“Never meet your heroes” is an unwritten rule for fans. We tend to idolize celebrities by what we see on screen and often forget that they are actually flesh and blood, not just moving pixels on our screens. Celebrities eat, drink, sleep, buy groceries gas, and eat snacks in the park over lunch breaks, just like us. Often, the rudest celebrities are spotted exactly when they’re off-set and being human.
An internet user wanted to hear others’ experiences with mean celebrities stories so people delivered their best (or worst) encounters. So, if you have a particular celebrity favorite, be warned that these examples might ruin your opinion of them. Regardless, be sure to upvote your favorites and comment on your own celebrity stories.
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This is my Ex boyfriends story but I think it fits. He went to a talk with Adam Savage from Mythbusters. Now, my ex is not a tall guy. Adam made his way through the crowd, turned to look at one of the stage people, ELBOWED my ex in the face, and kept walking. But it gets better. My ex went to another talk on a separate occasion hoping to meet Adam and get a signature and apology for last time, Adam stepped on him on his way to the next stage. My Ex forever hated Adam Savage after that.
My ex was an emotionally abusive a*****e with severe narcissism. Adam Savage will forever be my hero for elbowing him in the face.
I met Mickey Mouse at Disney World when I was around 6 years old. He just took a picture and signed my autograph book without even saying a word. He was a lot bigger in person than in the cartoons, though. Almost seemed about the size of a human adult.
Went to a large comic book show probably 10 years ago or so with my GF. Generally go with a bunch of comics we want to get autographed and meet the creators. Standard stuff.
Todd McFarlane is one of the big guests to be there and we manage to get decently close to the front of his line, but before he's actually there. That's OK, we're used to this kind of thing. He's supposed to be there in an hour.
So, we start by taking turns, one person waits on line while the other takes a couple of comics over to another creator, meets them, gets a sig or 3. We generally care about meeting different folks so that's fine. Over an hour goes by, someone comes through the line and said he's not here yet, expect it to be another hour.
OK, so we do some more taking turns getting other sigs. A second hour goes by, and now we're told it'll be a bit longer and they're limiting people to 3 sigs each. OK....
Another half hour goes by, and now we're told it'll be a bit longer, and they're limiting it to 1 sig per person. WTF, but OK.
Another 30 mins goes by, so 3 hrs from when we got in line (don't even know how long it was for the people at the front) and he finally shows up, 2 hrs after he said he would be there and by how they kept cutting down how many books we could each get signed, obviously still planning on staying until he had originally planned to leave (not staying longer to make up for the time he was late).
As we're getting up to the front, dude's not even acknowledging people as they walk up to him. They try to say anything, he says nothing, quickly signs and shoos them away. Until we get there. Because one of us is a girl. He stares my GF down in the creepiest way possible while continuing to ignore the rest of us. She doesn't have much to say to him at that point, so just got the sig and moved on. As we're walking away, he continues to stare her down, ignoring people in line after us.
On the flipside, Jim Lee was the f*****g man. We were in line for him and he was told that his time was up and he had to stop. Everyone was bummed that they waited on line for nothing. He gets up and loudly announces to everyone on line for him that he was told his time's up, so he's sorry he won't be able to really meet everyone else, do any sketches, or take pictures, but if everyone can each take out 2 things they want signed, have them opened to wherever we want him to sign, he's going to quickly walk down the line and sign 2 things for each person so they at least get something for waiting in line. And while he did that, he was chatting with each person who said something to him, at least smiling and saying hi to each person who didn't. He knew fans had waited in line a long time and wanted to thank them for doing so.
I'm not sure who's worse; Todd or you for writing an insufferable college essay about waiting in line...
The alternative is to not read it. The OP was responding to a question on Reddit. Some people will happily read it but you don't need to read it if you don't like reading longer pieces of text.
Load More Replies...Met Todd in '93. Total a$$hat. Hopefully he's different now but by the sound of this... Probably not. Fantastic artist w/o a doubt... But more of a "businessman" than "creator". (Spawn is uninspired horse manure.) Jim Lee is the Tony Gwynn of comics! Much love!
Todd McFarlane is famously a douche. This should surprise no one?
Reading this, I felt like I was right there with you. Waiting...waiting...waiting for something to happen.
I don't understand this whole autograph thing. There is no one I'm that in awe of that I want their signature on something.
That's your preference. Not everyone is the same
Load More Replies...Autograph lines....used to work at cons. Michael Dorn had one heck of a line so I walked the whole line up and down talking to everyone. Seeing what they wanted signed. Reminded them to have books turned to the page they wanted, shirts set up just right, one lady had a trek quilt and we folded it just right so that area was easy to sign. The signing took place indoors but the line snaked outdoors. I wanted to get something signed as well. At the very end Michael Dorn waited for me to get my item he signed it, then thanked me for making the line go so well by having everyone prepared. He got to talk to most of the people.
I mean I don't think it's fair to judge him that bad, you don't know why he was late and the limited time it's not really his fault
What Does It Mean to Never Meet Your Heroes?
The English proverb “never meet your heroes” means keeping your idols at a distance, preserving the image you have of them. It’s a tip for safeguarding the admiration you have for them. Sometimes, the characters we create in our minds for our role models are even more powerful than their personalities in real life. Here’s a list of the 5 reasons you should never meet your heroes.
1. Unrealistic Expectations
Sometimes, we build up our idols in our minds so much that meeting them in person can be a letdown. They’re human, too, with flaws and mood shifts. Celebrities who are jerks in person do exist!
2. Disappointment Risk
Your idol might have a bad day or be in a rush, and their behavior might not match your image of them. It’s like seeing behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz. Celebrities may not always look or behave perfectly, which might disappoint you.
3. Loss of Mystery
Meeting celebrities could demystify them. The mystery of being on top of social classes with high standards might just vanish, which can change how you perceive them.
4. Potential for Awkwardness
Sometimes, social interactions don't go as smoothly as we’d like, especially with stars caught by surprise. They might try to get rid of you, making you feel embarrassed. It could lead to an awkward encounter, making you regret your worship toward them.
5. Personal Growth vs. Hero Worship
There’s a fine line between being inspired by someone and putting them on a pedestal. Meeting them might blur that line and take away your image of highly talented individuals who were inspiring you a few hours before seeing them.
The other inherent but overlooked risk is having a bad experience in general. A person doesn’t have to be a celebrity to be a jerk and ruin your day. Anyone who has worked in the service industry or any other client-facing role will know just how petty, obtuse, and annoying the average person can be. Celebrities are “more dangerous,” as getting back at them might be more difficult for anything they do.
Opposite answer, because of course it is, but Dee Snyder. I was 19 and working at a Hard Rock Cafe and he was judging some mid-level battle of the bands thing. I was raised on hair metal and Twisted Sister was a favorite of mine, plus I’d never met anyone famous before. He made his small entourage stop so he could sign a napkin for me, shake my hand, and the best part was his first question: “So how long have you been rocking?” “Since I was 13 and I’ve never stopped!” “Rock on little lady!”
Very nice man, very pleased to see enthusiasm. Great hand shake and eye contact, which couldn’t have been easy since he’s easily a foot taller than I am.
His daughter (?) on the other hand was a damned bint, though. I barely got out the perfunctory “Welcome to the Hard Rock!” before she shoves up front and gets in my face with a snotty “Do you even *know* who this is?” like how dare I impede the way of greatness in all my unwashed splendor. And of course dopey me only stutters out “...yeah, that’s Dee Snyder.”
So, Mr. Snyder? Class act. Seemed genuinely happy to pause for five minutes to talk with a young metal fan. Has one of the best opening lines. 10/10 would love to meet him again (especially since his signed napkin got “lost” in my divorce)
Whoever was with him riding coat tails? I hope her bleach blond hair never holds a proper curl for longer than 10 minutes and goes brassy.
Not a bad story, just awkward. Got to meet Karl Urban at a con, he was friendly and all, but I was so nervous I could barely say a word (English not being my first language also didn't really help). Also had to wait a little bit in line because he'd just left for a quick bathroom break, so I just sorta stood there. He actually tried to make a bit of a conversation but I just giggled awkwardly, it's like my brain forgot every English phrase or word I ever learned. Damn insecurities.
I went to the Q&A panel in the afternoon and he was really funny and entertaining, so I think he's a cool guy overall. I was just too awkward for my own good :/
Not so much a meet my hero story, but write an essay praising someone who inspired me, and would then go on to do some bad things, story.
