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Robbie Williams doc on Netflix

334 replies

MaliciaKeys · 08/11/2023 15:19

I've just watched it (day off work and it's raining out, don't judge me) and would be interested to hear other people's opinions.

OP posts:
Jellycats4life · 10/11/2023 09:34

Ramalangadingdong · 10/11/2023 08:03

The source was very reliable (I can’t say why of course). When they told me they had just witnessed what they allegedly saw the day before. But I don’t really care one way or another. I am just being a gossip but my true feeling is that is his business and nothing to do with me. Although I do think it’s a shame that stars still feel they have to hide stuff like that.

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Let me tell you an off-topic story about “reliable sources” 😅

Do you remember, in the 5-10 years before Prince Phillip died, there were repeated rumours that he was dead, but the news was being withheld for a long time (like 48 hours or more) for some spurious reason, but people in the civil services/armed forces had been briefed about it? The rumour kept circulating every couple of years and it was the same every time.

One day my brother posted on the family WhatsApp with the same rumour. I said absolutely no way is it true. There is no reason why the news would be kept secret for so long. He got really annoyed with me, saying the friend who told him about it worked in the civil service and had absolutely no reason to pass on stories that weren’t true. I said he’d just been caught up in an urban myth.

Anyway, I was really smug when Prince Phillip popped up again, very much not dead.

hby9628 · 10/11/2023 09:38

I've watched 2 episodes. I think he's very self absorbed, arrogant and basically a bit of a knob.
I'm not sure what image he's trying to portray but I don't think he comes off well at all. Not sure I can watch the rest.
Loved the Beckham documentary though.

Ramalangadingdong · 10/11/2023 10:28

IDontLikeItMuch · 10/11/2023 09:15

But then I’d miss out on the schadenfreude.

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Hahaha! Yes, I get that.

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MaliciaKeys · 10/11/2023 10:29

@Jellycats4life I have never yet heard a rumour from a reliable source directly. It's always been a friend, a neighbour, someone at work, the local plumber...there were rumours flying around that Declan Donnelly was gay and in a long term relationship with a man. All witnessed by someone who knew someone who worked for Gallowgate Productions. All totally fabricated, I'm sure.

As for Robbie's dalliances with men, the strongest rumour was that he was in a relationship with Jonathon Wilkes, but seeing how they interacted in the documentary, they are simply friends, not lovers. Robbie has only ever dated women. The one night stands and groupie tales all involve women.

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Ramalangadingdong · 10/11/2023 10:30

Jellycats4life · 10/11/2023 09:34

Let me tell you an off-topic story about “reliable sources” 😅

Do you remember, in the 5-10 years before Prince Phillip died, there were repeated rumours that he was dead, but the news was being withheld for a long time (like 48 hours or more) for some spurious reason, but people in the civil services/armed forces had been briefed about it? The rumour kept circulating every couple of years and it was the same every time.

One day my brother posted on the family WhatsApp with the same rumour. I said absolutely no way is it true. There is no reason why the news would be kept secret for so long. He got really annoyed with me, saying the friend who told him about it worked in the civil service and had absolutely no reason to pass on stories that weren’t true. I said he’d just been caught up in an urban myth.

Anyway, I was really smug when Prince Phillip popped up again, very much not dead.

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Yeah, that mine wasn’t that kind of “reliable source” but I wish I hadn’t mentioned it because I can’t say any more. Sorry.

User14March · 10/11/2023 11:12

Would RW have been paid similar money for Doc compared to Beckhams?

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MaliciaKeys · 10/11/2023 11:17

User14March · 10/11/2023 11:12

Would RW have been paid similar money for Doc compared to Beckhams?

How much were the Beckhams paid?

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TROOD01 · 10/11/2023 11:21

I too have just finished watching it. I also felt he was too self-absorbed and why didn't he put some clothes on. I just kept hoping it would get better but it didnt. He looked awful, grey and quite depressed. I don't think his wife and 4 kids have saved him by the looks of things. Yet another person who craved fame and money and couldn't handle it when they got it. I felt the same about Matthew Perry. Addiction is a terrible price to pay for success. I would have liked to have seen his kids playing and heard more from his wife. Like someone said, Ginger Spice got more airtime lol.

IDontLikeItMuch · 10/11/2023 11:42

I would hate to be famous. I don’t think it does anyone any good - that whole thing about power being corrupting.

