People Share Their Saddest Celebrity Encounters On Reddit
Reddit is a strange place, people can be really nasty up there and the design of the site looks like something from the 90’s but I occasionally visit Reddit. Lately, there was a ‘who was your saddest celebrity encounter?’ and I have compiled a sort of best of, while only considering the music celebrities. Sometimes there’s a whole story, sometimes it’s too brief and we are let to imagine what really happened before and after the encounter. Some are awkward encounters, some are happy moments, other ones are disappointments or missed opportunities. Of course, these are stories written by anonymous people on the internet, and who knows if they are all true? Surely, everything should be taken with a grain of salt, but on the other hand, why would people make up stories like these? I have met a few music celebrities myself – and when I say met, I am only considering people whom I had a real exchange with – and I was never disappointed, none of them were pricks or even aloof, Paul Simon, Nick Cave, Cat Power, Eugene Hütz, Neil Young were all super nice and I have only awesome memories of meeting them… which is not always the case for everyone, Here are the best stories of this Reddit thread, but I am far to have explored the whole thing! I was left speechless after the Michael Jackson story…
‘Eminem. Met him briefly outside a concert with my cousin Matthew who is six years old. Asshole just ignored without even signing his autograph.’
‘At 15 years old, I bumped into Lily Allen at Glastonbury. She was surrounded by a bunch of security guards. I asked her for a photo. She told me to fuck off. I did.’
‘Not sad, but I met Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He was at Guitar Center giving a clinic. He was so cool and chilled out. Even asked me about what the good gentlemen’s clubs were in the area. Great guy.’
‘Maria Taylor also completely shut me down once after one of her concerts. I was obsessed with her and her albums had helped me through a tough breakup. She stared at me like I was a complete moron and said she was busy, then went and sat in her tour bus. Haven’t listened to her since.’
‘David Bowie at the Dali museum in FL. I’ve never been a celebrity worshipper, but this was fucking Bowie. The museum wasn’t busy at all, and he and Iman had been there for a while, as had my gf and I. My gf really wanted to say hi and maybe get his autograph, since that’s apparently what people do with celebrities. We eventually got close enough in the same gallery that I could lean over and talk to him. I quietly and apologetically greeted him and said we were enormous fans and… Before I finished talking, he very loudly said “fuck off, I’m not doing this today!” A little while later, as we walked out of the museum, he was standing at his stretch limo signing autographs for a small group of fans. It was more disappointing than sad at the time. But with his passing it seems much more sad.’
‘I challenged Lemmy to a drinking contents. He just said ‘You’d lose’.’
‘My brother met Gene Simmons back stage at a show he was playing in. Gene complimented my brother highly on his guitar playing but then said “too bad you’ll never make it” and just walked away.’
‘I met MOBY and he was nice but I turned into a real dick, which was funny because he was just mentioning to the crowd that when he meets his fans they either really nice or completely mean to him because of shock. I turned into the dick.’
‘Michael Jackson, circa about 1981. I don’t think Thriller was out yet, but I know Off The Wall was because I used to play it when it was my turn to pick the store music. I worked at a record store in Encino, CA back in the pre-CD days when everything came out on vinyl and cassette tapes were the new technology. MJ came in to buy some blank videotapes and paid with an American Express card that said Michael Jackson on it. I asked for ID because this guy in front of me holding Michael Jackson’s American Express card was not Michael Jackson. He was a black guy, but that’s where any resemblance ended. The guy in front of me looked like a strung out heroin addict: dirty — like dirt ground into his face dirty, greasy hair, skin coated with a thin sheen of sweat, filthy clothing… Whoever this guy was, he was a half-step away from being homeless, he was jonesing for a fix, and he obviously had somehow stolen Michael Jackson’s credit card. So I asked for ID. And he handed me a California drivers license with his picture on it (albeit in a much cleaner state) with Michael Jackson’s name on it. Holy shit, it really was Michael Jackson. So I ran the payment, bagged his merchandise and receipt, and he walked out of the store. I don’t know what he was on that day, but he was fuuuucked up and looked like he had been for days.’
‘Sometime in 2014 I think… my dad was traveling to a business meeting in New Orleans. As he’s boarding the plane in LAX the line is held up in the aisle and he pokes around only to see that people are encircling none other than Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. They both were dressed inconspicuously and just saying “Move along now no pictures with us please”. They must have been exhausted with all the attention and I could not imagine what it’s like.’
‘Sad for me…I literally ran into Dave Grohl at the grocery store because I wasn’t looking where I was going but I did see a bag of lentils I wanted.He kind of gave me an awkward smile, probably thinking I was some nutter that did it on purpose. I ran away into the produce section.’