Grade 6 I wrote an essay about Jeff Gordon (this was during my professional motor sport phase). He would eventually go on to cheat on his wife.
Grade 8 I wrote an essay about Kobe Bryant (this was during my basketball phase). He went on to get charged with rape.
In post-secondary, during my inspiration of the differently abled persons phase, I included a profile of Oscar Pistorius in a project on Para-athletes. He went on to murder his girlfriend.
I've stopped writing essays about public figures who inspire me.
Who Said Never Meet Your Heroes?
It’s easy for others to tell us to avoid meeting our heroes since it implies that they have already “enjoyed” this experience and we should skip it. Like a person trying some exclusive new restaurant then telling you to avoid it, it leaves a lingering feeling that maybe you should just see for yourself.
The original quote is “Il ne faut pas toucher aux idoles: la dorure en reste aux mains,” from the French novel Madame Bovary. The English translation is a lot more poetic, but in usual English language pragmatism, we cut off the latter part. But the idea stands: an idol will often seem “worse” in person, particularly if they don’t have the best personality.
The influential French writer Marcel Proust penned the iconic phrase in his work "In Search of Lost Time," published in 1900. He believed that encountering our idols in reality could shatter our idealized image of them, leading to disappointment. Proust's wisdom encourages us to appreciate the artists of those we admire from a distance, preserving the magic they hold in our minds.
I've never met anyone that was an idol of mine that I had a bad experience with.
However, my best friend growing up had his go so bad he ended what was nearly 20 years of fandom right then and there. He worked for one of the big shoe stores and had won a contest to go to the All Star festivities for the NBA. He met a lot of current and former player and coaches and had a blast. Until he met Michael Jordan. Being a sneaker head, my friend owned originals or rereleases of every shoe Jordan ever had up until that point. It was something like 30 shoes if you counted the different colorways. Posters, jerseys, trading cards, memorabilia of all types adorned a room at his apartment. He sees Jordan and decides to just kind of hang out until he is done talking and just get a quick meet and greet, no photo, no autograph, just to say hey. Jordan ends his conversation and my friend steps up near him and Jordan basically asks him who the f**k he is, what he wants and acts like an a*****e. My friend just tells him that he was a big fan and it was great to finally meet him. Jordan basically says, "yeah, whatever" and walks away.
He got home from the trip and started selling off his collection of shoes and all things Jordan. He had heard the stories and assumed they were just overblown or didn't happen. Nope, Jordan is a c**k in real life.
Oh, this one is fun...
I went to a Blondie concert a few years ago and was allowed to go backstage with my friend who was with a talent marketing agency.
Debbie Harry was there talking to some people from the band, and we didn't want to disturb her, so my friend asks one of the guys in the band if he could be in a picture with him instead. I had a pretty nice camera with me. This was nearly a couple of decades ago, so it was a camera with a roll of film inside. The guy in the band was fine with it, so I took the picture with my friend and the band member in the foreground, and Debbie in the background.
As soon as I took the picture, Debbie f*****g exploded on me! I explained the situation but she just freaked out and told me she'd call the cops if I didn't give her the film roll in my camera rightaway and did I want to go to jail!?! I asked what she thought the cops would send me to jail for. She just pushed the decibels up one level and just repeated "Give it to me! Give me the f*****g film roll!" over and over.
At this point, I'm thinking – yes – this used to be Debbie Harry, but right now she's just some crazy person, and I do have the option of just not interacting with crazy persons, so I just take a couple of steps to walk away.
Rightaway she screams like she's just been stabbed or something. Just this loud, high pitch, continuous scream. These two enormous guys appear and she tells them to take my camera, the same way you'd imagine a queen saying "Off with his head!".
The two heavy guys are like "Give us the camera or there's gonna be trouble". So, I pull out my phone and say "Right, I'm calling the cops".
Something must have worked in the way I said this, because a person I assume was Debbie's manager then says "OK, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna buy the film roll from you. How much do you want for it?" I say "I don't know. I've got a few nice pictures on there. Maybe a hundred pounds for the trouble?". Without flinching, he pulls out his wallet and, I don't know, maybe he misheard me or he's just not good with numbers, but he takes a whole wad of £50 banknotes and counts ten £50 notes out loud which he gives me. This is way more than what I asked for, so I'm completely confused by now, and I just open the camera and give him the film. The end.
Every time I listen to one of Blondie's songs now, I keep wondering what it was that got her to freak out like that, or why this guy just gave me so much more for the film roll.
I realized that celebrities were normal-a*s people when I saw Steve Buscemi drop salad in his lap in a Burger King near Bob Hope Airport
These Are Not the Only Meanest Celebrities in Real Life
If you think fans take things too personally, ask other celebs about meeting superstars. Musician Moby maintains a “don’t meet your heroes” policy for himself. In an interview with Insider, the musician revealed that if he was at a party with another artist he enjoyed, he would consciously not encounter them. His reasoning was simple: if he caught someone on a bad day, he could not only lose a hero but, say, a large body of media that he could never enjoy the same way.
While some might be able to separate the art from the artist, that doesn’t really work if the artist is your “hero,” icon, idol, or anything else that fits that category. Similar to Moby, a bad experience with an actor will negatively paint them in all their work, potentially ruining films both past and present for you. Depending on the age of the “hero,” meeting them gets increasingly dangerous; if they are young, there is a lot more potential work to be ruined.
My fiancé and I met our favorite author, Caitlin Doughty, during her book tour. She’s a mortician and the creator of the popular YouTube channel “ask a mortician.” When I met her I was star struck and said I wanted to be her best friend, and she proclaimed that now we are.
Then my fiancé said “I’d want you to cremate me. In fact, you can even be the one to kill me.”
So in context, we both had great conversations with her and she was the biggest sweetheart.
But out of context, my photo with her is of me gazing at her lovingly while she strokes my hair, but my fiancé’s picture is of her with her hands around his neck, choking him and telling him how she’s burn his corpse.
You can tell in her videos she's always genuine. Love watching her videos.
My dad was working for a baseball team in Rochester, New York when he was in his late teens/early 20's. One day, Mickey Mantle came for some charity or promotional event or something. My dad, being a boy in the 50's and into sports, was obviously a HUGE fan and was awestruck when he was approached by him.
Turns out, Mickey was a big ol' jerk (maybe just in a bad mood that night?) that didn't look up at him and literally just huffed out a "Take me to a steakhouse". My dad, being somewhat of the odds and ends guy for the team, obliged and took him to the best in town. Mickey sat across from him--just the two of them at the table--all night with his head down as he ate. My dad says he never looked up ONCE. Didn't say a SINGLE WORD to him.
Afterwards, my dad, an errand boy at a minor league baseball team, was left with the check as Mickey went to go to the car to have my dad drive him back to his hotel. Rode in and left the car without saying a word.
My dad likes to say he met Mickey Mantle and spent all night staring at the small balding spot on the top of his head.
To be fair, another baseball player came the next year--Whitey Ford (another famous Yankee)--and said "Where's *Dad's name*? Mickey told me to find this kid, *Dad's name*, and have him take me to that steakhouse." So, my dad got to spend a very pleasant evening with Whitey Ford, another hero of his that eventually turned into a semi-friend/mentor.
EDIT: Spelling
My grandpa worked as a bartender at a very fancy hotel in my city years ago. One day, in walks Mick Jagger. My grandpa never knew much about the Rolling Stones but he knew the rest of us were fans, so when he served him at the bar, he asked for an autograph. Jagger didn’t say anything but wrote something down on a cocktail napkin. When my grandpa looked at it, it read “f*ck you”. He didn’t even sign his name. Just a d**k move in my opinion.
I grew up with a poster of Cameron Diaz on my wall. Always thought she was the dopest. Then I met her and she was rude, stuck up, and made me get out of an elevator I was already in so she could ride it up alone. We were going to the same event. She later didn’t acknowledge the elevator ride when we were introduced by a mutual friend. Made me think she’s always like that. She may be hot but I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole anymore.
I find it really weird to get out of an elevator, because someone famous asked you to do it.
In college, a friend of mine used to draw comics on the side. Because of this, he always used to get a table whenever there was a comic convention in town- they were usually in the back of the hall, but still, he would say we were his assistants and get us in for free.
