People Are Sharing Awkward Celebrity Encounters They've Had, And Oh Lord, I'm So Embarrassed For Them

To the person who stepped on Tina Fey's toes during a photo op after a <i>Saturday Night Live</i> episode: I'm so, so sorry.

People Are Sharing Awkward Celebrity Encounters They’ve Had, And Oh Lord, I’m So Embarrassed For Them

Recently, Reddit user u/heavymeercat331A asked: “What’s your most awkward encounter with a celebrity?” and oh boy, were they cringeworthy. So, here are some awkward celebrity encounters that “regular” people will unfortunately never recover from:

Note: Some stories were pulled from this Reddit thread by user u/tom_oconnell8, this Reddit thread by user u/FunkyHenryGale, and the BuzzFeed Community.

Disclaimer: We can’t confirm 100% of these stories, but some of these people are supposedly speaking from their own experiences meeting celebrities.

1. Emma Watson

“I was visiting New York City and walking around with friends — it was pretty late, but the streets were still bustling. We walked by a group of people crowding by this building and asked them what was going on. Well, it was the GE Building (30 Rock, if you will) and Saturday Night Live just ended. The people were waiting to get their picture taken with the cast and get an autograph. Just as this was being explained to us, Tina Fey walked out (this was before 30 Rock, so she wasn’t as famous yet — but she was my favorite member of the SNL cast at the time). So, I eagerly asked her for a picture. She’s fairly small and I’m a pretty big guy, so I thought the picture would be hilarious. Well, just as we were taking the picture, I accidentally stepped on her toes really hard. I was apologetic, but she was clearly (and rightfully) unhappy and walked away. The picture was just her grimacing in pain.”

—u/thepizzlefry

3. Regis Philbin

“When I lived in New York City, I used to live in the same building as Regis Philbin. It was July 2007, and I had just taken the Graduate Record Examinations for the first time. I did terribly (you get your scores right after the test is finished), and I was really, really mad. So, I decided to go to the gym when I got back to my apartment. I got home, changed my clothes, was still fuming, and got in the elevator (keep in mind that I was still in a terrible mood). I had to fart really badly and was just like: ‘Fuck it. Who cares? I failed my GRE, nothing can be worse.’ So I let one rip, and it remains one of the most foul farts I have ever released (I mean, rotten-egg smell). It made my eyes water. So, I am in the elevator alone choking on my own fart when suddenly the elevator stopped and opened, and who should get on but Regis Philbin.”

“My fart flew at him and engulfed him, and I had no one to blame it on — it was obviously me. I was horrified, I turned bright red, and ran out of the elevator. So, yeah: That is how I met Regis for the first time!”

—u/feeling_groovy

4. Jon Bon Jovi

“This isn’t my story, but my ex-wife once peed on Jon Bon Jovi when she was 2 years old. Her uncle did charter fishing tours, and I guess he was into it at the time. They asked if he wanted to see the baby, Jon Bon Jovi held her, and she picked that time to pee.”

—u/Wisdomlost

5. Britney Spears

“I used to work event security, and one time I was working backstage at an NSYNC concert. They had been there all day doing multiple sound checks, putting in work before the show. I barely had any clue about the groups playing that night. So, a nice car pulled up and out popped a really attractive blonde woman with a big body guard next to her. Her body guard was carrying two backstage passes, so I just hit them with a polite: ‘Can you make sure you’re wearing them? All of the bands have arrived.’ The dude flashed me a look, and the woman smiled, waved, and said: ‘Okay!’ A few minutes later my boss came out with the principals sheet — apparently I had just asked Britney Spears to wear a backstage pass! My boss thought it was hilarious, and I told him multiple times I didn’t listen to pop music. I had no idea who the people were, and I don’t think he realized until that moment how serious I was.”

—u/tdasnowman

6. Robin Williams

“I was part of a college press circuit doing a group interview of the stars of Death to Smoochy. At the end of the whole thing, which took place in a hotel in LA, I was waiting for the valet to bring my car up. Prepared for this, I had a five dollar bill folded and palmed, ready to give a tip. Next thing you know, Robin Williams came out to wait for his SUV, we made eye contact, and he went to shake my hand. Starstruck and forgetful of my five dollar bill, I shook his hand and accidentally slipped it into his. He just stared at it for a second, looked at it, then back at me, then back at it, and had a look on his face akin to: ‘You want me to tell a joke or something?’ We had a good awkward laugh about it and parted ways.”

—u/[deleted]

7. Tracy Morgan

“My brother was really drunk at a strip club in east St. Louis and met Tracy Morgan. He was sitting at a table by himself and had a stack of dollar bills in front of him. My brother decided it was the best moment for him to imitate Tracy doing a Britney Spears bit from Saturday Night Live — Tracy told him to fuck off, and then gave him a dollar ?.”

