Did you ever meet a celebrity that acted like a jerk? | The Boneyard

Did you ever meet a celebrity that acted like a jerk?

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I stayed in the same hotel as the Red Sox in Baltimore once. Friday’s game got rained out and around 1 I hit the hotel bar and the entire team was there.

Tim Wakefield was a complete dipstick. To the point where Brian Daubach came over afterwards and apologized for him.
 
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Jon Stewart grabbed the butt of a friend of mine in a NYC bar, and then he laughed as his goons roughed her boyfriend up for defending her. By goons I mean 6'6" meatheads. We pried them apart and got thrown out. This was over 20 odd years ago in his MTV days prior to Comedy Central.
 
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I used to live right behind the Red Sox Spring Training complex. On several occasions I witnessed a Sox legend exhibit horrible behavior towards fans, including older women and kids. After what I saw I wouldn’t accept any memorabilia of his, regardless of the value. His grandson plays in the majors now.
 
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I’ve met a lot of country music stars, Rosie O’Donnell, Keifer Sutherland (drinking whiskey on train tracks in Mississippi), Mia Farrow, Brian Dennehy, the Madoffs, Barry Sternlicht, Tommy Hilfiger, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Larry Bird and lots more. Every single one was genuinely pleasant.

Larry Bird is downright cool. I wasn’t a fan when he played, but he’s a good guy. I’ve talked to him in bars/restaurants around town multiple times and he’s always gracious.

I think the key is to be cool, don’t overdo it and only visit as long as they want to. If you follow that formula and you are pretty good socially, most are very engaging. That said, I’ve met these people in situations where I wasn’t viewed as a pauper. I was either a high paying customer (country music awards) a business contact or a friend of a friend.

In the case of the Madoffs, who were pleasant people, the relationship was more personal. Bernie was a con man and seemed nice. His kids were solid, both are dead due to the hell their dad put them through. They were not in on his crimes.
 

formerlurker

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FAO Schwarz, Rockefeller Plaza store, circa November 1978.

My parents were struggling at the time as a young couple but made sure to take us kids into the city every Christmas, more importantly FAO. We knew Santa wasn't bringing us any of those toys but it was so cool just to be close to a Coleco Football display.

All of a sudden the only thing cooler than Coleco Football to a 7yo in 1978 suddenly walks in the front door.... None other than Frank freaking Poncherello, Erik Estrada himself.

I remember it like it was yesterday. He was wearing a powder blue 3 piece suit with a white shirt, no tie. My Mom told me to go ask him for his autograph and I mustered up the courage to do so although it was totally outside my comfort zone at that age.

That greasy piece of actually looked me in the eye and told me to pound sand, . 100% sure my parent's net worth is > than his right now. Mine too.

.
 
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BigErn takes the cake with Sandler. That’s one of the Holy Grails in my book. Never met him. I’d put Sandler, Obama, Bill Clinton, Letterman and Brad Pitt as my top 5 to have a few beers with. (Pitt is apparently totally cool and very sarcastic, which I enjoy)
 

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Met Henry Winkler when he was performing at Shakespeare Theater in Stratford, probably late 70’s or early 80’s. Happy Days was still on the air but he had already literally jumped the shark. No matter; I was kid and still a fan.

Friends and I waited outside the doors for hours to see him. We had to go home for dinner and came back afterwards to wait again. When he finally came out I asked for his autograph. He declined and shook my hand, saying “Human power is better than writing.”

I stopped thinking Fonzie was cool that day.

Served Spike Lee what appears to have been his first lobster, on Martha’s Vineyard. He thought we were pranking him because he had no idea how to eat it. He was not happy. He got a lazy man’s lobster instead.

Met Bob Griese at a Patriots-Dolphins game when I was a kid. Apparently it was his worst say as a pro. He was dick and refused an autograph. Every other player and Shula signed.
 

Chin Diesel

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I had to work with a guy on numerous occasions that I thought was just an awful human being. I won't say his name but his father drove a car with the #3 on the side.

Anyone else have such an experience?

Funny enough. When Brad Keslowski was first coming up he got a backseat ride in a military F/A-18 jet as a promotional thing. Pilot was courteous and was giving him some tips at how to maintain consciousness while pulling 7-8 g's at 500+ mph. Keslowski was a bit smug and predicted he's excelled at pretty much everything and wasn't worried. Four hours after the flight Brad was still in the fetal position on a couch blowing chunks. The pilot wrecked his body and humbled him real good.
On the flip side I got his autograph on a stock photo card.
 

Chin Diesel

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I stayed in the same hotel as the Red Sox in Baltimore once. Friday’s game got rained out and around 1 I hit the hotel bar and the entire team was there.

Tim Wakefield was a complete dipstick. To the point where Brian Daubach came over afterwards and apologized for him.

Interesting. Ran across Tim in Punta Gorda FL seemed like a nice guy and signed a couple of boxes of baseballs for a group I was with that weekend.
 

Chin Diesel

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I’ve met a lot of country music stars, Rosie O’Donnell, Keifer Sutherland (drinking whiskey on train tracks in Mississippi), Mia Farrow, Brian Dennehy, the Madoffs, Barry Sternlicht, Tommy Hilfiger, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Larry Bird and lots more. Every single one was genuinely pleasant.

