These 34 People Held Nothing Back When Sharing Their Best And Worst Celebrity Encounter Stories, And I’m Living For All Of It

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These 34 People Held Nothing Back When Sharing Their Best And Worst Celebrity Encounter Stories, And I’m Living For All Of It

Reddit user u/BEEPY_BO1 recently asked the Reddit community who were the kindest and rudest celebrities they’d ever met IRL. The thread quickly filled with many interesting and, in some cases, surprising stories. Here’s what folks shared:

Note: These are submitted stories and therefore cannot be verified one way or another. 

1. “The kindest celebrity was Beyoncé. This was almost 20 years ago now. I had no clue it was her. We met at a hotel spa/pool where we talked for several hours about family (I had the kids with me) and random cool places to go in the city. Then, when I was leaving, I was like, ‘Oh, I am X. It was great talking to you! What’s your name?’ Her friends then looked at me like I was out of my mind. She was just like everyone else at the pool! Reese Witherspoon was, hands down, the rudest! I have seen waitstaff cry from interactions with her. She likes a restaurant a friend of mine owns, and when she walks in the door with her girlfriends, the staff fight over not having her table. They always joke about having to get a new server, so if she comes in, they can stick that person with her because no one else wants to deal with her and her friends.”

—u/runningonempty2nowhr

Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for The Recording Academy / Steve Granitz / FilmMagic,

2. “Tom Hiddleston was shooting in my city when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 came out. The cinema was about half empty, and he was sitting in the same row as me and my girlfriend at the time, wearing a cap and staying under the radar. After the movie finished and we were leaving, as we were passing him, I told him I was a fan of his work. He was kind of dismissive and quickly left. We were a bit bummed out, but didn’t take it personally. When we left the cinema (it’s attached to a sporting arena, and there’s a lobby), we saw that he was waiting near the exit. When he saw us, he came over and explained that he didn’t want a big scene (Marvel actor being spotted at a screening of a Marvel movie) and spent 20 minutes with us chatting about films and books. Very nice dude and seemed genuine in wanting to have a chat.”

—u/greensad

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Disney

3. “I met Jeff Goldblum after a matinee of The Pillowman. He signed autographs, took photos, and asked people where they were from and what else they had seen/were going to see. One girl mentioned they were in the city for her birthday as she was taking a photo of him with her friends, and he stopped and said, ‘How can you not be in your own birthday picture?’ He took her camera and grabbed someone from the crowd to take a picture of the group. He would not leave until he was sure everyone got what they wanted (despite his assistant trying to move him along for dinner before the evening performance).”

—u/alter_ego19456

Frank Hoensch / Redferns

4. “I have worked with Steve Martin and Martin Short, and they’re both super nice, respectful, and incredibly dedicated to their craft. They’ll spend hours finessing a couple lines in a show they do every night just to get it right for that evening’s performance.”

—u/snakefest

Bruce Glikas / Bruce Glikas/WireImage

5. “I met Jack Black at Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. He came to the top floor before Tenacious D played and yelled out something to the effect of, ‘Cheap seats doesn’t mean a bad show!’ About two dozen of us swarmed him, and he took pics with us all. But, the most memorable part was when two teenagers approached him and started crying when they asked if they could have a pic. Around the same time, two dozen people turned into what seemed like a hundred. The group started shoving a little bit, and the second of the two teens didn’t get their pic. Their phone was dropped from the shoving, and the crowd kind of moved Jack along. He stopped everyone and made us find the kid’s phone. He took extra pictures just with them and told the rest of the crowd they got no more pics because they bumped the kids. He was a decent and kind man. Then, he rocked all of our faces off. Great guy.”

—u/ClankingDragonInn

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

6. “I meet a lot of celebrities in my line of work, and Adam Sandler is, by far, one of my biggest favorites. He’s always a stand-up guy whenever he comes in, and he always says please and thank you. The worst, by far, is Kris Jenner. She will literally wait until the paparazzi arrive before she gets out of her vehicle, and we don’t have this issue with anyone else. I’m fairly certain she calls them herself. She doesn’t even acknowledge anyone, she’s super needy, and she’s difficult to work with.”

