Have you met a celebrity villain?

[pawsies]

Someone that is controversial in the media or comes across unpleasant on TV or whatever?

What were they like in real life?

AIBU to think there might be some surprises and some of them will be a persona on TV or whatever?

I worked in an office where we frequently had pop stars coming in - standing joke was that it was inevitably me that they asked where the loo was.
We had Bros in at one stage - both lovely, very polite. One clearly thought I was a lot younger than I was, and a fan, and sat chatting for an hour or so one evening over beers. If I'd been a fan, I'd have been delighted - but I barely knew who they were, and got v confused about names of albums and tours as he was chatting.
He came in the following day and was quite offended that I didn't go over and say hello. They both looked the same, I had no idea who was who!
I was only in the office late because I needed to get the accounts finished

@Cbeebiesischeesy

I worked for a family (lovely people) and Holly W would often come round, this was a few years ago. She was awful. Very very confident, but not in a good way, quite bolshy and gossipy. She gave me the impression of being the mean girl at school. I still find it odd it I see her on tv as she comes across as so lovely, she really wasn’t, I was so disappointed.

Ha, I've always had her pegged as a queen bee type, exactly as you described. Can't abide her.

I've met Donald Trump, Boris Johnson AND Piers Morgan, hate to say it but they were all lovely and pleasant. Boris, the nicest of them all, so humble yet charming. Piers was just a normal single dad to his 3 sons, who lived in our same apartment block at the time. Really genuine guy.

And Trump? He was sitting on his yacht, waved at me whilst I was walking in the harbour, and politely chatted and wished me a good morning.

But haters always gonna hate!

I met John Leslie and vernon Kay together on a night out in Edinburgh. John v creepy and vernon sour faced. They were headed to a hotel together around 9pm.

I don't believe all these posters claiming to have met Meghan Markle and that she stomping around strangling kittens and mugging old ladies.

I think it's all lies.

If Meghan was habitually being rude and abusive in public someone would have gone to the press or posted about it online before now. Yet literally every single story from anyone who's worked with her or met her casually, apart from those associated with the Royal Family, has been positive and praised how sweet and caring she is to the 'little people.'

Why do none of these stories exist outside of anonymous Mumsnet threads where by coincidence every other poster on a forum known for Meghan-hate has met and been personally abused by Meghan?

Grotbags!

My brother and I (aged 10/11) were loitering in a corridor at Central studios in Brum. We were there to sit in the audience of some kids’ show that my dad was working on.

She was in her civvies but instantly recognisable, and came bustling by and gave us a friendly nod hello. Made our day!

All these celebrity threads and nobody ever says they have met Dwayne Johnson. I'm desperate to know whether he's as lovely in real life as he seems!

@POLLYprosecco1

But haters always gonna hate!

Maybe Trump, Johnson and Morgan need to work on literally everything that spews out of their toxic little mouths when the cameras are rolling then. If they’re such sweet down to earth folk IRL. 🤷🏻‍♀️

@sagaLoren

To balance out my list of "not so nice" (!) celebs I will say that both Michael Palin and Brian Cox are absolutely lovely. You learn a lot about someone by how they treat the "nobodies" (i.e. me) and they were fab.

@sagaLoren, which Brian Cox was it? Professor or actor? I'd hope they're both lovely.

"Maybe Trump, Johnson and Morgan need to work on literally everything that spews out of their toxic little mouths when the cameras are rolling then.
If they’re such sweet down to earth folk IRL.
🤷🏻‍♀️"

I think Boris can hardly be referred to as Toxic! Just my opinion.
And isn't this what Piers has just been vilified for? For having his own opinion and voicing it?

Nice one- tony Hadley is a sweetheart my mum absolutely loves him and when we bumped into him in a bar pre-concert he brought us drinks and chatted with us lovely guy.

@sagaLoren, which Brian Cox was it? Professor or actor? I'd hope they're both lovely

Prof Brian Cox. And he's exactly the same in real life as he is on the telly!

Who takes clothes off the rack and throws them on the ground?? So not believable

Ask people who work in retail, they might change your mind.

Thanks, Saga!

Decades ago when I was a school governor we had a run in with a school dad who is a big name in musical theatre, particularly famous for playing Javert in Les Mis early in his career. The way he behaved to several of us over a period of months suggested he was using Javert as his role model. Not a nice man at all. Maybe it was a difficult time in his life. He wasn't working. Still no real excuse for some of his behaviour, though. It was a great relief when he and his family returned to their home country.

