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30 People Share Their Encounters With The Kindest And Rudest Celebrities They’ve Ever Met
It's easy to idolize someone you haven't met. You can build them up in your mind as the perfect person, immune to greed, arrogance, and other flaws so many of us carry around within ourselves.
The ultimate test is bumping into them in real life.
A recent r/AskReddit thread has its users sharing their best and worst celebrity encounters, and the responses ranged from heartwarming to disillusioning.
While some stars appeared to be humble and kind even to random strangers, others didn't live up to their reputation and showed a side of themselves that shattered the admiration fans once had.
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#1
I met Weird Al and got starstruck and didn't know what to say to him. I finally blurted out, "I know you probably hear this a lot, but I'm a huge fan." He smiled and responded "I do hear that a lot, but I've never heard it from you." Made my day.
Captain McSmoot 2 months ago
Mr. Rogers would be extremely proud of Weird Al's response. What a guy!
We reached out to Reddit user Ksndkendkfjeknx, the person who started this discussion, and they explained that the idea came from personal experience.
"I was watching a video of one of my favorite YouTubers, and he was reacting to memes that his fans had sent in his Discord channel," the Redditor told Bored Panda.
"I eventually got to the part where he reacted to a meme that I had sent. I was shocked that he sort of brushed it off and barely acknowledged it. I thought, 'Huh, well, you know what they say, don't meet your heroes.' And I started to think ... how many other people had [done so] and they turned out to be absolute [jerks]. That's when I went to Reddit!"
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#2
When I was in Junior High, I wrote a paper on Thor Heyerdahl and Easter Island.
In High School I wrote another about his reed boat Atlantic crossing attempt.
I went to college to study anthropology, both because of him and Indiana Jones (I was 15, give me a break).
Through a series of familial misadventures, my money for grad school vanished, and I joined the military to get the cash to finish.
While stationed in Charleston, SC. I was with a buddy walking along the pier when I see this gorgeous three master sitting up ahead. I want to go look at it, and see it's flying a Norwegian flag. I get closer and start taking with one of the girls on the ship. She says they're college students and this is sort of an foreign study credit, sailing the ship. From Bergen all the way around to South America. That sounds amazing.
As I'm looking around, I notice that the ship is called the Heyerdahl. I comment that I wrote papers on Thor and got my degrees based on my admiration. She asked if I ever met him, and I just laughed...I was a poor kid from Western South Dakota... What were the chances I'd ever get to meet him?
She said he was right over at a cafe less than a block away.
I remember with unbelievable clarity. He was sitting on a little white bench outside the place with a disposable cup of something, with a book in his hand. There was a small table and chair not far away, and I could only just sit and look.
He looks up about a minute or two later, sees me and says, "I'm sorry, but are you alright?" I didn't even realize I was crying.
Over the next hour and a half I talked and listened to him, watched him smile and talk about how adventure still existed, you just had to find them, and live them whenever you could.
He invited me to visit him if I was ever in Norway, and we both laughed at that.
When he died in '02, I bawled my eyes out.
I live in Atlanta now, and a little over a year ago my wife and I went to Charleston for a few days. After dinner one evening we were walking along the pier and I saw where the ship had been tied up. Nothing there at that moment. Then I turned to where the cafe was, and saw the bench.
I sat where he sat for a while.
#3
I met Wil Wheaton at a big SciFi con a few years ago. It was like halfway through the third day and he'd been signing stuff for hours.
I got to the front of the line and he jumped out of his chair in excitement and yelled "Are those BAT'LETH EARRINGS?! So cool!"
He then proceeded to sign my dorky old TNG comic (with Wesley Crusher on the cover of course) and we put an earring on the cover so he could take a photo of Wes with it. We talked about Open Source software and EFF.
Whole interaction took 3-4 minutes but he was just totally there for it, despite having a hundred other people he'd have to interact with.
He later included the photo in his blog.