One year, his table was in the far corner, by the door that convention guests would use to enter and leave the main hall. This year, the big guest was Walter Koenig (Chekov from Star Trek). As he was getting ready to enter the main hall for his Q&A section, he stood by my friend's table, waiting to be announced. We tried to say hello, and my friend told him how much Star Trek meant to him when he was growing up, but Koenig just ignored him. Actually, he pretty much snubbed him- looked down his nose at us, etc.
Anyway, Koenig does his Q&A and comes back through the door, trying to be inconspicuous. As he passes, my friend stands up and yells "Hey, look! It's Chekov!". Whereupon the guy was immediately swarmed by every single fanboy in the room. He couldn't move, no matter how hard he tried to fight his way through the crowd. It was a good day.
idk if this was really her or not, but when I was like 9 I had messaged Ariana Grande on Facebook back in like 2010 when she was on the show Victorious. I told I was big fan and she called me a stupid b***h. It really hurt me and I stopped following her page after that. Lol
I have some interesting stories as I interned at MuchMusic, the Canadian MTV, years ago and got to meet a few celebrities, as well as worked at TIFF. I'm a big music/movie fan so this was a cool opportunity.
1. Ryan Reynolds, I know he's a twitter/Deadpool darling, but he was a real prick when he was to do an interview with us. This is back in 2009. He was scheduled for an interview to promote a movie. This being Toronto, and in February, it was really friggin' cold outside. Fans of his lined up outside the building at around 6ish; Ryan was scheduled to interview at 8am. Anytime fans got a glimpse of him they lost it. Ryan Reynolds was completely disinterested in his own fans, didn't bother to go out and acknowledge them. I was a P.A., and told him if he wanted he could mingle with the fans before his interview. Didn't make eye contract and said "nah". Treated most of the crew like s**t and ducked out early. He's talented, maybe he was having a bad day, but he didn't look strssed, just prima donna behavior which I abhor.
2. Fall Out Boy. Not so much a******s or anything, just a moment of, "these guys are human beings like anyone else". I asked what food they wanted before their interview; they all requested alfredo fettucini, so it was my job to get it. Well, believe it or not, there were no nearby italian places I go to in time to get alfredo fettucini (remmeber these guys all have tight schedule). They acted like I told them their dogs died; moping, extreme sadness, it was really weird. Still, they were nice, but the "celebrity" illusion was shattered and it was an awkward moment.
3. Michael Mann. I was excited to meet him (Heat is an all timer for me), and he was in town for TIFF; my job was to be his minder. Well, he was literally just a senile old, no REALLY old/elderly man who could hardly get around and didn't really talk much.
4. For the canucks, if anyone remembers Karl Wolf (he did that crappy rap cover of Africa), he was a REAL piece of work, and truly believed he shat nothing but vanilla ice cream and was god's gift to men and women.
5. Peter Weller aka Robocop is a sarcastic a*****e in real life; if you're not on his level you'll perceive him as a real prick.
Flipside: I did get to meet Taylor Swift as well and she was an absolutely sweetheart (she also smelled heavenly, need her perfume).
Robert Pattinson looked like a dirtball when he was at Much promoting one of the Twilight films (along with the other cast), but was a really humble and nice guy. You could tell he didn't give a s**t about Twilight and was kind of embarrassed of the whole thing, but would excitedly talk about other projects he would have lined up.
Rachel McAdams came to TIFF a few times and was also a sweetheart (lives in the city). I mena, she's Rachel McAdams, she doesn't need to pay to see her own movies or any movie at the TIFF Lightbox theatre, but anytime she comes in, keeps a low profile and pays for the films. Humble as hell.
I also volunteer at the Metro Convention centre, we had WWE here so I got to meet a bunch of the wrestlers while working on the floor. All super nice (and ridiculously fit) folks.
I have so many more but these are top of my head.
I didn’t meet them but when I was 15-16 I was obsessed with New Kids on the Block, in love and miraculously they came to my hometown in Mexico.
I got a ticket, proceeded to cry on the shoulder of a random girl in front of me and then...Donnie f*****g Wahlberg tried to get the spanish speaking audience to sing along and we didn’t because, Spanish. So Donnie gets frustrated and yells at us: F**k You!!
A lot of people didn’t understand so they’re clapping and cheering but I’m standing there dumbfounded and heartbroken. I stayed until the end of the concert but once I got home I got rid of the NKOTB posters and stopped being a fan.
F**k you, Donnie, you piece of s**t.
My best friend drives for a luxury taxi line and drove Ed sheeran to his concert. Ed gets in my friends car, my friend is greeting him ,he doesn’t even say hello back. My friend tells him few seconds later : „ Hello my name is... I am your driver today and i am sorry but i just have to tell you i really enjoy your music and its really an honor for me to drive you to your concert.“
Ed, the a*****e he was, just looked at him and said „yeah whatever“ and put his earphones on.
Yeah you can imagine, my best friend doesn‘t like him since that moment.
tbf it must be really annoying as a famous person to be recognized wherever you go and have to pretend like you haven't heard the "I love your music" thousands of times before. Yes it was rude, but can you blame him? It would be different if it was at a meet and greet, but he was just minding his own business.
I used to love science as a kid, and I'd watch a ton of Bill Nye the Science Guy. He was autographing stuff at the St. Louis Science Center, I think I was about 8 or 10 years old and super f*****g excited to see him. My mom bought me a poster with dinosaurs on it that he could sign for me.
Waited about 5 minutes in line to see a very bored, pissed off Bill Nye. Told him I really liked his show and that I want to be a paleontologist when I grow up. He literally said "yeah whatever kid" under his breath, and signed my poster then loudly said "NEXT!"
I wasn't too bothered about it tbh, but I remember my mom being like "huh he was kind of an a*s, wasn't he?"
To be fair he didn't just sign the poster, he also left a quick little note that said "follow your dreams" or some s**t. I'll give Bill the benefit of the doubt on this one, I just think he was just bored and tired from signing stuff for little kids for hours straight. I would be too!
when my friends & i were like 17-18? we went to see an X Factor taping recording when Demi Lovato(disney star who was a judge on the show) was pulling out of the studio drive way & my friend just said “omg i love you so much, you saved my life” & she was so angry & just said “get the f**k away from me.” in the bitchiest manner ever & drove off. she is bipolar but he still never liked her after that & was so heartbroken
Bipolar doesn't mean that the person is an a hole towards others. It means that they go from mania (or hypomania) to depression in their own pattern. There's two types of bipolar disorders, the other is type 1 which is more severe than type 2. And everyone's bipo goes in their own particular intervals. I am irritated when if someone acts eratically and is an ahole or someting like that, they're always "bipolar". Source: I have bipolar disorder type 2 prone to more depression.
Neil Degrasse Tyson was a real a*****e to the crowd when he spoke at Mississippi State University around 8 years ago. The talk was a bit condescending, and it ended in a Q&A where he told a person with a question about pluto to put their hand down in the most serious and offended voice ever. This pretty fresh after the pluto isn't a planet thing, so I'm sure he was sick of hearing it, but he was just an a*****e in general. I guess I was expecting a student of Carl Sagan to be as awesome as Carl Sagan, which was my f**k up.
Not my story, but my dad was once kicked out of a restaurant because John Travolta wanted to eat there and made them clear the entire place out in the middle of everyone else's meals.
Peter Weller. Excuse me... DOCTOR Peter Weller, as he liked to tell everyone. Yelled at the young woman taking money at his table for him. Yelled at people in line. Yelled at me. Yelled at the people after me. Should've been named Peter Yeller.
If I saw him laying in the street, I wouldn't bother to walk around him. I'd casually step on him and keep walking.
Fortunately, I've met other people who I was warned ahead of time that they're not nice at all - William Shatner and Keir Dullea come to mind - and they ended up being really polite and conversational.
I've met William Shatner twice, both times in Ticonderoga, NY, where there is a huge, painstakingly accurate recreation of several of the rooms in the Enterprise (bridge, sick bay, captain's cabin, engineering), along with a museum of costumes, props, and memorabilia. He was very personable and his smile went all the way up to his eyes. (The first time, when the doors slid open and I saw the bridge with Captain Kirk sitting in the captain's chair, I started crying. It was simultaneously nostalgic and surreal.)
In high school I really loved *Ender's* *Game*. One summer I went to a writing workshop taught by Orson Scott Card. He spent the first 20-30 minutes talking about how immoral homosexuality is. Of course now I know he's a nut, but young me didn't.