Larry Bird is downright cool. I wasn’t a fan when he played, but he’s a good guy. I’ve talked to him in bars/restaurants around town multiple times and he’s always gracious.

I think the key is to be cool, don’t overdo it and only visit as long as they want to. If you follow that formula and you are pretty good socially, most are very engaging. That said, I’ve met these people in situations where I wasn’t viewed as a pauper. I was either a high paying customer (country music awards) a business contact or a friend of a friend.

In the case of the Madoffs, who were pleasant people, the relationship was more personal. Bernie was a con man and seemed nice. His kids were solid, both are dead due to the hell their dad put them through. They were not in on his crimes.

Country? Little Big Town were dorks. To be fair I don't think they know what their agent committed them to do.
 
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Met Henry Winkler when he was performing at Shakespeare Theater in Stratford, probably late 70’s or early 80’s. Happy Days was still on the air but he had already literally jumped the shark. No matter; I was kid and still a fan.

Friends and I waited outside the doors for hours to see him. We had to go home for dinner and came back afterwards to wait again. When he finally came out I asked for his autograph. He declined and shook my hand, saying “Human power is better than writing.”

I stopped thinking Fonzie was cool that day.

Served Spike Lee what appears to have been his first lobster, on Martha’s Vineyard. He thought we were pranking him because he had no idea how to eat it. He was not happy. He got a lazy man’s lobster instead.

Met Bob Griese at a Patriots-Dolphins game when was a kid. Apparently it was his worst say as a pro. He was dick and refused an autograph. Every other player and Shula signed.
The autograph thing is tricky, and I try not to judge celebrities too much based on that because we have no idea what their experiences were giving autographs prior to that. I enjoy meeting athletes when they’re younger like Rafael Devers and Mookie Betts because they’re not overwhelmed by it yet and generally very accommodating. I met Stephen King at a Sox ST game in 06 and asked for a photo. He shook his head no and wanted no part of it. From what I’ve read he’s just not comfortable with idolatry but after reading a lot of his tweets I think he may just be a ,
 
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Country? Little Big Town were dorks. To be fair I don't think they know what their agent committed them to do.


Little Big Town are among the very best to meet. The frizzy haired blonde is an absolute sweetheart.

Luke Bryan is pretty cool, Blake Shelton is ridiculously friendly and Carrie Underwood gave me an electric smile and wave when I winked at her on a red carpet once. My knees just about buckled.
 
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Met Henry Winkler when he was performing at Shakespeare Theater in Stratford, probably late 70’s or early 80’s. Happy Days was still on the air but he had already literally jumped the shark. No matter; I was kid and still a fan.

Friends and I waited outside the doors for hours to see him. We had to go home for dinner and came back afterwards to wait again. When he finally came out I asked for his autograph. He declined and shook my hand, saying “Human power is better than writing.”

I stopped thinking Fonzie was cool that day.

Served Spike Lee what appears to have been his first lobster, on Martha’s Vineyard. He thought we were pranking him because he had no idea how to eat it. He was not happy. He got a lazy man’s lobster instead.

Met Bob Griese at a Patriots-Dolphins game when I was a kid. Apparently it was his worst say as a pro. He was dick and refused an autograph. Every other player and Shula signed.
Spike Lee lives near me so I see him around every so often. Never personally interacted with him but what a bizarre human being. It’s like he doesn’t quite understand how to be a normal person.
 
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Spike Lee lives near me so I see him around every so often. Never personally interacted with him but what a bizarre human being. It’s like he doesn’t quite understand how to be a normal person.
From what I’ve observed he’s one of my least favorite humans. Enjoyed his early movies but not a fan of the guy whatsoever now.
 

Chin Diesel

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Little Big Town are among the very best to meet. The frizzy haired blonde is an absolute sweetheart.

Luke Bryan is pretty cool, Blake Shelton is ridiculously friendly and Carrie Underwood gave me an electric smile and wave when I winked at her on a red carpet once. My knees just about buckled.

As I said I think they were a bit out of place. I wasn't a big fan of their music before I met them and I am equally unimpressed since I met them.
 
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Interesting. Ran across Tim in Punta Gorda FL seemed like a nice guy and signed a couple of boxes of baseballs for a group I was with that weekend.
I met Wakefield and Mike Timlin a couple days after they won the World Series in 2004 and they were both very nice. They were probably in a good mood after winning the World Series. They were out to dinner together with their wives at The Capital Grille and our booth was next to theirs so I was back to back with Wakefield. We didn't want to bother them so we told the waitress to buy the table drinks on us. A couple minutes later I get a tap on the shoulder and Wakefield says thanks very much but they're not drinking since they have to get up early the next day for the parade. We talked for a few minutes about how happy they made the city and what it was like to play in Boston. They both were very nice.

I always take stories about celebrities and athletes being jerks with a grain of salt. Think about all the people that want something from them. It's impossible to be nice to every single person they encounter. They could be the nicest people but the one time they don't want to be bothered and someone wants an autograph or a picture taking opportunity and they're not accommodating then that person says they're a jerk. If it's a pattern and they have a reputation of being difficult then they're probably jerks. But if it happens rarely and most of the time they're very nice then that doesn't make them jerks.
 

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