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"  It used to be Birkin bags, Fisker Karmas, personal umbrella-holders (Farnsworth Bentley, anyone?) But that sort of early aughts swag became too easy. The bar has officially been raised on celebrity status symbols: These days, a tiny monkey is the rock star must-have, preferably one that will leave a trail of controversy (and bananas) in its wake. Exhibit A: Rihanna, who on the southeast Asian leg of her tour instagrammed a petite primate &amp;quot;talkin dirty&amp;quot; (her words) in her ear in Phuket, Thailand. So adorable, so exotic\u2014until, in a Brokedown Palace turn of events, the above Insta led to the arrest of two men for pimping out the monkey, which turned out to be a protected slow loris, as a tourist attraction. They now face decades in jail... but the illicit monkey selfie is now a fantasy Instagram for many. There&amp;#039;s something about smuggling a monkey across international lines that says, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m rich, I&amp;#039;m famous, I don&amp;#039;t believe that the law applies to me, and I do not give a fuck.&amp;quot; This was more or less the headspace of Justin Bieber, who earlier this year attempted to carry his baby capuchin monkey OG Mally (swadded in a cashmere blanket and wearing rhinestone &amp;quot;Swaggy&amp;quot; rings on her paws, we assume) into Germany without proper documentation. Poor OG Mally was left at customs and later found a new, decidedly less erratic, home in a German zoo. But the incident signified a new era of badass (read: horrifying) behavior for Bieber; much spitting on everyone and peeing into buckets in restaurants ensued.  It&amp;#039;s enough to make animal rights advocates shudder, but of course, the relationship between primates and renegade pop stars is long and storied. See: Michael Jackson and his BFF Bubbles.  And at her peak, Paris Hilton said she snuggled her monkey, Brigitte Bardot, when she was on the rebound.  Stars: They really aren&amp;#039;t just like us.   Follow Michelle on Twitter. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/news/a15727/monkeys-celebrity-status-symbol/>