I was told that as a kid I met Ryan Reynolds on the street once with my parents and he tried talking to me and I told him to go away he’s now one of my favourite actors
My mate is a huge Batman fan and was dragged along to see Val Kilmer at one of his Q&A tours. Val proceeded to be a huge d**k while my mate was trying to ask a question. I keep hearing he's awfully rude towards his fans but now I have a first hand account to confirm.
Travelled 3 hours with a few friends of mine to watch an independent author (36m) on his speaking tour when we were 14. He’d just released a book about his sex addiction, but his other books were just about his life and I loved him. When he found out we’d travelled so far, he started asking about how we got there and I told him my sister (34) drove us. I tried to tell him that he inspired me and I was so happy to meet him; all he did was ask if my sister was hot. Told him she was in a long term committed relationship and all he could say was “I don’t mind”. Discovered dude was just gross and never bought another of his books.
I was 15 and at Warped Tour and met one of my favorite band members. He wasn’t an a*****e or anything, but he wasn’t what I thought he would be. I had built him up in my head, but he was just a normal person who was tired and sweaty from the long day. And then I kind of realized that all my heroes are just normal people.
I met Adam West at a Comic Con in Dallas. He just seemed really bored and over the who event. He was just doodling in a book and wasn't acknowledging anyone.
I went back to the Dallas Comic Con a few years after that and met Stan Lee, he was amazing! Very nice, made sure everyone got a signature and answered everyone's questions. He looked like he was enjoying the event and the fans.
I meet dave chapel.. Bigger a hole than at his shows. I just said hi im from Canada and i like your show. He sad f**k canada, maybe he was having a bad day
I met an actress whose movie had a huge impact on my life and basically led me to get my s**t together. I went from living in my car and not caring whether I lived or died to getting my life together and clawing my way back to a healthy lifestyle and reconnecting with my family and friends starting to embrace life again.
I got the chance to meet her and all I could squeak out was, "You're my hero, your movie saved my life, thank you so much." She said, "Oh!" and tried to initiate a little more of a conversation but I was so overwhelmed I just kept walking and forgot to pick up my photo on the way out. I probably came off as insane but at least I got to say thank you.
I ran into my favorite comedian once when eating with my family at a Chinese restaurant. I quoted one of my favorite lines to him "The fun is just beginning." He yelled and cursed at me right in front of my parents. It was very embarrassing. He then had the nerve to ask if I wanted a picture.
Never watched his routines again, and I guess I will never get the chance now.
I rode in an elevator with Albert Brooks and asked him if he knew where I could buy some business hammocks. He looked at me like I was an idiot. To be fair, he’s not wrong.
A former pastor.
He was everyone's favorite and was always the center of attention. Great speaker and seemed all around compassionate for his people.
I looked up to him and thought he was an all around decent being.
I ended up getting involved in ministry and discovered this guy is more than likely an actual psychopath. The signs are all there - just everyone ignores it. Things ended up getting toxic and I honestly wish I could have seen him as the old pastor. Not the secretly scary manipulative person underneath. (Was told by others it was my own fault for getting hurt by his toxic behavior and I shouldn't put some one on a pedestal....)
Tried a new church years later and the new pastor admits some days he just doesn't want to come in - and he struggles with his own issues. I respect him for keeping it real.
I worked at a train park in Scottsdale, AZ back in high school and was in the front lobby when David Spade came in with his kid. This story is pretty great because he was upset that the cashier or anyone up front wasn't treating him in a "omg David f*****g Spade just walked into our establishment" kind of way. He even verbatim said "don't you know who I am?" and just seemed super petty. I just remember standing there internally laughing my a*s off. It made me question what I thought about him, getting upset attention grabbing in a kids train park.
Bonus story: Same train park I was running the carousel one afternoon and an incognito Jon Heder took a ride.. by himself at like 3 p.m. Confirmed it was him with the cashier afterwords. Still can't get over that either.
Not exactly a hero, but I'm a huge fan of *Twin Peaks* and I met [Jeremy Lindholm](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2520817/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1) who had a bit part in one episode of the 2017 series. He was at the Twin Peaks Fest. He seemed like a genuinely good dude at the time and he was fun to talk to.
Then a little while after the Fest he [beat his girlfriend with a baseball bat](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/dec/14/local-spokane-actor-pleads-guilty-to-beating-girlf/). Just... yeah.
Biiig part of Twin Peaks is about the dark thoughts and evil actions behind ordinary & neighbourly men's friendly masks, guess he fit right in sadly
Yngwie Malmsteen.
I was working for a guitar company and at a trade show. I was walking up stairs at the event centre when my colleagues and boss noticed Yngwie at the top of the stairs with two guards coming down.
My boss, a 5'1 middle aged Italian man said "Yo, Yngiwe!" As we were about to pass him and he stopped in his tracks. Tapped the shoulder of one of the guards and uttered "Take care of him."
I then watched my boss get thrown down the flight of stairs for acknowledging Yngwie's existence.
Is this true? If so, that is awful, but it seems kinda unbelieveable
Shortly after he did Cosmos (the original version), I saw Carl Sagan heading for his car on campus. I said, "hi, I really enjoy your work." He said, "so do I" and drove away.
Not a terrible story, but it's the one I have.
Well, if you suspect your heroes are superhuman, it’s probably a good idea. If you just want confirmation that they ARE human... not a bad idea.
I was a kid and a big fan of a local major league sports team. They were doing a charity softball game at a park near my home, so my father, also a fan, took me to watch. The beer was apparently flowing rather well in the dugout area, and one of the team’s star players who was at shortstop let out a huge belch. I nearly died laughing. Have had a hard time putting celebrities in a glass bubble ever since.
As a kid I looked up to Penn and Teller. I did little magic shows at kids birthday parties and talent shows and whatever.
As a 24 year old I had the opportunity to have dinner with Penn Jillette at the Sundance Film Festival. He wasn't a d**k but he was bigger than life. When I interrupted a libertarian rant of his to interject some progressive stance I had on the environment he belittled my argument and went on holding court.
Again, not a d**k move necessarily (it was a discussion about politics after all) but none the less the interaction knocked him off a pedestal for me.
No longer a god but rather, just a guy.
As an aside Chevy Chase was also having dinner at that restaurant and from what I understand he *is* a d**k. I tried to get a look at him on a trip to the restroom and tripped into a potted plant while craning my neck.
Good times.
Am I the only one that loves the pratfall he took around Chevy Chase? I mean, if that happened to me, I'd stand up afterwards and say, "Live from New York..."
I met The Rock over 15 years ago in Atlantic City. He gave me "The People's Eyebrow" and pretended to be Mexican.
Not my all time favorite but I’ve met three different members of the Arcade Fire at three separate places and all of them were condescending a******s who clearly thought they were incredible. I still like them, but after that, seeing their most recent album and tour not do so well was a small victory.
Not my hero by any means but I met Lars Frederickson from Rancid and he wouldn’t talk to or take pictures with any dudes, just the girls. I went to see them with a big group of teenagers and he completely ignored all the guys and spent way too much time with young girls. Grossed me out. Tim Armstrong is the better songwriter anyway.
1989 National Cherry Festival. Batman was scheduled to make an appearance at the milk jug boat regatta. I was there with my wife and two young kids.
Batman arrives via Chris Craft and leaps onto the dock. Crowd forms around him. I push my way through to get a photo of him with my kids. Just as I get near he turns and gets ready to leap back into the boat.
I yell out "YO! BATMAN!!!" and was super happy to see he stopped and turned around to pose for the photo.
He absolutely reeked of weed and the black makeup around his bloodshot eyes was cracked and running from his sweat.
https://imgur.com/U5sjKLg
I met Jenna Marbles (YouTuber) at VidCon several years ago. She wasn’t really a hero of mine, but I enjoyed her videos, and I went with a friend who absolutely loved her.
Anyway, the context is it was one of those night party events, and everyone was outside chatting in the gated area of a nice restaurant. She was chatting with someone while waiting in line to order a drink, so my friend I walked over and politely asked for a picture. She said “Sure, one minute” ... and then proceeded to leave us standing there awkwardly for 5 minutes and completely ignored us. Then she got her drink and walked away.
Literally every other YouTuber I talked to was super friendly and happy to take a picture with their fans. She was the only one that was rude, and I just couldn’t enjoy any of her videos after that.