Data1001 2 months ago
The character of Wesley Crusher was totally redeemed in the recent animated series Star Trek Prodigy (which is great -- don't pass on it because it's a so-called 'kids show'). And Wil Wheaton has made a name for himself since TNG left the air, earning a legion of fans who otherwise might not have given him the time of day because of the way his character was written. So don't anyone call the actor out for something he had no control over. He's a great dude.
There's good reason for maintaining a distance between ourselves and the ones we adore.
A 2021 study published in Frontiers in Psychology showed that excessive celebrity worship can negatively impact mental health, with effects like lowered self-esteem (which is more pronounced in women) and increased daytime sleepiness (a factor that is more common in younger people).
Another study published in the same year in BMC Psychology suggests that celebrity obsession can also subtly impair cognitive performance—the mental energy and attention invested in intense celebrity fascination could take away from the cognitive resources needed for daily problem-solving and decision-making tasks.
#4
Not sure this is a "Never Meet Your Heroes" story, but it's a great example of why you shouldn't always listen to that advice.
I met Terry Farrell, the actress who played Jadzia Dax on Star: Trek Deep Space Nine, at a convention QnA session when I was 15. She and another DS9 actress (Nana Vistor for the Trekkies out there) were up on stage answering questions, and there were two lines leading to a microphone on either side of the stage. Well suddenly on Terry's side, the mic went out, and without skipping a beat, Terry got off the stage and started holding out her own microphone to people so they could keep asking questions. Terry even gave a hug to a 4-5 year old girl ahead of me in line. I got to the front, and there I am, an extremely shy 15 year old, arm's length away from my childhood hero, in front of several hundred people. I manage to tremblingly squeak out that she is my favorite character in all of Star Trek, and before I can say another word, she gives me a big hug. I ended up asking her about her favorite episode (her answer was Blood Oath, for those curious), and went back to my seat.
My dad had also bought me a photo op with her later that day, and when I got there, she exclaimed something to the effect of "Oh, I remember you!" and immediately pulled me into another big hug for the photo. I still have that photo, as well as an autographed photo of her character. Words cannot describe how much that encounter impacted me, I never expected someone who probably met thousands of fans that day to show so much care to one awkward teenager who just wanted to meet her hero like everyone else. Jadzia Dax is everything I wanted to be growing up. She is kind, confident, smart, funny, and adventurous. I still want to be all those things, but more than anything, I hope I can learn to exude even half the kindness that Terry Farrel does.
So yeah, sometimes your heroes really are heroes. :).
#5
I met Tim Curry a few years ago and it was a different kind of bad. He was so frail it broke my heart.
#6
I’ve loved Alan Cumming since the very start of his career. I saw his first tv appearance with Forbes Masson. Fast forward almost 30 years, I’ve moved to the USA and met my now husband, who casually mentioned that he knows another Scottish guy, yup you guessed it, Alan Cumming. We met up with Alan when he came to town to perform and despite him just coming off stage and exhausted, he was incredibly friendly and delighted to meet me and the kids . We get together any time he’s in the area and have met up with him in NY. He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and he adores our kids , he has sent them wee videos on their birthday a few times too. Just a wonderful guy.
"There’s nothing inherently wrong with caring about a celebrity or content creator. The issue arises when the fascination escalates into obsession," American psychologist Dr. Mark Travers explained.
"The impact of such obsession varies from person to person, but it’s generally safe to say that those who find themselves on the higher end of the celebrity-obsession continuum are more susceptible to serious mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, and more," American psychologist Dr. Mark Travers explained.
#7
I met Robin Williams while working on a comedy show and he couldn't have been more kind and friendly, with me gushing about how I wore out his first comedy album on vinyl and had to buy another one. He said "your parents must have been pretty cool, most of them would *ksssht!" (pantomimes breaking a record over his knee)*
After the first day of the shoot, all us camera operators had to be told to back off Robin because we all wanted to be around him, and we had too much footage of him already. He spent a lot of time talking to fellow legend Mort Sahl.
#8
Went to see Penn & Teller in Vegas...and one of their magic tricks during the show involved the audience. The trick worked for everyone in my family, but not for me.