Perhaps filming in his pants was a way of showing off that he’s so rich he can afford to have the heating on really high 😆

Shakesapear · 10/11/2023 12:19

I've only seen a few episodes but so far RW comes across as a annoying entitled toe rag who was used by GC to make money. Neither seem that nice.
And the whole, 'here I am in my pants', 'I was mean to fans', 'I'm sorry I was a bell end to Gary', 'oooooh, look at me letting my kid watch a film with me swearing in' feels so fake and performative. He's been in the spot light all of his life, I wonder if he's forgotten how to be genuine. The only time he seemed pleasant were in the clips including Geri.

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MaliciaKeys · 10/11/2023 12:37

Shakesapear · 10/11/2023 12:19

I've only seen a few episodes but so far RW comes across as a annoying entitled toe rag who was used by GC to make money. Neither seem that nice.
And the whole, 'here I am in my pants', 'I was mean to fans', 'I'm sorry I was a bell end to Gary', 'oooooh, look at me letting my kid watch a film with me swearing in' feels so fake and performative. He's been in the spot light all of his life, I wonder if he's forgotten how to be genuine. The only time he seemed pleasant were in the clips including Geri.

Even in the clips with Geri, he was aware that he was being filmed. He's been playing a part since he was sixteen, I don't think he knows how to be genuine.
I thought he and Guy were proper friends but it was just a business arrangement. Like with Jonathon Wilkes going on tour with him, that seemed to be to keep him sober and focussed rather than because he was his friend.

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Shakesapear · 10/11/2023 12:44

Yeah, I think you're right. I sensed he's been used by various people in the music industry as a money making machine under the guise of 'friendship'.

Beentherewasntfun · 10/11/2023 15:45

I just didn’t buy the scene of him writing eternity, I felt like he’d been asked to maybe put a few lyrics to the tune, and it was simply his wish to be seen as the creative force.
The words in the doc also seemed quite contrived and scripted I thought, as if they’d been ghost written for him .

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MaliciaKeys · 10/11/2023 16:10

Beentherewasntfun · 10/11/2023 15:45

I just didn’t buy the scene of him writing eternity, I felt like he’d been asked to maybe put a few lyrics to the tune, and it was simply his wish to be seen as the creative force.
The words in the doc also seemed quite contrived and scripted I thought, as if they’d been ghost written for him .

I think a lot of it was scripted, particularly the conversation with his daughter. I also don't think he wrote eternity, he maybe wrote one line and Guy Chambers wrote the rest around it.

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Sleepeezey · 10/11/2023 19:02

Probably someone else has said this and better, but to complain about showbiz whilst making a Netflix documentary feels a bit off. He could have watched all these in therapy. Privately. He’s clearly desperate for us, the audience, to understand him. I don’t, others will. I hope he uses his wealth for private counselling because reading the reviews of this won’t help at all.

RainbowZebraWarrior · 10/11/2023 19:07

Sleepeezey · 10/11/2023 19:02

Probably someone else has said this and better, but to complain about showbiz whilst making a Netflix documentary feels a bit off. He could have watched all these in therapy. Privately. He’s clearly desperate for us, the audience, to understand him. I don’t, others will. I hope he uses his wealth for private counselling because reading the reviews of this won’t help at all.

To be honest, when I heard that he had recently 'reached out' to Lewis Capaldi as he knew what it was like to struggle, I just thought he can't help himself. My very first thought was that it was more about him (Robbie) than Lewis.

I guess he has an addictive personality and he is addicted to fame in a way- and clearly hates that he's not so much in the limelight as he was - even though he hates the business at the same time. He's an attention seeker, really.

Sleepeezey · 10/11/2023 19:17

I do wonder how much money he accepted to make a Netflix documentary about how money and fame has ruined his mental health

Ramalangadingdong · 10/11/2023 19:23

I’ve seen the whole thing now and really loved it. Credit to the filmmaker for taking an
unconventional approach and to RW for going along with it. They go to some
lengths to ensure that this is not like other celeb biogs where the celeb is suited and booted - even if they affect a casual look. Robbie doesn’t do that. He acknowledges that he is a “knob” sometimes and that’s what you get - Robbie being himself.

His public breakdowns are quite horrifying to see and I kept wondering where he would be now if he hadn’t met Ayda who loved him even though he was a bit of a mess when she met him. She saw through that and stuck it out with him and it paid off. That was really touching. Kudos to Robbie who found a woman who matched him in terms of sharpness and strength. She is no pushover, you can see that. i loved the way he talked about her - very respectful and admiring. If he hadn’t met her he would probably be dead and we would all be talking about him in a very different way.