What’s annoying is that often times I see her mentioned on Reddit, and the comments are always “OMG! She’s so nice and friendly in person! Just like in her videos!1!11!1!” And I’m just like “Nah, not really.” Guess I’m still salty all these years later.
Although she didn’t agree with him on much, my wife became a fan of Neil Boortz due to coworkers listening to his show. She finds out he’s doing a book signing in Greensboro, NC. So one Saturday we drove 90 minutes for her to get a signed book. She wanted to tell him how much she enjoyed his show. When we finally got up to him he was talking to somebody, took the book and scribbled his initials in it, shoved it back, and never even looked at us. My wife was quite disappointed.
I met a Nobel Laureate when I was a student. He was the first Laureate I ever met in my life so he seemed like a god to me.
After his lecture my department reserved a bar so the students could chat with him over beers. Some students were playing pool across from our table. As a female student was leaning over the pool table to make a shot, the Nobel Laureate said to me: “I bet you’d like to f**k her in the a*s.”
They were never my heroes but I loved 3rd eye blind and saw them in concert once- they sounded like they were banging on pots and pans
mine isn’t bad, it’s actually kinda funny. i met dan and phil back in 2018 and nearly bodied phil to the ground bc i was so excited and he’s so thin. they were still really sweet to me tho!! it’s just more of a ‘never meet your heroes because you might accidentally almost kill them’
1995 I was on a cruise. Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper from "The Wonder Years") was about 21 at the time and sat down next to me at the blackjack table. I was around 25 at the time. I was a little shocked that my childhood crush was sitting next to me and hot AF. I said "Hi Danica, you were great in 'The Wonder Years' ".
She rolled her eyes, snorted, turned her back to me, and proceeded to play.
I was waiting in line for autographs from Avenged Sevenfold at Vans Warped Tour circa 2005. I was the LAST person allowed in the line up, I was stoked, but I was missing The Offspring to get these. Little sad, but I was obsessed with A7X. I get to them, they all stand up and start walking away, I yell out, "Guys I was the last guy in line!" Two of them turn around and sign my hat, the other guys just shrugged and walked away. I took my hat that just got signed and threw it at the drummer and told them to go f**k themselves.
Went and watched the rest of The Offspring and had a great time. Never bought another avenged sevenfold article again. Then they released City of Evil and I wanted to throw up, f**k them.
I was in Philadelphia to see my favorite band at the time, Modern Baseball. Me and my girlfriend at the time were right next to the side stage entrance and one of the lead singers, Brendan Lukens walked past us into the crowd. On his way back i worked up the courage and said "good luck out there tonight!". He kinda just waved me off and weakly said "thanks" didnt even look at me. Turns out the dude was going through alot and pulled out of the rest of the tour a week later so i ultimately dont hold it against him. Great show though!
I used to be a huge Vic Mignogna fan.
I went to a panel of his, and dear god did he act like a melodramatic, self-centered a*****e. On day 0 of the con, he tried to hold a last-minute Q&A. Because of the minimal notice—like, confirmation it was happening at 5 when the panel is at 7–very few people showed up.
Vic started his panel with catty, underhanded comments about how s****y we were for not going to the panel. He then pointed out people in the crowd and thanked them for coming and being “true fans.”
After that s**t show, he spent the entire panel showing his Star Trek series. We were supposed to watch 2 or 3 episodes, with him supplying commentary during and after.
We watched 6 episodes. No commentary, beyond pointing out other voice actors and how good he was in his role.
The panel manager let him know he was running out of time, and Vic proceeded to quietly yell at him.
In the last few minutes of the panel, a few more catty comments were said and then he pointed out his “favorite fan”, who had made wristbands for the panel goers (which was actually really sweet of her.)
Suffice it to say, I no longer admire Vic. His voice acting is fairly good, but his personality is just terrible.
not an anime fan, so had no clue who this guy was. Turns out he's really pervy.
Shepard Fairey, the somewhat known street artist and owner of Obey is a total douchenozzle. I'm surprised anyone could fit into the room he was talking to with his big head. My friend tried to ask him a question and he somehow turned his answer into advice along the lines of not many people would be as good as he was??
This is aside from the whole fiasco of him being accused of stealing artwork from others. He's basically a washed up forever 21 in dadbod. Big regret meeting him.
Cody Rhodes is an a*****e. I was excited to referee for his show a couple years ago. He was just an uptight prick. And I’ve met much bigger stars than him at the time and I have ALWAYS been super professional backstage. Never once asked for a picture and only did my job. His wife made a joke with me and it was truly funny and he goes out of his way to be a prick to me and block me on Twitter. Which is weird since I’ve never told them I had a Twitter or followed him.
The Cinderella story really got to his head. And we all thought CM Punk was up his own a*s...
Waited since 8:30am to meet Alex Bregman, Houston Astro player. I was like 15th-20th in line. I brought a hat and shirt for him to sign, but at 12-1pm workers came out and said he’s only signing an autograph paper he provides. Okay whatever, at least I still get a picture. My phone was a HTC which from my history, are s****y phones. The battery was at 6% when I was so close in line. I had some guy I talked to the whole time offer to take the pic for me and send it to me, I laughed and said it’ll make it. I went over for my turn, looked him in the eyes and shook his hand, he handed me a Gatorade (or Powerade), signed the paper and I gave the lady my phone to take the picture. I was using my Snapchat camera and she took it, but swiped out of Snapchat and opened settings when handing it back, I look back on Snapchat and it reset! :( I lost the picture and only had a paper and drink to prove it. I took one with him in the background. Like was far too long to wait.
However, a camera guy was there taking pics as well, I called that Kroger and asked for him, but everyone was oblivious as if one of the most famous baseball players in our city was never there. It hurts knowing that I wasted a whole day for nothing :((( I think I cried for an hour after
I _tried_ to meet one of my heroes online.
I'm on Quora. Turns out author Mercedes Lackey is also on Quora. I had a huge geeking out and wanted to comment on one of her posts that I'm a huge fan and was thrilled to see her on the site.
I never got to do that.
She had blocked me preemptively, before even our first interaction, ever. How the f**k do you know you're going to need to block someone before you even talk to them?
What a f*****g b***h.
I’m on Quora too, and I follow Mercedes Lackey. She probably preemptively blocked you after reading something you posted, not necessarily to or about her.
Back when Conor McGregor wasn’t a s**t stain of society, and was actually respectable, I had asked him for a picture, as silly 13 year old me would do. Told me to wait a minute and he promised he would, then saw him drive off blatantly ignoring me. Grew up in Dublin near where he’s from, so it wasn’t strange seeing him around.
Not as bad as most of the other comments here, and totally expected of him today, but naive younger me was upset nonetheless.
He has turned into a total tool. Its all gone to his head and he is a total clown 🤡
Misha Mansoor aka. Bulb from Periphery.
Went to a gig where Periphery were the support act but I was going to see them really, so I went to the bar as soon as they were done and the guys from Periphery minus Bulb were stood around having a drink and chatting to people. So I had a chat, had a drink and a few photos (really nice guys) and was waiting to see him as well. He came out and was mid conversation with someone so I politely waited for him to finish and just said hi and asked for a photo and he was just a bit douchey about it, like we'd really inconvenienced him. Nothing major, he still had the photo with us but he just rubbed me the wrong way a bit after the other guys being so cool.
I’m so embarrassed to say this but when I was younger I loved the Nostalgia Critic. I flew out to Chicago from Philly to meet him at a convention. The photo I have shows no light in his eyes and well, y’all know what happened a year ago.
On the up side, I made some good friends at the convention. I went back every year until college.
I, in fact, don't know what happened a year ago. But I googled it, and it turns out that google doesn't know either.
Went to see my favourite singer at the time. She cancelled her meet and greets for the show but said she would meet fans afterwards for photos and signings.
After the show me and my 4 friends waited outside, there was probably 30 people there in total, we waited for about half an hour whilst security and venue staff said she'd be out to see us soon.
The doors opened and there she was!!! I was so excited to meet her but oh was I wrong.
She spent about 5 minutes talking to one girl, taking photos with her, complimenting her and signing all her things and then literally ignored the rest of us.
We were all calmly stood waiting for photos and she blanked us. Literally only spent time with this ONE girl. She had her security stand around her and she walked straight past us half heartedly leaning in when someone tried to get a selfie with her! I said I loved her outfit when she walked past me, ignored. She got straight into a car and drove off.