Now they're well known for meeting people after their show...so we stayed, got autographs and photos with them...even Teller was talking - they couldn't have been nicer. Penn asked me what'd you'd think of the show....so my stupid mouth just fired back, "your audience trick didn't work."
He then asked my family, "did it work for you?"
They all nodded and with an enthusiastic - YES
Without missing a beat, he turns to me, "Well, there's the problem, you're an idiot."
Getting personally insulted by Penn was the high point of that Vegas trip :-).
#9
Met Fellowship members Viggo Mortensen and Ian McKellen on separate occasions while I was working as a camera operator for an entertainment channel.
Viggo was a delight, could tell I was really star struck, so he asked me for a selfie before we got rolling. When I told him my friends and I used to pretend to be Aragorn at playtime in our youth he laughed and told me it was “incredibly sweet”.
McKellen saw me accidentally smash a mirror to smithereens while I was setting up my shot, and couldn’t have been kinder delayed him by cleaning up, on what must have been a very busy day for him.
Ksndkendkfjeknx said, "I am a believer that nobody is obligated to act any certain way, and everyone is free to act as they please as long as it's in the confines of the law."
"Celebrities do not owe their fans anything, and although it sucks when they treat you like a nuisance or an insect, they have that right and are under no obligation to treat you kindly."
#10
I saw Nick Offerman do a show at a theater with his wife Megan followed by a book signing afterward. So the show ended fairly late and it was a theater full of people waiting in line to get a book signed so it was obviously going to take a long while.
Nick was the best. He chatted with everyone, didn't rush anyone along, stayed until after midnight to make sure he talked to everybody and got them a book. About halfway through the line he recognized a couple ladies and brought them out. He announced something like "sorry everyone I just need to stop for a moment because these two are royalty. This is so and so, they did the wardrobe for me on Parks & Rec and I haven't seen them since." and shared some brief memories of them working together. The ladies were so excited he remembered them and made them feel extra special. I'm glad Nick lived up to and exceed my expectations.
LinkTheHylian 2 months ago
I can't die until I've shared a bottle of Lagavulin with Ron F*****g Swanson.
#11
My then teenage daughter met Alice Cooper at a convention. She waited for the line to clear and shyly approached him for a signature, then asked for tips as she intended to have a career in music. He was very kind and took the time to talk to her about it and tell her about his own experience.
#12
My wife and I went to a David Byrne concert (Everything That Happens Will Happen Today tour). I was parked across the street from the lot where there were two tour identical buses parked. We were early, so we were just hanging out in our car.
From (evidently) a stage door, David Byrne comes out and walks over to one of the buses, puts a key in the lock and nothing happens. It wouldn't turn. He pulled it out and put it back in and tried to turn several more times to no avail. He was standing there staring at the key with a look of frustrated confusion on his face, and I hollered, "This is not my beautiful bus!"
He laughed.
Then he had the good sense to walk over to the *other* bus and try the key there.
It worked.
However, the Redditor believes that celebs should be careful not to treat their fans with respect, as these folks are precisely the ones who got them to where they are.
"Essentially celebrities who treat their fans like garbage are 'biting the hand that feeds them.' It's not a very smart move. But hey, they have that freedom to do so."
#13
I met Terry Pratchett while battling very aggressive ovarian cancer.
He told me that my hat was ‘really neat’.
I carry that in my heart today.
#14
I was at a comic convention and had decided to bring my Batman: The Animated Series poster (one that released as a promotion for the cartoon back when it came out) so I could get it signed by the man himself, Kevin Conroy (voiced batman for those who don't know).
My SO had stuff she had to take care of first since she was a guest at the con so when she was done we went to the autographs area to see if we could catch him.
I went from happy (when I saw he was still there) to sad (when I saw he was packing up to leave). I was crestfallen but my SO said, "at least say hello and ask when he'll be back".
So I walked up and told him I loved his work and asked when he'd be back.
He told me to f**k right off--I'm absolutely joking; he said, "I think we've got time for one more--no need to make you wait, right?"
He looked to his wrangler/manager who, clearly, wanted to just go and kind of motioned as such and he just shook his head and said, "it'll only take a minute".