That he has survived the vicissitudes of fame is quite impressive, actually. And as I said earlier it fills me with joy to see a man from a working class background having earned so much wealth.

He is an incredibly talented performer. He is very sharp but like the rest of us he is dealing with his demons as he grows up. I am older than him and am also still growing up.

Its5656 · 10/11/2023 19:26

He put on Instagram that he has been in tears because of the positive reaction and he was under the impression that he was hated in the UK.
I find him hard to feel sorry for but that's because I can't imagine having 200million in the bank and not being continuously over the moon.

Sleepeezey · 10/11/2023 19:27

Ramalangadingdong · 10/11/2023 19:23

I’ve seen the whole thing now and really loved it. Credit to the filmmaker for taking an
unconventional approach and to RW for going along with it. They go to some
lengths to ensure that this is not like other celeb biogs where the celeb is suited and booted - even if they affect a casual look. Robbie doesn’t do that. He acknowledges that he is a “knob” sometimes and that’s what you get - Robbie being himself.

His public breakdowns are quite horrifying to see and I kept wondering where he would be now if he hadn’t met Ayda who loved him even though he was a bit of a mess when she met him. She saw through that and stuck it out with him and it paid off. That was really touching. Kudos to Robbie who found a woman who matched him in terms of sharpness and strength. She is no pushover, you can see that. i loved the way he talked about her - very respectful and admiring. If he hadn’t met her he would probably be dead and we would all be talking about him in a very different way.

That he has survived the vicissitudes of fame is quite impressive, actually. And as I said earlier it fills me with joy to see a man from a working class background having earned so much wealth.

He is an incredibly talented performer. He is very sharp but like the rest of us he is dealing with his demons as he grows up. I am older than him and am also still growing up.

I don’t think he has survived fame though. He’s craving it. This documentary is just for us, the audience. He’s desperate for our approval. Personally, I think he comes across as an utter knob.

Lovelyautumncolours · 10/11/2023 19:28

I got to halfway in episode 2 and I'd had enough of him in his pants waffling on about me me me. So boring

I loved the Beckham doc. Way more interesting.

Ramalangadingdong · 10/11/2023 19:29

Its5656 · 10/11/2023 19:26

He put on Instagram that he has been in tears because of the positive reaction and he was under the impression that he was hated in the UK.
I find him hard to feel sorry for but that's because I can't imagine having 200million in the bank and not being continuously over the moon.

Money isn’t everything, @Its5656.

i have to say I could do with a bit more, though.

Ramalangadingdong · 10/11/2023 19:32

Sleepeezey · 10/11/2023 19:27

I don’t think he has survived fame though. He’s craving it. This documentary is just for us, the audience. He’s desperate for our approval. Personally, I think he comes across as an utter knob.

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To clarify: when I say he has survived fame I don’t mean that he doesn’t crave it. And why shouldn’t he? What I meant was that he is still alive. That is no mean feat when you look at all the casualties of addiction.

Sleepeezey · 10/11/2023 19:38

Ramalangadingdong · 10/11/2023 19:32

To clarify: when I say he has survived fame I don’t mean that he doesn’t crave it. And why shouldn’t he? What I meant was that he is still alive. That is no mean feat when you look at all the casualties of addiction.

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I hear you, I do. But I think that if fame has been a factor in your addiction, then don’t make a Netflix documentary to propel yourself back into the public eye. It’s not the same as making yourself homeless. If fame has fucked you up and you’re a very wealthy man, then back away.

Ramalangadingdong · 10/11/2023 19:49

Sleepeezey · 10/11/2023 19:38

I hear you, I do. But I think that if fame has been a factor in your addiction, then don’t make a Netflix documentary to propel yourself back into the public eye. It’s not the same as making yourself homeless. If fame has fucked you up and you’re a very wealthy man, then back away.

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I hear you too. I think the dilemma lies in being a born performer who reallly wants to do that and is seeking a way of doing it that isn’t harmful. Having the other TT men around him for the reunion tour seems to have gone some way towards helping and the fact that he has a wife and family to come back to must also make it more bearable because he isn’t alone anymore. The man has performance in his DNA. I think it would harm his mental health to not be able to do that.

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