As she drove away some guy went 'wow what a b***h.'
I complained about it to my mum the whole car ride home.
I'm seeing her again this month and I really hope she isn't like this anymore.
I saw Michael Jordan at a grocery store in Chicago a few years ago. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything.
He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?”
I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying.
The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.
When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.
So he wasn't an a*****e, but I got to meet John Cusack and see like 2 Q&A's at a comic con a few years back. He was super nice, but boring as hell. It's like all the personality he has in his movies is a ruse to cover the fact that he doesn' thave one, and he's just kinda...meh.
Remember Gallagher, the old comedian? Boyfriend and I were so excited to hear that he was still alive, and this summer, got to see a show! Yeah, turns out the goofy dude with the giant couch from the 80s is now a homophobe, racist, etc big time. Literally used the letter "n" to describe black folks, really crude anti-gay stuff too. Dude would also belittle everyone who left for a bathroom break, etc. in a really nasty way, encouraging audience to participate. Not good.
There are two Gallaghers. Leo, the original, retired years ago and his brother Ron took over the act. By many accounts, Ron is a dïck.
The public nature of celebrity makes people think they know a famous person simply because they've read all the details of that person's life online or in magazines. But really, that person is a stranger who just happens to have succeeded at a very public occupation. You don't have the right to assume that they will welcome your approach with open arms.
If your idols are Take That then I recommend you meet them. They stayed at our hotel for five nights when they were on tour, not always an easy time for a band. They ignored our advice regarding private and public areas of the hotel, mingled with fans who we kept in the public areas outside the hotel, they were always polite, treated their fans with respect and gave them loads of time to chat, two fans booked into the hotel so they could get into some of the more private areas of the hotel, TT paid their bill and invited them to their last night party held at our hotel. As a rock / metal fan their music isn’t my bag but I can’t emphasise enough how impressed I was with their approach to being accessible to their fans. I worked closely with them for five days and never saw a moment of negative attitude or ‘prima donna’ behaviour. Properly decent blokes.
I love that they did an entire song just to cheer Robbie Williams up when he was going through a period of depression. It's just such a sweet gesture. Great song, too!
Load More Replies...Met Michael Dorn at a Creation Con back 35 years ago (or so...). I was dressed up as a Klingon and got a stand-up picture with him. I asked if he'd take a picture with my friends as well. They stood on both sides of him and he proceeded to put them in a headlock and grinned at the camera. Of course I took that photo! Guy was pretty cool and relatable. I've been a big fan of his ever since.
Not me, and I'm still gutted about it. My better half was assigned to follow Obama around for 10 days in the UK before he was President. He was pretty darn impressed with him, said he treated everyone courteously, and when he tried to talk to a very busy nurse about the NHS (rather than the hospital admin) she went "I don't have time" whereupon he asked if it would be okay if he talked to her after her shift. "Well if you want to wait seven hours..." -- he did. He wanted to know what SHE would change / improve, and he was determined to hear it from the staff, not the admins. It's quite interesting what he wanted to give the American people -- and what you actually ended up with, after everyone else ripped the proposals to shreds.
Sorry to those in the USA, but I met George Washington... huge a*****e! Cut down his dad's cherry tree for no reason, tried to punch a cow in the face, and is responsible for the name "Archibald".
As I commented above, William Shatner was really nice. Bret Michaels (Poison) was nice...until it became clear to him that I would not be a check mark on his Map of Casual Hookups with Groupies. Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot) was an åsshole. He signed my album with his name and "I fücked NikkiSevven." I was a 16yo girl.
My best friend and I in high school were obsessed with the author Neil Gaiman, so as a surprise for her birthday, her mom bought us tickets to a new book release/book signing event for him. We waited hours in line, waiting to have him sign our book, and assumingly be able to chat for a second with him. When we finally got to the front, he just signed our books while speaking to his publicist or whomever, just completely not acknowledging any of his fans as he signed books. It was really off-putting and extremely disappointing. I haven't really been able to look the same way at a Neil Gaiman book since then. Plus the event ended up inspiring my friend to write a paper for her English class titled "Why you should never meet your heroes" :(
I was a major NCIS fan until I met Mark Harmon. He was totally brusque and arrogant, and didn't even bother to try to be polite. I quit watching the show after that. I had a totally opposite experience when I met Gary Sinise - he was a total sweetheart.
I met Beyoncé when she was on tour with Destiny's Child. They came to Jackson Mississippi and I was the Food and Bev Manager for the stadium. After the show, we met her in the hospitality booth (she loved bbq and we had all kinds of food for them). She was behind my brother and I when she overheard us arguing "you ask her! No, I don't want to bother her!@ etc. when she turned and said "ask me what?" I froze... she's insanely gorgeous in person, too, like, even back THEN she looked like a Barbie doll to me. So I sort of said something like this, "WeHaveTheSameLastName, WeEvenSpellItTheSameAsYou" all run on and everything. She couldn't have been sweeter! She said that she had white cousins in the south, so we're probably related. I'm whiter than white... probably skim milk colored. But she (and Kelly Roland) were just extremely humble and nice and they all stayed until everyone who wanted an autograph got one. I still have the picture of us together!
That is such a southern or midweaterner thing to do/say. You very well could be! I'm distantly related the Elvis via a marriage. My sister's friend is a cousin of the Jackson's
Load More Replies...I once met a famous Belgian author with a pretty bad reputation. I told him I’d never read any of his books and was there to get my favourite book (by another author) signed (by the other author). He was super sweet to my mom and me and signed my book using the other author’s name, with a nice message and a little drawing of a flower, still makes me laugh.
My cousin and I met Jason Bonham (yes, John's son) and Carl Palmer of ELP. Both were great guys and did not hit on us young girls. Carl was just the sweetest guy you could ever meet and talked to us like we were old friends. He even recognized us at another concert. My favorite drummers! Oh, Carmine Appice is cool too. Didn't get to talk to him but I have one of his drumsticks. And Tony Franklin is a good kisser🥰
By all accounts, Keith Emerson and Greg Lake were pretty nice guys too.
Load More Replies...As a journalist I met tons of celebrities and most were a******s, but the coolest was the late Ned Beatty. Was covering a location shoot for some stupid TV show with Burt Reynolds (serious d******d) and Ned Beatty wandered over and bullshitted with me for an hour while waiting for his scene. Really nice guy.
I met Jared Leto at the soundcheck for his band and he was really nice. He took the time to talk to us, gave me a hug. He asked if we had seen his leather jacket which he had lost and when my friend offered to give him his, Jared declined but was really touched by the offer. I know he has dive behavior these days but I met him twice now and I've only seen a decent human being.
I had a favorite author and she had FB profiles for all her characters. I friended them all and on my feed one day I see one of her posts from her own FB page about some BS from a well known extremist fake news website, One America. Now, I give people the benefit of the doubt and you can easily be tricked by these sites, especially before 2020 (this was during 2016-2020). So I let her know that she might want to check into her news sources, this isn't really reliable and you'd hate to form an opinion on misinformation. I was trying to be very polite about it. She went off very rudely, she 100% trusts this website, much more than the fake mainstream media, and how dare I comment on her post?! Then unfriended me. So I no longer buy any of her books or suggest her to friends. The big irony is thst John Oliver did an expose over that news network the following weekend. I had to find the author again, Mimi Jean Pamfiloff. Hers books are good if you like paranormal romance but borrow from the library or used books store
I'm a big baseball fan and went to a book signing of a big popular retired player. He's always silly and seems like a great guy. Waited for hours in line to meet him. Finally get up to the table as his wife walks up to talk to him, he completely ignored me. Didn't say anything to me or acknowledge me until the assistant told him to look up for a picture. The book remains in the bag, may have even tossed it. Was devastated. On the other hand, I met Shaq when he came into a store I worked at and he was sweet as pie. My niece was probably 5yrs old at the time and just happened to be in the store and he chatted with her and her parents for a bit. He was great.
My cousin was a manager at a restaurant Shaq frequented and said he was a really nice guy. Another cousin worked in a clothing store that catered to basketball players in the 80s &90s and she said they were all really nice. LeBron, nice, his mom not so much. I've met a couple pro baseball players, not so nice.