He unrolled the poster and admired it for a minute. Saying he hadn't seen one of these in quite a while. I told him how I'd debated getting it signed because of it's age and I'd decided that if I could get Batman to sign it then it was worth it. So he signed his name and wrote, "I am BATMAN" on it.
He seemed so genuine and nice. I did not expect him to stop and make time to sign it and would've gladly come back but it was amazing that he stopped everything just for me. Everyone I've heard who has met him said that they all felt like that when they met him.
He even said the line in his Batman voice and the child in me was filled with pure glee.
He passed away a few months after that. If he hadn't taken the time then I wouldn't have ever gotten the chance again (at the time, he came to town pretty frequently so I figured I'd get it next time around). Based on everything I now know--he was already not in great health (he did look really thin at the time). Which, to me, makes it even greater than he took extra time for one last signature.
He was and forever will be the one and only, true, Batman.
#15
Met Martin Short in an alley in LA on his way in to shoot that Jersey shore spoof he did on some late night talk show. Nicest guy in the world, told security to back off and that he had all the time in the world to talk to the people who put him where he was that day. Took pictures, signed stuff, just chatted like a normal human being. A family friend of mine kept calling him Marty, and he never corrected him. Seemed to get a kick out of it hahaha. Bid the most respectful thank you and goodbye when time really did run out and he was at risk of missing his call time or whatever.
#16
Not mine, but a friend's:
Jason Alexander, George from *Seinfeld*, came to give a guest lecture on acting at the university my friend attended. My friend was on his way to class, when he ran into Jason Alexander who had just finished up his lecture. Instead of saying "You're George from Seinfeld!" my friend said "Holy c**p, you're Jason Alexander!"
Jason Alexander heaved a sigh of relief and said "Nobody remembers my name, it's awlays George this, Festivus that. Know what, kid? Want to get lunch together?"
And my friend says, "Oh, sorry, I'm late for class!" and took off for biology.
He gets to class, sits down, and suddenly realizes he just turned down lunch with Jason Alexander.
Don't meet your heroes, because sometimes you're really dumb, and they'll see it.
#17
Julia Child winked at me. She was just a genuinely fun person.
Robert Sissco 2 months ago
I think Julia Child was the one who said my favorite cooking line of all time. "I love cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food"
#18
I was a huge science nerd in high school, so of course I idolized Bill Nye. I thought he was amazing for how he made science more accessible to everyone.
My love of science led to me becoming an astronomy major in college during the late '90s and very early '00s. At that time, one of my astronomy professors let me know that Bill Nye had been hired to be the main speaker at my university's Engineering Open House, then asked if I'd like to be one of Bill's college guides for the day. I was so excited to say yes!
I first realized I was in trouble when one of Bill Nye's assistants showed up early to debrief us; he told us to not take anything Bill says personally and that Bill is generally an a*****e to everyone.
Bill Nye showed up very late and very drunk, and he refused to do the full science presentation he had been contracted to do. He had been paid to present for a full hour, but he argued loudly that he wouldn't do more than 15 minutes.
Bill made a few nasty comments about women in science towards me, insinuating that I was in astronomy just to find a husband. Then he started getting aggressively mean towards the young kids who were excited to see him.
Eventually he ended up screaming at a 5-year-old to "f**k off" while mic'd up in front of an entire gymnasium of people. At that point, college officials asked Bill to leave even though he'd been there for only a short time.
To this day, I'm honestly shocked at how many people still love and idolize Bill Nye, as I've heard so many similar "Bill Nye is an a*****e" stories over the years.