—u/rabbitsnake

8. Sebastian Stan

“Once I yelled at my friend in front of Sebastian Stan. We had a not-very-flattering inside joke about him, and we agreed it wouldn’t be polite to mention it to him at our photo op (it’s not the kind of thing you can bring up to someone when you meet them for 3 seconds). ‘Hey, dude — big fan. Have you noticed this weird acting quirk you have? Okay, bye forever!’ Like, that’s a dick move. There was some intense lesbian drama happening that weekend between my friend and I, so we were on edge to begin with. My friend and I were barely speaking at that point, but we had already paid for the photo op and autograph. Anyway, she started to explain the joke to Sebastian, and I yelled in a SHRILL tone: ‘SHUT UP!’ Sebastian Stan looked very confused and uncomfortable, and I’m still mortified every time I think of it. I didn’t even want a copy of the photo.”

—u/thirtyflirtyandpetty

9. Avril Lavigne

“Back when Avril Lavigne was newly famous, I was walking to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. There was a woman in front of me with her ass-crack hanging out, wearing punk clothes. I said to my friend: ‘Oh, look: It’s another fucking Avril wannabe.’ The woman turned around and shouted: ‘I AM AVRIL!’ And it was.”

—u/[deleted]

10. Weird Al Yankovic

“I was young (maybe 11 years old) going to get Weird Al’s autograph. Then, for some reason, I thought I heard someone say he wasn’t signing autographs (even though that’s what the entire event was for). I figured we’d just get our turn to say hello and that was it. So I got up there, and Weird Al was indeed signing autographs (duh). Silly me, I already misplaced whatever I was going to have him sign, and all I had on me was a one dollar bill. So, I shyly handed Weird Al this one dollar bill, and he kind of laughed and said: ‘Is this for me?’ I think I just kind of stood there with my mouth open and looked confused. But he was a champ, signed it, and I was on my way.”

—u/exjentric

11. Natalie Portman

“I was with my ex-girlfriend having ice cream before going to a comedy club in northern Kentucky, when this petite woman walked by with a couple of women. We watched her go by and I said: ‘That woman looks like Natalie Portman.’ She sat down at a table nearby and I looked again (it’s important to know I have an enormous crush on Natalie Portman because of the Star Wars movies). In fact, my ex and I came to an agreement that I wasn’t allowed to cheat on her unless it was with Natalie Portman. So, I started to slightly freak out, calmed down eventually, and went over to ask Natalie if she was indeed my biggest celebrity crush. I gave her the usual ‘big fan’ praises, then excused myself so as not to disturb her when she was enjoying a night out with her family. Later while we were waiting to be let into the comedy club, who should appear right behind us in line but Natalie fucking Portman (she had the same plan as us).”

“We were assigned to sit at the table right next to hers, and several times during the night she accidentally leaned back against me. It felt bizarre and surreal, because what the hell was Natalie Portman doing in northern Kentucky sitting next to me?!

Anyway, the awkward part was that the comedy club did a forced audience participation bit where they grabbed a random person and yanked them onstage to play a part in a sketch. Of course they grabbed me, so just try to imagine performing in front of an actor you’ve had a crush on for about a decade, and you’ll have an idea of the kind of star-struck anxiety I had while I was there. The performers had the foresight to realize that an unwitting addition to the troupe would likely be awkward and confused, though, so I fit the part pretty well.”

—u/faschwaa

12. Daniel Radcliffe and Kate Mulgrew

“I live in the same building as Kate Mulgrew from Star Trek: Voyager, and she called my father for help with her leaking sink (he’s the super). Since none of my brothers were around, he asked me to come up and help him. So while my dad was carefully removing the pipe, the water started leaking more frequently. He told me he had to run downstairs and get some more tools, and told me to place a bucket under the sink and wait for him. As soon as he left, a stream of water started coming out of the pipe. I grabbed a monkey wrench and got under the sink, and I ended up turning the pipe the wrong way. I pulled so hard that whatever leftover water and gook was in there spilled all over my face. Just then, I heard the kitchen door open and I thought it was my dad. I sat up quickly from under the sink, hit my head, cursed loudly, and looked up at Daniel Radcliffe. Fuck.”

Daniel Radcliffe: [Smirking]: ‘Oh, hey, do you need help down there?

Me: ‘No, I just did something stupid. Hey, you’re Harry Potter, right? (I was trying to act all cool).

DR: ‘I get that a lot, but no.’

Me: ‘You ARE fucking with me, right?’

DR: ‘You hit your head just now — you might be delusional.’

Kate Mulgrew then walked in…

KM: ‘Hey, I see you’ve met Daniel! Here’s that bucket you asked for!’

DR: [Muttered goodbye and left quickly]

It turned out that Kate Mulgrew was holding a post-Equus dinner party, thus why Daniel Radcliffe was there. TL;DR: I met Daniel Radcliffe covered in gook while I helped fix Kate Mulgrew’s sink. It was very, very awkward.”

—u/[deleted]