Dennis Rodman Unexpectedly Shut Down New York’s 5th Avenue After Aerosmith Singer’s 3 Words in 1996

As vibrant and quirky as Dennis Rodman‘s appearances were, Rodman in a wedding dress was a different level of highlight. Apart from the NBA, if The Worm was popular for anything, it was his choice of fashion and public appearances. And although he was often dismissed for being peculiar, there are many who now consider him a fashion pioneer. Revisiting that phase, the 5x NBA champ has revealed the 76-year-old singer who approved one of his most popular appearances — the wedding dress — and the backstory to it.

In an interview with Complex, the former Chicago Bulls star remembers the experience to be fun, but he did not expect that it would cause New York’s Fifth Avenue to shut down. “… I thought about that one night in New York at the hotel, and I went down to the gym… Steven Tyler was there. We was riding a bike together. I said… ‘You think I should wear a wedding dress to my book signing today?’ He said, ‘Go ahead, baby. Go ahead,'” Rodman recalled.

He further mentioned that a guy flew from London to take the former Bulls star’s measurements for the wedding dress. As for the full backstory — when Dennis Rodman donned the wedding dress back in 1996, he announced himself as bisexual and that he was marrying himself. However, later it turned out to be a publicity stunt for his memoir, ‘Bad As I Wanna Be’.

The stunt even worked in the 5x NBA champ’s favor as the memoir topped the New York Times bestseller list and remained on it for 20 weeks. “That book elevated him to a new level of fame… I remember CNN had a half-hour newscast back then and Dennis’ book was on the crawl. It was the No. 1 story,” Rodman’s agent and manager, Dwight Manley, back then said.

It is worth mentioning the wedding dress was not the only instance of Dennis Rodman’s cross-dressing experiments. He disclosed in his autobiography he had this habit from a young age, as he was mainly raised among women.

Dennis Rodman’s cross-dressing inspiration was rooted in his environment of upbringing

“I cannot recall the initial time I chose to cross-dress as an adult… It was rather a gradual progression where I switched from earrings and painted nails to wearing halter tops and tight leather shorts…” he stated in his autobiography. He further mentioned that when he cross-dresses, he considers it “an avenue to display all facets of Dennis Rodman. I present you the complete package…” 

Notably, Rodman’s father left his family when he was young, so with his mother and sisters, he was raised in what was mostly an all-female household. Apart from this, the NBA legend’s relationship with Madonna is also said to have had an impact on his personality. Whatever the driving forces may have been, what we have today is a former NBA star with multiple accolades and a vibrant personal life history.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.