#19
I'm a huge fan of "The Wire". IMO, the greatest show ever made, by a mile. I admire all of the cast, but Wendell Pierce in particular. Not just for his portrayal of Bunk, but he's done a lot of great humanitarian work too. I was at an event and saw that he was also in the audience. I normally try to leave celebrities alone, figuring that they just want to be treated like a normal person when out it public, but in this case I couldn't resist. After the event, I went over and said hello and told him how much I appreciated his work. He was completely gracious and humble. Insisted that I call him by his first name, asked me mine. After chatting for a bit, he asked me what I did for work. I told him I'm a structural engineer. He then wanted to know my full name. I told him. "You're (my name)!", he exclaimed, "we were just talking about you at dinner last night!". He had had dinner with one of my clients the previous night and was so impressed by a structure I had designed that he asked the client who had designed it. Now I am not a famous engineer by any stretch (if there even are any). It was just an amazing bit of luck, plus the fact that he's a genuinely great guy.
#20
Not me, but something very funny that happened once.
My grandpa was a univerity teacher of pharmacy and has made numerous books/paper to his name. I think a building or two too. Anyway, he was giving a conferance in my town, so ofc I went to see him! After the conference I went to chat to him, and like. I'm his oldest grandkid, he kinda helped raised me, he *adore* me. So we are chatting, and then this young profesional barge in, and cut our convo, because he wants my grandpa to help review a study I think. I keep trying to tell my papi that i'll talk to him later, but the guy interupt me and end up saying something like "can't you see that this is important??"
Grandpa informed him I was his grandchild, and politely told him to go f**k himself.
It was very hard to not laugh out loud. I had never heard my grandpa swore before.
#21
Wife took the kids to Pittsburgh to see Def Leppard. The night before, they're in a restaurant when an older, one-armed guy walks in. Turns out it's the drummer for the band. They chatted him up and got a selfie. He was happy to see teenagers still liking his music.
Seán Hannan 2 months ago
Very lazy, BP, showing us Joe Elliott instead of the drummer, Rick Allen.
#22
Okay, I have never shared this. When I was 17 (now 40F), my friends and I got tickets to see Mitch Hedberg in a small club in my hometown. We were .vsall in high school, so my mom had to accompany us. We all loved him, listened to his album, quoted him. He was known for kinda having his eyes closed during his set, so at one point, I snapped a flash photo which was allowed at this venue. He said something else then asked, "Hey, did somebody take a picture?" I was too embarrassed, and my mom shouted, "she did!!" So I raised my hands thinking like oh, he'll throw me a t shirt or something. No. He called me onstage to take a picture with him!!! I was cheesing so hard. Then my mother yelled, "Let her tell a joke!!" And he handed me the Mike. My mind went blank, and I told the most recent one I'd heard. A stupid joke about whale sounds that got no laugh.😅 I went to sit back down and he was cracking jokes throughout the set about "I don't know how I'm supposed to follow Fremenade" I was dying. I met his opener and got a pic after the show but I was too embarrassed to go back to Mitch and say hi. Got a great Pic with him onstage, tho!
Lost Panda 2 months ago
Mitch Hedberg was, no still is (God rest him), the king of one liners!
#23
The nicest I have met was Sir Michael Palin - a truly lovely man. He felt like an Uncle I'd known my whole life, and I was the one who had to end the conversation with him as I had to get to university. If I hadn't had to go I think I'd still be talking to him 20 odd years later!
#24
I worked as a cashier in a Stateline, Nevada casino in the early 80s. Part of our training included a warning that Bruce Dern often gambled in the early morning and he did not like to be recognized. I’ve been a huge Bruce Dern fan since Silent Running and it was enough for me to spot him from across the room.
One day, I’m training a new hire and Mr Dern came to our window. I had forgotten to warn my trainee about him. After the trainee cashed out his chips, he says, “Has anyone ever told you that you look just like Bruce Dern?” Mr Dern grins and says, “I get that a lot” and walks away. Made my day.
Manana Man 2 months ago
Great actor, never a star really, but lots of good supporting actor roles. Did a lot of westerns. There'd be that one cowboy that was kinda 'loco.' That would be Bruce Dern.
#25
Greenwich Village. NYC. ‘77. At my car w. a girlfriend when Lou Reed comes (literally) bopping round the corner. Big fan so I say, “ Hey Lou, need a ride ?” He replies, “No man, I’m cool !” And ya know what ?
He was, and forever will be, in my book. RIP, baby !