Load More Replies...Another reason to never be famous. You always are expected to be happy to see everyone, even complete strangers. I don't even have the energy for that when I run into people I know at the store. But I do think, if you've agreed to go to an event, then you should be prepared to be happy and enthusiastic. It's part of the job. Which, again, is not one I would ever want.
I used to work at Comicon as a runner for the celebs in the meet and greet/signing Lou Ferrigno is probably the the nicest human on the planet, doubly so if you know ASL. Kevin Smith is amazing to his fans. Ray Park is super nice, Most of the Star wars cast are cool. Felicia Day is a sweetheart. In contrast, B-Listers (The guys who had two scenes on Star Trek and a guest on Doctor Who) Are either super bend over backward nice or massive egotistical d***s. There is no in-between.
I came off of a wildlands fire to sit down at a Friday prime rib dinner, still in my yellow and green nomex at a Montana guest ranch where my girlfriend worked. Ed Harris and his wife were visiting and he came right over and introduced himself. He asked about my day and I told him how this fire had been getting away and I called in helicopter support and managed to contain the fire. He regarded me intently. He was done with dinner and left, however his wife, an actress, was talking lady things with her girlfriends and laughed as I scurried away, in good fun. Outside I ran into Ed again and we teamed up on horseshoes and played great, double ringers and all. High fiving. Down to earth guy for sure, and his wife.
Since I was a child I loved listening to Tom Jones the singer, and always hoped that I would get to meet him. Many years later when I was living in NJ, I heard he would be singing at a small venue and my friend bought me and her tickets for a birthday treat. He came on stage looking rather surly, however once he began to sing - his voice was incredible and we really enjoyed it. We waited outside the stage door to see him and maybe say how much I admired his songs, there were a handful of others (not many at all) He came out, glared really angrily at everyone, no one was hassling him and then got in his limo without a word. His driver actually apologised to me and the Manger of the venue came up to me and my friend and said he couldn't believe how he treated his fans, he kindly gave me $20.00 so I could have a birthday drink. I have since read that he is often really rude, it was very disappointing indeed, and I have felt the same about his music.
Roadie, here: I've seen fans destroy stages, vehicles, props, property, businesses, crops, and other humans... literally anything between them and their celebrity or band. People are crazed when starstruck. WHY?! I don't understand the mindset, and that's even working with Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Tina Turner, Grateful Dead, CSN&Y, Prince, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ozzy, Elvis, The Stones, a couple presidents, some astronauts, and 'most everyone in between. They are not our friends. They are not our neighbors. They're STRANGERS. They sing. They act. Big deal. They still put their britches on the same way we do. Alright... rant over. I'll climb down from my soapbox and go on about my day. Hope yours brings laughter and unexpected joys.
I’ve met and hung out with quite a few famous people, mostly in the music industry, and they have all been wonderful and super nice. But I don’t fawn over anyone and just talk to them like I’d talk to you.
I've only met celebrities in planned events (like conventions), usually B or C-listers or less. Many have been absolute sweethearts, others had that boring "just doing a job I hate" attitude. A few were indeed terrible, condescending a$$es who thought too high of themselves & too low of those fools who claimed to be their fans. Alas, those few tend to stick to memory more, but I try to remember the nice ones. It takes very little to make a lifetime difference for a fan, especially when it's the whole purpose of an event. Alas, even some actors cannot be bothered to act as if they were normal for a few seconds, let alone nice.
As a kid I wanted to be an author, and eventually succeeded. One day at a local author convention I got to meet one of my favourite childhood authors! I was thrilled and told her how she was one of my inspirations to start writing and... she walked away without so much as an "excuse me". She absolutely knew I was talking to her because she had responded to the initial hello my name is, etc., but then she just stopped looking at me and walked off like I had suddenly stopped existing. I thought maybe it was just a misunderstanding, but when I talked about it with a friend he said "Yeah, I was at one of her author talks as a kid and she was just as rude to me when I asked a question". Needless to say she's no longer one of my heroes.
Bjork - arsehole. Beth Gibbons - arsehole. Chuck D & Flavor Flav - lovely guys. Scott Ian - nice bloke. Bob Mortimer - nice bloke. Mark Lamarr & Vic Reeves - arseholes. Chrissy Hynde - arsehole. Lemmy - arsehole. Christy Moore - conceited arsehole. Rob Newman - nice bloke. Jerry Sadowicz - as big a twat as you'd expect. Johnny Vegas - nice bloke.
I met Lemmy. Got a picture with him and he gave me a few Motorhead plectrums. Nice guy.
Load More Replies...idk if this counts but my parents got bumped by Joe Biden on a flight.
Met many celebrities thru work, mostly actors but a few musicians as well. Of all of them, the biggest a*****e was Chuck Berry. A paranoid, angry rude person and I did nothing to offend him at all, he just liked f*****g with people.
I've honestly never heard a good thing about Chuck Berry.
Load More Replies...The public nature of celebrity makes people think they know a famous person simply because they've read all the details of that person's life online or in magazines. But really, that person is a stranger who just happens to have succeeded at a very public occupation. You don't have the right to assume that they will welcome your approach with open arms.
If your idols are Take That then I recommend you meet them. They stayed at our hotel for five nights when they were on tour, not always an easy time for a band. They ignored our advice regarding private and public areas of the hotel, mingled with fans who we kept in the public areas outside the hotel, they were always polite, treated their fans with respect and gave them loads of time to chat, two fans booked into the hotel so they could get into some of the more private areas of the hotel, TT paid their bill and invited them to their last night party held at our hotel. As a rock / metal fan their music isn’t my bag but I can’t emphasise enough how impressed I was with their approach to being accessible to their fans. I worked closely with them for five days and never saw a moment of negative attitude or ‘prima donna’ behaviour. Properly decent blokes.
I love that they did an entire song just to cheer Robbie Williams up when he was going through a period of depression. It's just such a sweet gesture. Great song, too!
Load More Replies...Met Michael Dorn at a Creation Con back 35 years ago (or so...). I was dressed up as a Klingon and got a stand-up picture with him. I asked if he'd take a picture with my friends as well. They stood on both sides of him and he proceeded to put them in a headlock and grinned at the camera. Of course I took that photo! Guy was pretty cool and relatable. I've been a big fan of his ever since.
Not me, and I'm still gutted about it. My better half was assigned to follow Obama around for 10 days in the UK before he was President. He was pretty darn impressed with him, said he treated everyone courteously, and when he tried to talk to a very busy nurse about the NHS (rather than the hospital admin) she went "I don't have time" whereupon he asked if it would be okay if he talked to her after her shift. "Well if you want to wait seven hours..." -- he did. He wanted to know what SHE would change / improve, and he was determined to hear it from the staff, not the admins. It's quite interesting what he wanted to give the American people -- and what you actually ended up with, after everyone else ripped the proposals to shreds.
Sorry to those in the USA, but I met George Washington... huge a*****e! Cut down his dad's cherry tree for no reason, tried to punch a cow in the face, and is responsible for the name "Archibald".
As I commented above, William Shatner was really nice. Bret Michaels (Poison) was nice...until it became clear to him that I would not be a check mark on his Map of Casual Hookups with Groupies. Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot) was an åsshole. He signed my album with his name and "I fücked NikkiSevven." I was a 16yo girl.
My best friend and I in high school were obsessed with the author Neil Gaiman, so as a surprise for her birthday, her mom bought us tickets to a new book release/book signing event for him. We waited hours in line, waiting to have him sign our book, and assumingly be able to chat for a second with him. When we finally got to the front, he just signed our books while speaking to his publicist or whomever, just completely not acknowledging any of his fans as he signed books. It was really off-putting and extremely disappointing. I haven't really been able to look the same way at a Neil Gaiman book since then. Plus the event ended up inspiring my friend to write a paper for her English class titled "Why you should never meet your heroes" :(
I was a major NCIS fan until I met Mark Harmon. He was totally brusque and arrogant, and didn't even bother to try to be polite. I quit watching the show after that. I had a totally opposite experience when I met Gary Sinise - he was a total sweetheart.
