Rude "famous people"

[acornfed]

We have a famous designer at my kid's school, born to a very wealthy family. Her kids are nice
She can be very unfriendly but inconsistently so - will often blank people one day and be friendly the next. Acts quite haughtily with the teachers. At times very abrupt.
She doesn't have to be friends with us civilians - that I fully understand. But what's with the rude behaviour? What's going on there? The school mums are a pretty innocuous bunch and I'd like to think we are friendly and welcoming.

Last century, I worked in the ITN building. Sir Trevor McDonald was wonderful, always held the door open for others and thanked anyone who asked for an autograph - in return his (k)nightly trip across the road to drink until the early hours remained a secret.
Selina Scott and Angela Rippon - no longer newsreaders by then - would scream and shout at the reception staff.

I would think it's probably quite difficult in the scenario you have described.

1. you may well be noticing her behaviour/commenting on it solely because she is a celebrity
2. I suspect even quite minor celebrities are constantly asked for stuff/ appearances for charity/ help with getting into industry/contacts.

My guess is Savannah Miller, Sienna's sister. Wealthy family. She's a designer with young kids

A very Northern Ireland specific one - I can confirm that “Ma” from Give My Head Peace, is absolutely lovely. A true lady.

Makes me interested to know what Dawn French is like as I'm a real fan and they were still together when I worked on an event Lenny Henry was booked for. He was just so, so, so arrogant and dismissive.

@youvegottenminuteslynn A friend was involved in working with their child and she always said how friendly and engaging Dawn was. She didn’t have a good word for Lenny though.

I get that “slebs” are just humans like everyone else, with bad days and the need to live some semblance of a normal life. They have all of that, plus people wanting their time/attention/friendship just because of who they are. I feel genuinely sorry for anyone who gets later just because they weren’t smiling or they keep themselves to themselves, but there’s a big difference between that and the sort of arsehole who demands special treatment or can’t even have a little grace towards someone who is in awe of them.

I tripped on a step in a bar and was caught by Archbishop Rowan Williams. He was lovely. But a crap archbishop, unfortunately.

Matthew Vaughn is a rude obnoxious stick up twat but Guy Ritchie is so lovely, friendly and polite.

Tony Pitt's (Archie from Emmerdale if you're old enough to remember) is a great laugh and very kind.

I think everybody has off days, it must be hard being recognised and expected to be on duty all the time. For example, I met Richard Harris in a bar years ago and he was lovely to me. A friend saw him in the same bar (he was a regular there) another time, said hello to him and got a grumpy "I don't want to talk" response. If he didn't know better, he would say RH was a grumpy rude celeb, but that wasn't the case at all, he was just having a bad day.

This is what is intriguing me. What do they think someone would want from them? They clearly move in different spheres, and We are not going to ask for money. Do they feel people will use them somehow? Trade off their name? If you are a "normal " person you can't really elevate your status by befriending a famous person can you?!

Why are you posting about the well known person and ignoring any others not joining the gang. Unless the whole of the Mums at the Gate at your school are one v big friendly family with no one feeling left out must be the only one in the UK according to many MN past threads

Just some people I have met out and about:

Neyo- lovely
Ian wright- lovely
Ian hislop - lovely
Jack Whitehall - lovely

Patsy Kensit - lovely
Gordon Ramsay - lovely
Liam Gallagher- lovely and very funny

Laura whitmore- really nice to me and my friends!

James corden - horrible
David walliams - cold
Dr Christian - arrogant arse

My friend worked on the set of war horse and apparently Steven steilberg is a complete rude twat. Vile to everyone

We know it’s not Stella McC.
She does have a bad reputation but her father Paul is surprisingly lovely, humble and unassuming.

@simitra

Not everyone wants to "make friends".

Some of us are just very private and busy people who have our own agenda of things we need to get through in a day. We dont want to chat to neighbours over the garden fence, take in parcels, or get involved in day to day trivia.

So we dont answer the door when our ring doorbell shows its a time waster like a sales person, collector or whingy neighbour. We cultivate a "busy busy must get on" air and a clipped "morning" tone when we do pass you in the street.

Its not that we hate you, just that you dont merit space in or add value to our particular social world.

@simitra Yes but most of these celebrities have made their vast wealth from the little people like us. Isn’t it part of their job to be polite and friendly to the general public?