Agree with that I’ve worked in retail it happens A LOT sadly.
I’ve also been a waitress and bar worker - how people treat waiting staff is extremely telling about them as a person.

Thinking about it Gok wan was incredibly rude and big headed- his brother (lovely chap) was rather embarrassed and apologised for him.

😂
I will add an embarrassing one for me.
I bumped into a familiar looking lady at Sainsbury’s with her baby in tow I assumed it was someone I knew from one of my baby groups. I went over and said hi started chatting saying wow baby’s got big now - lady was lovely and friendly chatting away with me.
It was only when I walked I realised it wasn’t a baby group mum it was the lady who recently won X factor 😂😂
Can’t think of her name but she was a prison officer. Really nice woman anyway she must have thought I was a loon 😂😂😂

I've never met Jimmy Saville or Rolf Harris thankfully.

I've met loads of politicians and generally they are very charming in private. One of them (a longstanding Labour MP who was never a minister) was a bit sleazy with me - I had been to a Westminster Hall debate to hear him and the other local MPs speak on an issue involving my local area but was there as a civil servant not as a member of the public (this debate just happened to be straight after one I was supporting my minister in). Unknown to me, the MP clocked me (we had met once before but about 5 years previously when he was pissed up so I wouldn't have imagined he would remember me).

We ended up by chance on the same train home that night and he started chatting to me about the debate and asking what I had thought about it, then segued into telling me about his car, his collection of fine wines, and asking if I fancied a private tour of the HoC as his guest, and going for dinner with him, the following week? As we got off the train he slid his arm round me. DH was on the platform waiting for me and so I introduced the MP to DH, but I still had to shimmy away from his arm. It was a strange experience.

On a school trip at 14 years old, Gary Glitter happened to be at the same location doing a photo shoot. Our teacher decided this was a moment for her to be really cool so approached him to ask if he would take the time to talk to us, sign autographs and get photos taken. He did and was a complete gent about it. The first allegations started coming out around 6 months later and I often wonder if that poor teacher still gets chills from eagerly leading us all to him.

I met Eddie Izzard once in the 90s. He was absolutely horrible to me and I found it a really upsetting experience yet I've heard so many contrary accounts of him/her being a lovely warm person from others, so perhaps I got unlucky on a bad day?

(sorry, not trying to be goady with Eddie's pronouns. I'm genuinely confused as to which ones to use, especially when talking about an incident 25 years ago. Also really really do not want to derail this thread into a pronoun debate but do want to head off the comments before someone else picks this up).

@CloneDodo

I don't believe all these posters claiming to have met Meghan Markle and that she stomping around strangling kittens and mugging old ladies.

I think it's all lies.

If Meghan was habitually being rude and abusive in public someone would have gone to the press or posted about it online before now. Yet literally every single story from anyone who's worked with her or met her casually, apart from those associated with the Royal Family, has been positive and praised how sweet and caring she is to the 'little people.'

Why do none of these stories exist outside of anonymous Mumsnet threads where by coincidence every other poster on a forum known for Meghan-hate has met and been personally abused by Meghan?

Exactly, CloneDodo, and it’s important to say that you don’t believe these stories. Meghan Markle has already had cruel and biased treatment from the tabloid press and the smear campaign against her continues.

@ChickenSoupForTheHmm

😂 I will add an embarrassing one for me. I bumped into a familiar looking lady at Sainsbury’s with her baby in tow I assumed it was someone I knew from one of my baby groups. I went over and said hi started chatting saying wow baby’s got big now - lady was lovely and friendly chatting away with me. It was only when I walked I realised it wasn’t a baby group mum it was the lady who recently won X factor 😂😂 Can’t think of her name but she was a prison officer. Really nice woman anyway she must have thought I was a loon 😂😂😂

Sam Bailey... I've read her autobiography and she comes across really well in that!

@GalleryGirl

I used to be the Nanny for the child of the CEO of Nestle - he gets a huge amount of bile online; he's a genuinely lovely man.

Sorry, but anyone who believes that other humans aren't entitled to water cannot be a "genuinely lovely man"

@Elderflower14 yes thank you -Sam Bailey that’s right!
Yes such a lovely lady very chatty and friendly.