I totally understand/understood Eminem. “But at least have the decency in you to leave me alone, when you freaks see me out…” I never ever will understand how people are okay camping out at someone’s house or making such a fuss or invading someone else’s privacy. Nah, if I was famous, I’d probably gain notoriety for the way I’d be dealing with all these “fans”
Working in the city, you’re bound to see a celebrity from time to time. One time I saw Lenny Kravitz, an artist who had a great part in my childhood, out downtown. When I saw him my heart dropped. I was staring, star struck, and when he saw me I just nodded at him and he smiled and winked at me. That was all I needed. I always think he was probably happy I left him the fuck alone.
Except for Bill Murray. That guy seems to really enjoy fans. I was at an event just standing with some random people talking and at one point I looked to my right and Bill Murray was just standing there. Not saying anything, he'd just joined the circle while someone else was mid story and no one noticed right away.
Same, in LA it’s the same. I’ve seen a few and I just quietly wave with a little smile.
There was only one time I freaked out. I was 14yrs old and I accidentally physically bumped into Michael Emerson while walking on a pathway. it was so unexpected as I was currently watching Lost and he was my favorite characters. Learned my lesson quick to keep my cool, never did that shit again.
If Lenny Kravitz smiled and winked at me, I would drop dead and be happy about it.
When I saw him my heart dropped. I was staring, star struck, and when he saw me I just nodded at him and he smiled and winked at me. That was all I needed.
My wife is so fucking amazing with faces it really leaves me dumbfounded because I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum (heh). We were out at dinner and she sees someone who had like two unrelated, single episode roles on crime shows; he was out eating with his family. She tells me this and we are him just stiffen up a little bit, obviously overhearing her observation. We just went back to eating because anything other than that is rude as hell. When they finished eating he just gave a little not to my wife and headed on his was. He seemed so relieved that we didn't just cold approach him, I can't imagine how awful it must be.
I ran into Lenny Kravitz in NYC, in 1997, as I was walking out of a King Crimson concert at Town Hall. He was just leaning against the main exit doors facing the crowds as we filed out. I looked at him and said, “ Were you at the show?!” He just sorta muttered something like “Yeah, man, it was great.” That was pretty much it. I ran into all sorts of celebrities in NYC, and yeah, sometimes you wanna engage them, but sensibility takes over and you let them have their moment. Now, when I ran into Joey Ramone at Coney Island High in the 90s, I HAD to fuck with him. There was a band playing that had just started a cover of “I Wanna Be Sedated” and I saw Joey’s giant frame standing in the back watching the band by himself. I sidled up to him and just said, “This band does this song so much better than the Ramones.” Joey, “Oh, I totally agree!” Me, “Yeah, because, I mean, the Ramones suck.” Joey, “Absolutely!” We both had a good laugh and I walked away. If you can manage being a human being, maybe you won’t be a bother.
I remember I was walking to my car when I ran into my bestie smoking outside of a bar during brunch time on a Sunday years ago. I stopped to chat bc it was so random. This bar is a historic gay bar in Pittsburgh doing a drag brunch and while just the two of us are chatting, Billy Porter walks up the street. This is peak 'Pose' popularity. So it's just us, and were just in awe. It's also literally my birthday. So we tell him, he looks fabulous, and he's gracious. He's excited it's my birthday too. Then I ask if I can have a Pic with him. He said, thanks for asking but I'm not doing pics today.
I instantly stopped asking because he answered my question and was so polite and warm while doing so (had he not been, I wouldn't have even dared asking).
I was SO glad I didn't push it. I took this as a sign to go in and have a quick bday mimosa and I watched people who claimed to love Billy sniped pics left and right, touched him inappropriately, and basically treated him like a prop for their own hype on social media. It was ... inhuman. All decorum and kindness- gone to people behaving like animals. At one point I was watching from across and he winked at me like "ya see?" You know, certain celebs... they'll treat you like a peer if you treat them with respect. Celebrity, no matter how famous, is not an excuse to objectify or abuse.