Second-hand tales:
A friend's mum had to ask passers-by to complete intrusive surveys for a marketing company - one week in a rough part of the East End.
One couple patiently answered every question and appeared to enjoy themselves doing so. Later she pointed out the couple on the TV to her son - who did recognise Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife.

Separately, someone up for a job at an arts college explained in their interview about an experience they'd had in a college band. One of the interviewers on the panel identified with the comment as he had been in a band. Apparently Sir Paul McCartney doesn't expect the world to know that he was a Beatle.

Cherie Blair was absolutely fine when I met her. I think Chris Packham is allowed quite a lot of slack given his autism.

Apparently famous people aren't allowed to 'tune out'.
For some people, the school gate is a social place. Which is fine. I used to like the routine of standing with three of my friends. For others it's a blessed ten minutes of alone time with no demands on them.

That's no need to judge either type. I'm sure there are lots of other parents just standing alone in thought. They just don't get noticed because, because they're not a well known face.

Many years ago I went to a spa hotel with a group of friends. Denise Welch was there. We bumped into her a few times and she was always friendly, not rude at all but kept herself to herself. Singer Dee C Lee was also there (previously married to Paul Weller) with a group of her friends. She was great, as were her friends. They came and sat with us for the evening. Friendly, funny and chatty - we had a great evening with her.

Ah @cravingmilkshake
It's my claim to fame that I have been on Embarrassing bodies 4 times 🤣
They filmed in our dept a number of times
Dr Christian was very standoffish and didn't speak to any of us but my gosh did he smell good

David Walliams was an absolute grim creep towards a younger relative
She was late teens/early 20s at the time and he propositioned her, wouldn’t leave her alone
It was before all the stuff came out on Twitter about him picking up very young women and making them sign NDAs, but it must be completely true based on how he was to my relative

I shudder every time I see one of his books on a kids bookshelf

Separately, someone up for a job at an arts college explained in their interview about an experience they'd had in a college band. One of the interviewers on the panel identified with the comment as he had been in a band. Apparently Sir Paul McCartney doesn't expect the world to know that he was a Beatle.

X-post but my experience with Paul McC was very similar

@Rachie1973

Chris Packham. Sat at a bar (we lived in same village) at the actual bar eating. People queuing next to him to order drinks and food were rudely told he wouldn’t be signing autographs! No one had asked!

Eleanor Tomlinson from Poldark is lovely though. We met her at her uncles funeral (my DH best mate) and he’d never mentioned they were related!

Slightly off topic but I learned yesterday that he is Jenny Packham’s sister. Maybe she is the designer the OP referred to and they are both bloody rude?

Men get away without being observed at pick up. I am not sure why this woman needs you observing her in this way.

She justs wants to collect her children not start a commune!

If I was famous, I'd definitely end up on one of these threads being called all sorts. I'm quite a warm person, get on well with colleagues, nice to checkout staff, etc but if I had a day off work and random people kept hassling me for pictures and wanting me to talk to them, I'd probably be quite rude. I don't think famous people owe us anything on their days off work. We enjoy their films, art, music, sport - isn't that enough?

Told this story before on here, my DD was serving coffees on Eurostar years ago, and took a coffee order to Paul McCartney who was sitting in one of the carriages. She was so shocked to see him, she gasped " Oh! Oh, hello!" and spilled some coffee all over his coat, on the seat next to him! She was absolutely horrified, but he helped her wipe it off, and said "Don't worry, love, this coat is nearly as old as me!"

I should say I am NOT famous by any stretch of the imagination but I do occasional TV work (as an expert in my field). I really enjoy the TV work and can ‘turn it on for the cameras’ (plus I love talking about my subject so appear animated and confident!) but I’m naturally rather shy and a bit socially awkward.

Even with this very low grade exposure, I have had people sending me ‘fan-mail’, including people finding my personal email and address etc online. People tapping me on the shoulder when I am shopping. And once it being brought up while I was in quite an anxious medical appointment.

I can’t imagine how hard it would be if instead of a few isolated incidents it was every time you left the house. It’s given me a huge amount of sympathy for people who are properly famous.

I’m sure there are lots of entitled arses out there but I’m sure there are lots of famous people who are just trying to do the job they live and find the ‘fame’ element rather hard to deal with.