From Christopher Nolan to Sex and the City: The biggest Peloton Hollywood drama

Aside from drama, if there’s something that celebrities like, it is a health fad, so Peloton, at-home spin class, is a natural fit for the Hollywood treatment. At one point, it was one of the hottest crazes in exercising. It’s the perfect recipe for one as you can stay fit from the comfort of your front room, compete against thousands of people across the planet, and get those endorphins pumping.

Some of their instructors, whose classes are streamed straight into your home, even had a Hollywood pedigree themselves…. well they went on Dancing With The Stars and used their platform to go on to other things. Cody Rigsby, I’m looking at you!

With its first bike sold in 2012, it went from strength to strength due to the pandemic, which closed gyms and forced you to stay at home, but like a lot of other companies, the COVID-19 lockdown bubble demand has burst. There have been a string of scandals, from the silly to the serious.

When Mr Big died on a Peloton 

When Chris Noth’s character shocked Sex and the City fans tuning into the December 2021 premiere of the spin-off And Just Like That when he suffered a fatal heart attack while on his stationary bike. In response, the brand lost billions in share value. Still, they made the whole thing into a little laugh. 

“Mr Big lived what many would call an extravagant lifestyle – including cocktails, cigars, and big steaks – and was at serious risk as he had a previous cardiac event in season six,” Dr Suzanne Steinbaum, a member of Peloton’s board.  

This positive spin came after being shocked at what their bike would involve on the HBO Max series as “due to confidentiality reasons, HBO did not disclose the broader context surrounding the scene to Peloton in advance,” according to a spokesperson.

Speculation that the company had a hand in Mr Big’s death

The Sex and the City drama didn’t stop there! Oh no! Chris Noth, who since has faced a string of sexual assault accusations, starring in a commercial for the product revved up allegations that the brand had a hand in the decision to kill off Carrie Bradshaw’s husband, something they made great effort to deny.

“We filmed a spot with actor Chris Noth and Peloton instructor Jess King, with a voice-over by Reynolds,” a spokesperson said at the time. “In the spot, we reinforce the narrative that Peloton and cardiovascular exercise are good for you, and help millions of real people lead long, happy and healthy lives.”

They later pulled the ad after the allegations were published in The Hollywood Reporter just days later.

When another TV character died on a Peleton

Another TV diva was down, but this time was on the Showtime series Billions when Mike Wagner, played by David Costabile, almost died due to a cardiac arrest while on his personal spin bike but made it through. 

This scene was received much less warmly, and they found it way harder to laugh off using their wares without permission as another tool for traumatic experiences.

 “We get why these fictional TV shows would want to include a brand that people love to talk about, but Showtime’s use of Peloton’s Bike+ and reference to a Peloton Instructor was not a brand, product, or instructor placement, and we did not agree for our brand and IP to be used on this show or provide any equipment,” A spokesperson said.

The continued: “As referenced by the show itself, there are strong benefits of cardiovascular exercise to help people lead long, happy lives.”

Insulting one of it’s celebrity students

While leading her class, spin instructor Jenn Sherman got into her film critic era while leading a session, dubbing Christopher Nolan’s 2020 film Tenet as “a couple of hours of my life I’ll never get back”, oblivious to the fact that the director himself was taking the class.

Mortified, as you would be, she backtracked on Instagram, saying: “Huge day for me when I come to find out that the one and only Christopher Nolan, one of the leading filmmakers of the 21st century, knows who the hell I am. I was excited…and then I read the article.”

“I’m up on the platform teaching my little class and I’m running my mouth off, like I’m known to do. And I make a random comment about a movie I had seen the night before,” Jenn said. “What do you think the odds are that the director of said movie would take that ride some four years later? Yeah, that would only happen to me.”

If you ask me, I would tell Jenn to back her film opinions a bit more! Be confident! Art need critics! Films can be boring and their creators need not be protected from that! It can be a dialogue!

However, at the 2024 Golden Globes, Christopher admitted that he didn’t have much bad blood with the company as he had “nothing but love” for them after accepting his Best Director and Best Picture gong for Oppenheimer, a film that did get Jenn’s approval.

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Photo credit: Trust “Tru” Katsande