—u/ibpocket

Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images / Rachpoot / GC Images

7. “I met Matthew Gray Gubler a year or so ago in NYC at, like, 1:00 a.m. He was talking with a group of fans on the street, and my friend noticed him and stopped to join the ‘huddle.’ Genuinely the nicest person ever. He even did cartwheels with my friend.”

—u/popnrock

Mat Hayward / Getty Images for Netflix

8. “A friend of mine works as a professional bodyguard, and when Rihanna came to town, he was tasked with watching her. He said he’s never met a person who was as rude to their subordinates as she was. She allegedly threw stuff at the stage hands and spoke horribly about her dress/makeup people in front of them.”

—u/Excellent-Captain-93

“My wife worked at a private jet company, and Rihanna was one of the clients. She is a jerk. The food she ordered was not loaded on the flight, so a different menu was served. She flung the plates and cutlery inside the plane and threw a massive fit mid-air.”

—u/Great-Hornet6968

Ndz / GC Images

9. “My mother met Mick Jagger in the ’80s when Jerry Hall gave birth. She said he was really quiet and unassuming. He sent all the nurses in the neonatal unit boxes of Gopa chocolates and two-dozen roses, each with a personalized note.”

—u/DeliciousWarthog53

Roy Rochlin / Getty Images

10. “Pink was one of the nicest people ever. She turned up at a show I used to work for and invited me and the host to sit at her table with her and her assistant. She refused to let me pay for anything the whole night, and treated me like her best friend from school for three hours. Before I left, she kissed my cheek and gave me her email address (yes, her real one…her assistant replied). After we left, my buddy was giving me a hard time about being a new celeb boyfriend, and I was confused. It took him, two other people, the AV guy, and the bouncer to convince me that it was Pink. I had no clue! She introduced herself as Alecia from Philly, and I believed her. TBH, I think she enjoyed not having to be anyone other than Alecia for a few hours, and if my obliviousness was able to provide that, then that works for me.”

—u/rickthecabbie

“I used to work in the music department at Media Play. I was friends with the local Sony rep, and one day, she showed up at my desk and said, ‘Hey, does your daughter like Pink? I’m having dinner with her tonight, and you can come if you want to.’ My daughter was around 7 or 8 at the time, and she loved Pink, so of course, I said yes. I was expecting there to be dozens of people attending this event, but it ended up being about six people including my daughter and me. She was the only kid there. We ate at this place that was a restaurant and adult-themed arcade, similar to a Dave & Busters. Pink was so down-to-earth and friendly, it was just like hanging out with an old friend. After dinner, she played a game of pool with my daughter, then gave her an autographed picture to take home, took a photo with her, and signed her leather jacket. It was definitely the most time either one of us had ever spent with a celebrity, and my daughter beamed about it for many years after.”—u/1ofZuulsMinions

Kayla Oaddams / WireImage

11. “I met Bill Nye as a kid, and he was the biggest a-hole I’ve ever met. It was a huge letdown after watching his show so often in class.”

—u/Monkofnature

Mathew Tsang / Getty Images

12. “I worked at a PetSmart in Atlanta, and one day, out of nowhere, Queen Latifah walked in. I swear, you’d have never thought she was a celebrity. We chatted about dogs and whatnot, and there was no pretense. She didn’t even have a bodyguard or anything. Just a regular gal in PJ pants getting food for her puppies. Such a great woman. I also got to meet David Hyde Pierce after a show of Curtains on Broadway. This was the day after he won the Tony, and he was SO gracious. He let me take a picture and everything. Love him.”

—u/La-Z-Bear

Lionel Hahn / Getty Images

13. “I went to a book signing where Sir Ian McKellen signing a Lord of the Rings art book when the first movie came out. His scheduled time was over, but he stayed for, like, an hour overtime to sign for everyone in line.”

—u/uncultured_swine2099

“Ian McKellen did a tour of 80 theaters for his 80th birthday a few years ago where he did a dramatic retelling of his life in acting. All of the proceeds went to the theaters that he performed in. So, he essentially did an 80-show tour at 80 years old purely to support British theatre. And it was a great performance! The man is a legend.”

—u/Chazzey_dude

David M. Benett / Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images

14. “My sister’s friend works on interviews for a popular magazine. According to him, the kindest celeb was John Boyega. Apparently, he was humble, had a great sense of humor, and after the interview, he invited the whole crew out to dinner.”

