... and, if so, what did it for you?

Sometimes celebrities I really like do something stupid and I can't see them in the same way I used to. It happens the other way round too.

Brad Pitt is one example. I just think he treated Jennifer really badly and I don't fancy him anymore ... not at all. Now he really turns me off.

Any person I see interviewed who says they don't like animals or mistreat them or generally act like assholes - instant dislike, never to be recovered.

And then there's David Guest. He's on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here at the moment and before he went in the jungle I think it's fair to say that most people here in Britain thought he was a weird, fame-obsessed, control-freak, closet case moron. Having been watching the show though he's actually a really well-rounded, likeable, funny and friendly guy. I'm sure he's very tough in business but he's not at all what I expected ... and I really like him In fact, he makes Liza seem less weird to me now, because I can really see why she would marry him.

Life is strange sometimes. And I'm happy to admit that a lot of my preconceptions about celebrities are borne from the media but it's nice when you discover that someone you previously disliked is actually a really nice person.

How about you guys? Is there anyone who you've changed your mind about and what was it that changed it?

Hell yeah - Prince. JW

Teacher said:

... that didn't do it for me with Prince - what did it was when he started to sue his fans. What a prick.

Richard Gere. When I was a teenager, I thought he was sexy. As I've grown older, I don't find him sexy at all anymore.

Mel Gibson. Same story. He's not sexy anymore, either.

I thought Val Kilmer was the sexiest man that ever graced the earth from about the time Willow came out until, oh, I don't know, I saw him on TV not long ago with his alcoholic beer gut. Poor guy.

Reincarnate said:

Yep, the JW thing started at a time when I already had changed my mind .

Reincarnate said:

The most disgraceful thing an artist can do is turn on their fans.

Cloudbuster said:

The "fans" shouldn't have tried to take something that belonged to Prince, without permission

Cloudbuster said:

minneapolisgenius said:

Co-

Serious said:

I "love" the sense of entitlement "fans" have of the artists they "love"...

purplerein said:

" "

purplerein said:

When have I told I was a fan who loves Prince???

I used to hate Martha Stewart, but seeing how she dealt with her whole prison stint, I have a newfound respect for her. I think she handled her whole situation with grace and even a bit of healthy humor. Those are traits I always admire, and to be honest, I didn't think she had it in her. I remember watching her give a speech when she was released from prison - it was on CNN - and they kept panning down to her legs to show her house arrest ankle bracelet. I thought it was very tacky of them to do that, but I always have a soft spot for outsiders and pariahs, so CNN just helped me gain an affinity for her.

purplerein said:

Regardless of who was right or wrong, I lost respect.

uhhh... michael richards.

When I lived in LA, I worked for corporate HQ of a 180-store chain of record stores called Music Plus. Music Plus was your average chain music store, much like Sam Goody. You can find the commercial stuff but you are generally out of luck with more obscure artists.

Anyhoo, it was company policy that every employee at corporate HQ had to work behind the register in one of the stores for one week every year.

My week arrives and I spend it working in the Studio City store near my apartment.

One day while I am working, George Wendt (Norm from Cheers) walks in and starts browsing. Who doesn't like Norm, right? I don't bug him tho.

After a few minutes of browsing, Norm walks up to me and asks if we have a copy of some solo Dave Alvin CD.

I check the bins, no CD. I check the computer, not in stock. I give him the standard, "Sorry, we don't have it in stock but we can special order it for you" line and Norm proceeds to lose his shit in the middle of the store.

NORM (very loudly): "I can't believe you don't have Dave Alvin in stock. That is outrageous. This store sucks. You never have what I am looking for. I don't know why I even bother."

ME: "So, I guess that's a 'no' on the special order?"

NORM: "You call this a record store."

ME: "You might like the new one from Whitney Houston."


NORM: "I'm never coming back here again."

ME: "Say hi to Cliff for me."


What an ass.

Stax said:

Stax said:

oh man, i thought he seemed like a cool guy.

IrresistibleB1tch said:

I know. That was the bummer. I liked Norm.

That same week, Michael Steele, the bass player from the Bangles, came in and bought Sex, Lies, and Videotape on VHS. She was very nice. So, it was a wash in the end.

RuPaul was a total miserable bitch when I saw her perform at a local nightclub, not at all the fun and lively person I saw on video.

ummm besides michael richards....


ray manzereck- i thought he was cool. but once when i worked at Borders book store he came to visit and sign some book he had coming out. it was really crowded and fans of the Doors came and purchased books. they also brought him gifts, demo tapes, one dude gave him a picture he made of ray made out of some stuff that looked like colored wax-very nice and realistic. when it was time for ray to leave , he left out of the back. a co-worker told me that before ray got into the car, he dumped everything that was given to him in a trash back and dumped it in the alley garbage . i didn't believe him but as proof he showed me the wax artwork that we saw the man give to ray

i guess i'm pretty lucky - i've never had a negative encounter with a celebrity that i can remember. there was one time when i went to a hole concert and courtney threw a tantrum at the end, but i would have been MORE upset if she didn't throw a tantrum!

Was in love w/ MJ as a kid, we all know how that turned out

Thought Brian McKnight was AMAZING when he first dropped. Not only did he leave a concert holding hands w/ a woman who was NOT his wife @ the time (tacky!) but every album after the first was pure shit - he made it easy to turn on him

I think, actually, thinking back, that P lost me when he made my friends heckled me for being able to say "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince" without stumbling on the words.

Really liked Anita Baker my friend got backstage passes once and we were waiting in the hall she had just finished her set and was in her dressing room someone came out of her room with the door open we overheard her say, "hurry up and send them niggas in here I am ready to fuckin go." we kindly left.

CalhounSq said:

Yes. Yes we do. I had my walls just plastered w/ posters of him and had every fan magazine and book written about him at that point.
I grew out of THAT pretty quickly though.
[Edited 11/26/06 8:30am]

minneapolisgenius said:

brownsugar said:

WTF!

I always liked The Kinks' music, but I recently read Bebe Buell's autobiography and she wrote about an incident where she had Todd Rundgren's pet South American raccoon (coati) in a hotel room in L.A. with her (which in itself is pretty mean anyway). She said the Kinks were there as well, and they started dangling the poor animal off the balcony by its tail and then tried to light the tail on fire.

Then Jimmy Page called her room during all this, invited her to his room upstairs and told her to bring the animal with her. He took the raccoon and put it in the bathroom with a huge fruit basket that was left for him by the hotel, and shut the door so he could eat it. Sweet of him I think.