ranker.com, buzzfeed.com