AND for all the die-hards, YouTube The Velvet Underground on Lawrence Welk where his orchestra plays Sister Ray.
#26
Bumped into my favorite author at a bookstore. Told her how her novels got me through tough times. She rolled her eyes and said, 'Great, another sob story. Buy a book or move along.' Guess her empathy only exists on paper. 15 years of fandom down the drain.
#27
Tried to get in line for a Q&A with David Tennant when I was at a con, unfortunately a massive crowd ran up into line before I could get there.
I will say however, watching the interactions he had with fans, he struck me as a very genuine guy who greatly enjoys talking with fans.
#28
When I was a kid I was super into Broadway and musical theater. My dream was to be in Broadway. So for my 9th birthday my mom got us tickets to see Wicked on Broadway in New York with most of the original cast. This was a huge trip for us, as we lived on the west coast. My mom had mentioned to someone working at the show that it was her daughter's birthday and that Idina Menzel was my hero. This was before Frozen and before she was as big of a name as she is now. Somehow, this person brought us backstage after the show to meet the cast. Everyone backstage was very kind and sweet to me, except Idina Menzel. Kristin Chenoweth was super awesome, and Joey McIntyre was really nice and trying to cheer me up, but Idina wouldn't come out of her dressing room. I got to hear her tell Joey, through her dressing room door, that she didn't care about some kid and to leave her the f**k alone. 9 year old me was crushed, and even though the others were kind and did their best to salvage the situation, I lost interest in musical theater after that.
Seán Hannan 2 months ago
That's unfortunate, but she might have been just having a bad day. I wouldn't judge based on only one reported interaction.
#29
I never ask celebrities for selfies as it's pretty cringe and I know they don't want to do it.
I've always been a huge fan of Slash and I met him backstage at a Velvet Revolver gig and I thought I'd break the selfie rule just this once. I pounced on him and asked for a picture and he said:
'F**k off, man'.
Somehow that was better than a photo, but I was still snubbed by a hero.
#30
I met Eminem in Denver once and he told me if I came to his show, we'd meet up afterwards. I took my little bro with me and we waited for him for four hours in the blistering cold. And when he saw us, he just said no. I know he didn't miss me, he did that s**t intentionally just to diss me.
What do you think ?
Bec 2 months ago
Friend of my husband helps organize horror conventions. Jamie Lee Curtis doesn't like to do conventions but did a panel and signing because it was part of a charity event,. He said she worked all day without a break and wouldn't leave until everyone wanted an autograph got one.
Bob Brooce 2 months ago
I was at an event a few years back and came outside after one of the presentations and saw group of people clustered around somebody a few yards from the exit. Almost walked on by when I noticed it was Bill Clinton. I went and stood by the group waiting for a pause to just say hi, and he basically finished his sentence, stepped forward, and reached between a couple of people to shake my hand and say hello. He basically interrupted himself while I was waiting patiently. I've said a few times that Hillary would have won in a landslide if she had Bill's charisma, but meeting him IRL is on another level.
Doctor Strange 2 months ago
Bill Clinton once asked to take a picture with me. Said picture is part of the Clinton Presidential Library.
Load More Replies... Bec 2 months ago
Friend of my husband helps organize horror conventions. Jamie Lee Curtis doesn't like to do conventions but did a panel and signing because it was part of a charity event,. He said she worked all day without a break and wouldn't leave until everyone wanted an autograph got one.
Bob Brooce 2 months ago
I was at an event a few years back and came outside after one of the presentations and saw group of people clustered around somebody a few yards from the exit. Almost walked on by when I noticed it was Bill Clinton. I went and stood by the group waiting for a pause to just say hi, and he basically finished his sentence, stepped forward, and reached between a couple of people to shake my hand and say hello. He basically interrupted himself while I was waiting patiently. I've said a few times that Hillary would have won in a landslide if she had Bill's charisma, but meeting him IRL is on another level.
Doctor Strange 2 months ago
Bill Clinton once asked to take a picture with me. Said picture is part of the Clinton Presidential Library.
Load More Replies...
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