‘I was at a Brad Pitt make it right foundation concert a few years back held in new orleans. the lineup was kanye west snoop dogg rihanna Seal and maybe someone else idk. anyways, before kanye and rihanna are set to perform I’m in the vip area and I run in to Seal. Not literally, we just made eye contact and he stops to ask me if he knows me from somewhere. I proceeded to tell him no and laugh obnoxiously. He continues to insist on knowing me to which I smugly reply nah and walk away. I look back and think Seal was just really lonely at this concert and no one really seemed to get down to his music as much as the other performers so he wanted to make a friend. I regret not befriending Seal :(‘
‘I met the RZA backstage at a Pitchfork concert I was working. He was chatting with some girls, and I looked about as white as I could, so I definitely didn’t want to interrupt. I asked if he was RZA, he said he was. I told him I was a huge Wu fan, and then complimented his shoes. He really seemed to appreciate that and told me to come up on stage for his set. Super cool dude.’
‘I was in the Chicago airport in the mid 90s and saw Tori Amos screaming and crying into a pay phone. It was at the height of her fame and I was a huge fan, but she was so clearly upset all I could do was stand there.’
‘Back in 2014 I was a waitress at a high-end restaurant where the town’s elite would hang out (small city in Indiana)—the mayor, business owners, some investment bankers, some writers, and John fucking Cougar Mellencamp. Cougs used to come in every couple months and he was such a pain in the ass that the General Manager would usually serve his table personally. One night he came in with Meg Ryan and the GM assigned me to their table. I was instructed of the rules of engagement (don’t acknowledge Meg, don’t talk about music, don’t even BREATHE the word “cougar” in his presence) and I went about being the most demure, doting server I could possibly be. This was difficult for me, since I’m a musician and I had just started working as an assistant engineer at a local recording studio. I’d even worked on some demos for John’s touring band not even a couple weeks prior. I thought I was super cool and different and had a special connection so I waited for the right time to bring it up and just build that extra rapport. Cougs took fault with me every step of the way during the service—nothing was good enough. It went beyond dickishness—he went out of his way to belittle me, and Meg fought with him about it, and it was sort of ugly. Like when a couple fights awkwardly and emotionally in public and you have to just watch. Anyway, at the end of the service when dropping off their check I mentioned that I worked at the recording studio and he got super pissed. He insisted on watching the GM reprimand me and then they left a 10% tip. Meg seemed sweet, I felt bad for her. Word is, they broke up not long after that. Mellencamp is an ass and if you live in my town long enough, you inevitably have a story of him fucking up your day to some extent.’
‘After loving The Monkees since I was seven years old, I introduced my teenage daughter to their music and TV show about ten years ago. She was very excited when we got the chance to meet my favorite, Micky Dolenz, at a fair in New England. Planning to attend his evening performance, we arrived at the fair just in time for the meet and greet after his afternoon show. We got in line to meet him and it was so exciting to think that I would be meeting one of my favorite celebrities after loving him for forty years and still listening to his music often. When we finally reached the tent, we bought s photo for ten bucks, which we were told he would autograph but not personalize. First clue. Then I get in front of him, and I’m a perfectly normal-looking middle aged woman, as I’m sure most of his fans were ( saying this so you will know that I didn’t look insane or stalker-ish). I blurt out, “I’m so thrilled to meet you…I’ve loved you since I was seven years old!” To which he replies, “That’s nice.” Then, like an idiot, I say, “May I have a hug?” And he says, “Well that would be kind of hard since there’s a table between us.” And turns his attention to the next person. My daughter grabbed my arm and said, “C’mon Mom, let’s go.” And we didn’t even stay for the show. it was a colossal disappointment.’
Deadmau5, met him on the gumball 3000 rally, was a prick.. At least when I was there.’
‘I met Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys when he did a signing at a job I had in college (2009 or so). I really love the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson is a huge musical inspiration to me. Brian Wilson was in an office sitting at a table and his managers were standing there also. I was told to walk in and I can meet him and have him sign stuff. So I walk in and say how I am a huge fan and he’s a big inspiration… He just looks up at me like he’s a dog. There wasn’t a person inside that body, no personality, no signs of human interaction. He signs my poster and hands it back. His managers start talking to me and I stand in there for a few minutes talking to them. The whole time I was in there he was just staring off into nothing. Didn’t say a word. It was just like a dog staring into space.’
‘My father met Jimi Hendrix through a mutual friend (Noel Redding, the bassist for the Experience). Noel introduced my father to Jimi. My father eagerly extended his hand, and said “nice to meet you, Jimi.” Jimi did not extend his hand and, instead, looked my father up and down before declaring ‘get lost, kid.’’
‘I had the happenstance to meet Ke$ha once. I was working in Montana and she needed a “break” so she decided to hop on her private plane and fly in to have us take her dog sledding. We were all very professional when we met her, hell none of us knew who she was a week before. We all had to google her. Anyhow, she shows up. We go out for a 8-9 mile loop with the dogs, a bit of hot drinks and snacks and head back to the trucks. Not only does she not pay for the trip, she didn’t tip a single one of us. Four guides, four sleds, two trucks and 24 dogs. That’s a lot of work. She does give us the honor to have drinks that night. We all show up, she is late. We are all buying rounds and sharing the tab. She drinks, signs an autograph or two draws a dick and balls on my arm and leaves without so much as even buying anyone a drink/round or offering to chip in for the drinks she had. Oh well.’