The problem is when someone is famous, especially to the degree of Justin Bieber, there's going to be a percentage of fans who don't view them as a person but as some sort of higher being that exists to entertain them, so in their eyes, everywhere they go they're there to entertain and be a celebrity
Some celebs are starting too I mean look at Chappell, shit is weird how far para social relationships can go, idolizing and over inflating celebrities we don’t know to fulfill the idea we have of them that was fed to us from the minute they stepped on stage.
Just let people create their art and be, that hug wasn’t going to do anything for homegirl in the long run except be a brag she could bring back to her homies, wouldn’t even pay her bills or fix anything else in her life yet she wanted to be so disturbingly insistent even after he broke it down for her. Fucking weirdo
On the other hand, you did not spend every waking moment for over a decade doing any and everything trying to get that (and other) fan's attention, and now want privacy now that you have it. Just can't win/lose.
Celebrities not human, that’s how. I’ve also seen several articles state that people who obsess over celebrities are of lower intelligence. Not sure how true it is though.
Guess he kinda has no choice but to be laid back about it. I'm sure thered be a little part of his brain that wants to yell fuck off at these stalkers, then there's going to be stories of "get the REAL look at how Bieber treats his fans" etc. And its only going to hurt JB more than it hurts the people who tracked down where he lives.
I don't know, he probably has "fuck you" money. Plus I think his fans know that he's constantly pestered and it's having a detrimental effect on his mental well-being.
No fr. He’s the main character all the time, even when he wishes he could turn it off. He’s still a dude that needs time to decompress. I would hate having to live this way…. Even with all the money
Like Eminem, having people break into your house just because you're famous. He talks about this in his songs - how he wanted to give daughters the life he never had but instead forced them to live alienated from the rest of society.
I remember reading about the time some dude broke into his house and managed to make it past security and into his bedroom or something. Not too long after that he did it again.
The money would be nice but I like being able to go to the grocery store and nobody paying attention to what I'm doing. If not, I wouldn't be able to steal all those Pringle cans by hiding them in my pants.
And he’s sick. That can’t be overstated enough. He NEEDS that rest or he can’t do other shit. He’s borrowing energy from something else when he stops to do shit like this. I feel for him. I’m too old to have liked Bieber but I am chronically ill (with one temporary thing that easily could have killed me … repeatedly), and this would make recovery impossible.
He was also polite as FUCK given this all. The tired but comforting way his security ushered him in made me sad. The whole thing did.
He isn't even the big thing anymore!!! This has to happen every day of his life, and you know some are there for the hugs, and others are there to catch bullshit.
Idk about that. Every single one of his albums has gone Billboard #1 in the US. I’m actually shocked how much quality output he’s had since getting past the bubble gum days. The ‘Where Are You Now” collab with Skrillex, “Sorry”, and a personal fave, “Intentions” with Quavo - dude is killin it. Not surprised there would be fans waiting for him these days.
I dislike him but this makes me dislike him less. He was a kid when he became a star, he had no idea what craziness he invited into his world.
He's meeting this fan as an equal, a fellow human and asks this fellow human to give him the same peaceful and quiet home life as they themselves have. And then he sticks to a boundary of not wanting to hug random ppl on his time off. This isn't him on tour in constant workmode, this is him trying to be a real human being instead of a superstar.
He was pretty good about it as a kid as well. My long term ex girlfriend lived nearby and was friends with his cousins, so we crossed paths. He would show up to parties and just smoke weed in the basement (he was getting YouTube famous so he got to go to parties with the older kids). Pretty laid back though. We were on the same flight a couple times out of Detroit, and his mom was kinda demanding but he signed autographs blocking the back entrance to business class on his aisle (yeah I flew fancy with points upgrades) and was nice to the fans.
This is like, right after Baby. Older people were confused and a bit miffed, but he took it in stride and told them he made music. Didn't hear about him much after that. I assume they moved out of town.
What was amazing to me was seeing those cousins develop a huge amount of hangers on both in real life and online just because they had an audience with him. They didn't encourage it but they didn't know how to handle it or tell people no either. You couldn't really even use their social media because girls from Calgary or whatever would just constantly tag them in anything to try to get messages to the Biebs.