—u/molwalk

Samir Hussein / Samir Hussein/WireImage

15. “I used to work at a resort hotel in Daytona Beach. The kindest celeb I met was Ben Affleck, who was there for an event and just wanted to get away from the crowd for a few. We ended up smoking a cig in the employee smoking area, and he was super nice to the staff that were out there on break. The worst was Sheryl Crow, who insisted on bringing her golden retriever up to her room (even though we didn’t allow pets), barked orders at literally everyone, and forced her PA to take the dog outside for a walk at 3:00 a.m.”

—u/Wild_Alaskan

Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images / Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images for Love Rocks NYC/God’s Love We Deliver

16. “I met Mark Zuckerberg when I was, like, 13 at a climbing gym (he likes rock climbing, surprisingly). I got to spot him while he was doing a route, and holding a billionaire on a rope is rather unbelievable. When he was leaving, I asked for his autograph (natural thing to do, I suppose), but he said he didn’t have one. He was quite deadpan, but still polite.”

—u/Assignment-Yeet

Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images

17. “The kindest celebrity I’ve met was absolutely Post Malone. You can really feel his connection to his fans and can tell that he’s not just taking pictures/talking with people out of obligation. I went to one of his shows, and when it ended, he jumped down the stage and signed stuff, took pictures, and chatted with everyone who was in the first lines. You could really tell he listens and cares about what fans say to him. He gives proper replies, hugs people, and reacts so well. A girl next to me gifted him a little framed four-leaf clover, and he looked at her like she gave him the most precious thing in the world.”

—u/robbfrenki

Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for Coachella

18. “As an antiques dealer, I was once a guest on Martha Stewart Living, the TV show, in 1999. Martha was very cordial when the cameras were rolling, but not off-set. Initially, she mispronounced my name, and when corrected by a producer for a retake, she seemed quite miffed. I remarked to her in a friendly manner, ‘I’m Polish, too!’ Ignored. I brought a selection of my antiques to display on the show. She set aside a couple of inexpensive ones she wanted, but never paid for them. I mean, the publicity I got off the show was more than worth it, but still.”

—u/Entity417

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for Tiffany & Co.

19. “I met Weird Al at a convention once. While he was signing the photo I bought, I told him about how he inspired me to write my own parody songs. He seemed genuinely interested and asked if I had a YouTube channel, but I told him I just wrote them, not recorded them. Super nice dude (at least for the brief time we spoke).”

—u/Avandra

Michael Owens / Getty Images

20. “Sir Patrick Stewart made me feel like he really listened and cared about every word I said to him in the two minutes we shook hands and chatted. Proper gent!”

—u/Korean_Street_Pizza

Jesse Grant / Getty Images for Paramount+

21. “George Lopez came into a store I worked at and demanded special attention during a huge event while I was already waiting on a dozen people who got there before him. I directed him to what he asked for, and he actually sent over his assistant to try and get me to drop what I was doing and leave my department for him. No, sir, I will not.”

—u/Jerkrollatex

Jc Olivera / Getty Images

22. “Robin Williams used to be a regular at a restaurant my grandma worked at and one of her sisters owned. As kids, my sisters and I got to meet him, and he was definitely a very sweet man.”

—u/SunniYellowScarf

“Robin Williams was filming something nearby and randomly came into my mom’s humble little Polish-speaking travel agency and sat down for half an hour making everyone in the room laugh, including little, old foreign ladies who didn’t know who he was. He signed some autographs, and my mom said he was the funniest person she’s ever seen and that he just lit the room up.”

—u/DrPremium

“Robin Williams had a full conversation with my friend while he was working, and kept referring to my friend as ‘boss’ with his infectious smile.”

—u/MissJuliaXX

Vera Anderson / WireImage

23. “I worked for a company that did all the security for the local theaters, so I met a bunch of musicians and comedians. The nicest was, hands down, Tori Amos. She was the first celebrity to come up and introduce herself to me. Just so down-to-earth and sweet. Cyndi Lauper was another who was extremely nice and gracious.”