I met Beyoncé when she was on tour with Destiny's Child. They came to Jackson Mississippi and I was the Food and Bev Manager for the stadium. After the show, we met her in the hospitality booth (she loved bbq and we had all kinds of food for them). She was behind my brother and I when she overheard us arguing "you ask her! No, I don't want to bother her!@ etc. when she turned and said "ask me what?" I froze... she's insanely gorgeous in person, too, like, even back THEN she looked like a Barbie doll to me. So I sort of said something like this, "WeHaveTheSameLastName, WeEvenSpellItTheSameAsYou" all run on and everything. She couldn't have been sweeter! She said that she had white cousins in the south, so we're probably related. I'm whiter than white... probably skim milk colored. But she (and Kelly Roland) were just extremely humble and nice and they all stayed until everyone who wanted an autograph got one. I still have the picture of us together!
That is such a southern or midweaterner thing to do/say. You very well could be! I'm distantly related the Elvis via a marriage. My sister's friend is a cousin of the Jackson's
Load More Replies...I once met a famous Belgian author with a pretty bad reputation. I told him I’d never read any of his books and was there to get my favourite book (by another author) signed (by the other author). He was super sweet to my mom and me and signed my book using the other author’s name, with a nice message and a little drawing of a flower, still makes me laugh.
My cousin and I met Jason Bonham (yes, John's son) and Carl Palmer of ELP. Both were great guys and did not hit on us young girls. Carl was just the sweetest guy you could ever meet and talked to us like we were old friends. He even recognized us at another concert. My favorite drummers! Oh, Carmine Appice is cool too. Didn't get to talk to him but I have one of his drumsticks. And Tony Franklin is a good kisser🥰
By all accounts, Keith Emerson and Greg Lake were pretty nice guys too.
Load More Replies...As a journalist I met tons of celebrities and most were a******s, but the coolest was the late Ned Beatty. Was covering a location shoot for some stupid TV show with Burt Reynolds (serious d******d) and Ned Beatty wandered over and bullshitted with me for an hour while waiting for his scene. Really nice guy.
I met Jared Leto at the soundcheck for his band and he was really nice. He took the time to talk to us, gave me a hug. He asked if we had seen his leather jacket which he had lost and when my friend offered to give him his, Jared declined but was really touched by the offer. I know he has dive behavior these days but I met him twice now and I've only seen a decent human being.
I had a favorite author and she had FB profiles for all her characters. I friended them all and on my feed one day I see one of her posts from her own FB page about some BS from a well known extremist fake news website, One America. Now, I give people the benefit of the doubt and you can easily be tricked by these sites, especially before 2020 (this was during 2016-2020). So I let her know that she might want to check into her news sources, this isn't really reliable and you'd hate to form an opinion on misinformation. I was trying to be very polite about it. She went off very rudely, she 100% trusts this website, much more than the fake mainstream media, and how dare I comment on her post?! Then unfriended me. So I no longer buy any of her books or suggest her to friends. The big irony is thst John Oliver did an expose over that news network the following weekend. I had to find the author again, Mimi Jean Pamfiloff. Hers books are good if you like paranormal romance but borrow from the library or used books store
I'm a big baseball fan and went to a book signing of a big popular retired player. He's always silly and seems like a great guy. Waited for hours in line to meet him. Finally get up to the table as his wife walks up to talk to him, he completely ignored me. Didn't say anything to me or acknowledge me until the assistant told him to look up for a picture. The book remains in the bag, may have even tossed it. Was devastated. On the other hand, I met Shaq when he came into a store I worked at and he was sweet as pie. My niece was probably 5yrs old at the time and just happened to be in the store and he chatted with her and her parents for a bit. He was great.
My cousin was a manager at a restaurant Shaq frequented and said he was a really nice guy. Another cousin worked in a clothing store that catered to basketball players in the 80s &90s and she said they were all really nice. LeBron, nice, his mom not so much. I've met a couple pro baseball players, not so nice.
Load More Replies...Another reason to never be famous. You always are expected to be happy to see everyone, even complete strangers. I don't even have the energy for that when I run into people I know at the store. But I do think, if you've agreed to go to an event, then you should be prepared to be happy and enthusiastic. It's part of the job. Which, again, is not one I would ever want.
I used to work at Comicon as a runner for the celebs in the meet and greet/signing Lou Ferrigno is probably the the nicest human on the planet, doubly so if you know ASL. Kevin Smith is amazing to his fans. Ray Park is super nice, Most of the Star wars cast are cool. Felicia Day is a sweetheart. In contrast, B-Listers (The guys who had two scenes on Star Trek and a guest on Doctor Who) Are either super bend over backward nice or massive egotistical d***s. There is no in-between.
I came off of a wildlands fire to sit down at a Friday prime rib dinner, still in my yellow and green nomex at a Montana guest ranch where my girlfriend worked. Ed Harris and his wife were visiting and he came right over and introduced himself. He asked about my day and I told him how this fire had been getting away and I called in helicopter support and managed to contain the fire. He regarded me intently. He was done with dinner and left, however his wife, an actress, was talking lady things with her girlfriends and laughed as I scurried away, in good fun. Outside I ran into Ed again and we teamed up on horseshoes and played great, double ringers and all. High fiving. Down to earth guy for sure, and his wife.
Since I was a child I loved listening to Tom Jones the singer, and always hoped that I would get to meet him. Many years later when I was living in NJ, I heard he would be singing at a small venue and my friend bought me and her tickets for a birthday treat. He came on stage looking rather surly, however once he began to sing - his voice was incredible and we really enjoyed it. We waited outside the stage door to see him and maybe say how much I admired his songs, there were a handful of others (not many at all) He came out, glared really angrily at everyone, no one was hassling him and then got in his limo without a word. His driver actually apologised to me and the Manger of the venue came up to me and my friend and said he couldn't believe how he treated his fans, he kindly gave me $20.00 so I could have a birthday drink. I have since read that he is often really rude, it was very disappointing indeed, and I have felt the same about his music.
Roadie, here: I've seen fans destroy stages, vehicles, props, property, businesses, crops, and other humans... literally anything between them and their celebrity or band. People are crazed when starstruck. WHY?! I don't understand the mindset, and that's even working with Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Tina Turner, Grateful Dead, CSN&Y, Prince, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ozzy, Elvis, The Stones, a couple presidents, some astronauts, and 'most everyone in between. They are not our friends. They are not our neighbors. They're STRANGERS. They sing. They act. Big deal. They still put their britches on the same way we do. Alright... rant over. I'll climb down from my soapbox and go on about my day. Hope yours brings laughter and unexpected joys.
I’ve met and hung out with quite a few famous people, mostly in the music industry, and they have all been wonderful and super nice. But I don’t fawn over anyone and just talk to them like I’d talk to you.
I've only met celebrities in planned events (like conventions), usually B or C-listers or less. Many have been absolute sweethearts, others had that boring "just doing a job I hate" attitude. A few were indeed terrible, condescending a$$es who thought too high of themselves & too low of those fools who claimed to be their fans. Alas, those few tend to stick to memory more, but I try to remember the nice ones. It takes very little to make a lifetime difference for a fan, especially when it's the whole purpose of an event. Alas, even some actors cannot be bothered to act as if they were normal for a few seconds, let alone nice.
As a kid I wanted to be an author, and eventually succeeded. One day at a local author convention I got to meet one of my favourite childhood authors! I was thrilled and told her how she was one of my inspirations to start writing and... she walked away without so much as an "excuse me". She absolutely knew I was talking to her because she had responded to the initial hello my name is, etc., but then she just stopped looking at me and walked off like I had suddenly stopped existing. I thought maybe it was just a misunderstanding, but when I talked about it with a friend he said "Yeah, I was at one of her author talks as a kid and she was just as rude to me when I asked a question". Needless to say she's no longer one of my heroes.
Bjork - arsehole. Beth Gibbons - arsehole. Chuck D & Flavor Flav - lovely guys. Scott Ian - nice bloke. Bob Mortimer - nice bloke. Mark Lamarr & Vic Reeves - arseholes. Chrissy Hynde - arsehole. Lemmy - arsehole. Christy Moore - conceited arsehole. Rob Newman - nice bloke. Jerry Sadowicz - as big a twat as you'd expect. Johnny Vegas - nice bloke.
I met Lemmy. Got a picture with him and he gave me a few Motorhead plectrums. Nice guy.
Load More Replies...idk if this counts but my parents got bumped by Joe Biden on a flight.
Met many celebrities thru work, mostly actors but a few musicians as well. Of all of them, the biggest a*****e was Chuck Berry. A paranoid, angry rude person and I did nothing to offend him at all, he just liked f*****g with people.
I've honestly never heard a good thing about Chuck Berry.
Load More Replies...