She and I stopped dating over a decade ago so I have no idea how his family is doing now, or if they still live in or nearby Stratford, but I've always been impressed with how he handled himself on a personal one to one level with fans.
Sorry this is only vaguely related but I live relatively close to Stratford. I have a cousin that went to grade school with him (she was a few years younger) and about 15 years ago when he was blowing up she told me hated him.
Why? Because he apparently pushed her and she fell down when she was in grade 1 in the schoolyard. That was her only reason. Kids hold a grudge I guess.
Nope and I'll add to it as well. There are other people living in that apartment as well who have to deal with this daily that don't reap any financial benefit from his career.
Don't worry, the base canvas isn't the problem, it's the lack of boundaries, bizarre entitlement, and pure crazy splashed all over it that makes the final picture ugly.
WOW... And even after he's extremely polite, and tries to show them that he's also a human being and calmly try to get them to relate to a really simple concept for regular human beings and that's to be able to relax comfortably at home... Of course, leave it to the girl who looks like a monster from a Dr Seuss book, to completely ignore everything he says and ask for a hug!🤦🤦🤦
Oh wow. That's a rough look. I thought putting your hair up like that was for gumpin around the house. I'm assuming she learned he lives close by and just ran over there with no forethought.
He’s made me give grace to any star that was raised in the limelight. Of course he was a shit as a teen. That’s what that environment does to you. He’s done well to come out the other side of it though.
Most teens are assholes regardless, it's just how it goes. It takes time to learn to be a full human. Fuck, it takes time to physically become a full human.
I always felt so so sorry for him cos I'm someone who kinda hates the limelight and finds it really stressful when I have to be in it. I've never understood why making art, which is often baring a huge amount of yourself anyway, comes with this expectation that you're then owned by the fans. Isn't the art itself enough?
c) They are often influenced, enabled, and even encouraged by the adults in their lives. Managers who instruct them to act certain ways because “all publicity is good publicity”. Older celebrities who “take them under their wing” and groom them and get them hooked on substances. All while their parents let it happen just as long as the cash flow keeps coming.
This video is actually kind of old already. I think it was taken pre-pandemic, iirc. Someone who knows more about the Biebs in here can probably say with more certainty.
In between his Believe and Purpose albums, (2014-2015), he went dark for 2 years to enter therapy and recovery and turned to religion and it seemed to change him. This was right after his egg-throwing incident, his racist video that was leaked and him trying to fight paparazzi. His management team told him to change or they'll drop him, and he changed.
It’s sad people judged him for his antics when he was 16, sure he wasn’t the best kid but he was a kid. He’s a married man with a kid now. He’s an adult I’d totally understand giving him shit if he was still acting like 16 year old.
He's been getting a lot of shit for his interactions with fans for years, but just about every video I've seen starts off similar to this. He tries to reason with them and asks them to be considerate, but the fans ignore everything he says and demand stuff from him and then call him rude for not complying.
I think the main character thing was about the girl that listened to him explaining calmly why he doesnt like what theyre doing and not processing it at all.
she did not listen to one thing he said. i’m so glad i’m not famous. i hate being touched and i would be so much meaner if someone followed me home and expected a hug from me. rightfully so.
15 years ago i could not see him becoming the grounded, humble dude he appears to be these days. Im sure he went thru crazy shit as a child star but it seems like he made it out pretty normal.
Yeah. I’m by no stretch of the imagination a fan of this guy but I’m pretty sure we all went through that obnoxious arrogant teenager phase. We were just lucky enough to not have it on display to the entire planet. Gotta cut him a little slack
Yeah, Randy Orton from the WWE is an example. Dude would break a fan's camera, throw stuff at waitresses and at one time, wrecked a hotel room that Vince ended uo paying 50K for it.
What was happening in the head of the girl, when JB was explaining that he wants to be alone? Was her brain out of order? Sorry, I don't speak english very well.
Much nicer than he needed to be so I respect him for thay especially how he turned down the hug. Like I wouldn't have blamed him if he got mad but he was really empathetic, well done lad.
It's actually annoying me how nice he's being. Like trying to explain the concept of a home and why you wouldn't want random people camping outside it is funny
I think Bieber is a titanic asshole, but I’m totally on his side for this one. He’s right. That’s his home. I can’t imagine how infuriating it would be to come home to a crowd outside your house and always knowing there’s a crowd just right outside waiting to bombard you. Some of them probably even have super pixel cameras to try and peep in the windows hoping to catch a glimpse. How could anyone relax with that going on?
V posting a “thank you for pretending not to see me and my family” after his vacation was proof that fans can do this. This lady is just unhinged. She didn’t hear a word out of his mouth, she just hyper focused on what she wanted from him.
I've never been a fan of this kid and I probably would have tossed him a cinder block if he were ever drowning but he's 1000% correct here and his handling of the situation showed a level of maturity that frankly impressed me! I also kinda feel bad for the kid and understand now why he was the way he was.....show biz + kids + $$ = neglect, abuse and exploitation, leading to mental illness! Poor kid.
You’re not saying Bieber is the “main character” here right? Because he handled this very reasonably.
You have to be referring to the “can I get a hug” girl right? But even then, she just seems a bit deranged, not necessarily displaying MCS (main character syndrome).
Good for him! That was so calm and respectful towards his fans. But the fact that she just ignored what he said and asked for the hug again would make me consider a restraining order. I realize that sounds extreme but she’s seeking physical contact from him - even after his very respectful appeal to them to stay away from his home. And furthermore that’s where his wife and baby are. I wouldn’t play around with this if it were me!
I would feel like a complete asshole after that. He was so genuine and nice about it. I dont even like JB, but the way he said that made my heart break for him. The anxiety of people being camped outside when I got home would kill me.
He has every right like every human to have boundaries both energetically mentally physically. He also defused the intensity and genuinely asked for respect without being disrespectful. He could have ignored and went inside. He stopped to explain himself which he didn’t need to do
Can anyone understand what she says before he replies “I hear you”? No big deal, just curious.
I was floored when she asked again for a hug…he wasted his breath and next time, he shouldn’t even acknowledge people outside his home. This makes me happy to not be famous.
I often say that I pity the rich & famous, and I envy the rich & anonymous.
Being famous looks like hell, especially today now that social media and the fact that almost everybody has a camera in their pockets have turned people into mindless, self-absorbed jerks. If you're going to be harassed whenever you go outside, then what kind of life is that? You're imprisoned by your own fame.
No, being rich & anonymous is the far better fantasy. Like everybody knows what Justin Bieber looks like, but does anyone know what the top executive of his record label looks like? Does anyone know that executive's name? They're probably a multi-millionaire who isn't shackled by fame, so they can go to the grocery store, go to a park, or fly to France and just chill at a cafe without anyone bothering them.
Having a lot of money plus the anonymity to enjoy that money in peace sounds like the ideal situation.
That was a very mature and respectful answer he had for the girl asking for a hug and he has every right to come to his own home in peace. And the AUDACITY if this girl to ask him for a hug again!
He tells them he is upset about them standing there then she proceeds to ask for a hug. He is definitely not the MC in this situation. The mc is the dumbass asking for a hug after getting yelled at
I love how he is setting boundaries and advocating for himself. This is actually a very scary situation and he handled it in a respectful and kind way even though they didn't deserve it. Imagine if the roles were reversed and some creepy man was camping outside of her home. I truly feel sorry for Justin living everyday under a microscope, that must be so difficult for him and the pressure of keeping his family safe on top of that. Immense talent doesn't need to come at the cost of your peace. I wish fans would just respect celebrities boundaries.
He was very sweet and thoughtful when asking her to respect his space. The girl is young and starstruck, so I can kind of understand her having a brain-fart moment, but “so can I have a hug” was the stupidest thing she could’ve said in that moment.
As many issues as I have with celebrities, this is why I would never go up to one I like randomly out in public.
They're just livin their life, and people beg them for attention all the time. If I'm next to them, and they want to chat, that's cool, but I'm probably not going to be the one to start that conversation
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