—u/Blackbeltchicken

Sergione Infuso – Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images / Kerry Marshall / Getty Images

24. “I met Keanu Reeves when I was 10 when his band, Dogstar, was touring in the UK. My mum knew the guy who ran the venue, and he managed to sneak a friend and me backstage. He came out of the toilet, saw us, came straight over, said hello, and offered us a soft drink. He was thoroughly nice.”

—u/shovedog

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

25. “Aaron Paul was so kind. I met him randomly in my UK hometown a day after watching the “Dead Freight” episode of Breaking Bad in Season 5. Really nice guy. I was super star-struck. He remembered me in his AMA that he did a year later which was really cool!”

—u/SpelunkyPunky

Taylor Hill / Getty Images

26. “I used to serve Rachel McAdams at a restaurant fairly regularly. She was always super sweet. Very low-key and soft-spoken in person. She and her husband would come in late and keep to themselves.”

—u/overintoxikatied

Amanda Edwards / Getty Images

27. “About 15 years ago, I sat next to Jamie Foxx in first class from LA to Atlanta. He was famous, but not the same level he is now. He was such a nice guy. We chatted about why he was traveling, and what I (a Brit) was doing in the US. He signed autographs and took photos with the cabin staff who wanted them. At the opposite end of the spectrum was James Corden. I sat next to a him and his friends at a fancy restaurant in London. He was a total ass, complained about everything, and was super rude to the staff. In the middle of the spectrum was Hugh Laurie. We were flying Virgin upper class from LA to London, and he was chaperoned by airline staff from the lounge to the gate. They stopped anyone from talking to or taking photos with him. It was a late-night flight, so might have been wiped out from filming.”

“Finally, while sitting first class in London, a woman stepped on my foot and kicked my laptop bag, then just carried on. A second older woman, who was traveling with the first (bag kicker), stopped and apologized as I was scooping up the contents of my bag. It was Dame Judi Dench, and her PA had just booted my stuff everywhere. She was really nice and sincere, and told the PA to apologize.”

—u/Redback911

Karwai Tang / WireImage

28. “The nicest and most amazing person ever? Muhammad Ali. He had such a big personality. If you had blindfolded me, I could tell you the moment he walked into a room. He took a ton of pics with us — fun ones, too. He played practical jokes on everyone. Just an incredible dude.”

—u/copyboy1

“I had a friend who was a HUGE Ali fan. He shouldn’t have done it, but he once showed up near Ali’s training camp. Ali invited him IN instead of getting annoyed with having this random guy show up. Some staff eventually asked him to leave after awhile, but my friend said even that was done super, super politely.”

—u/Mor_Tearach

The Stanley Weston Archive / Getty Images

29. “Ricky Gervais was a hoot. I didn’t know who he was, as it was around 2007 and in the US. I worked the night shift at a big hotel, and he and another guy came down and were cutting up with me at the front desk. I saw him on TV sometime later and thought, ‘Hey! That’s that guy!’ Bobby Flay stayed there another time and was a total jerk to the valets and bellmen.”

—u/AdUnfair3836

Paul Archuleta / GC Images

30. “I met Ewan McGregor once in my early teens. He was kind, patient, and lovely while I was super awkward and pretty starstruck. He’s a gem.”

—u/toothlessdragon_32

Jeff Spicer / Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney

31. “I met Hozier at a hotel bar near a venue he was playing the next night. He was significantly taller than I expected, and exactly as kind, soft-spoken, and chill as you’d expect. The dude was clearly super tired, but he still chatted over a beer. 10/10 would smoke a cig with him again.”

—u/MikulAphax

Jason Mendez / Getty Images

32. “Loretta Lynn was the kindest. Long story short: She showed up late for a show where the dressing rooms were first come, first serve. She didn’t get one and had to get ready in the big bathroom backstage. I was 13. She asked if I had a second to help her a bit. I stayed with her all night. She told stories. We laughed so much. It was like hanging out with your grandmother. I am from Nashville, and she was, of course, a legend. Just one of the kindest women I have had the pleasure of meeting.”

—u/LadyLixerwyfe

Rick Diamond / Getty Images for Americana Music

33. “Salma Hayek was super cool! I used to walk my dog around Soho/Tribeca, and she saw my dog on the street and was gushing over him, and we chatted for a bit. Around two weeks later, she saw my dog from a car, and she got out to say hello and pet him again. Very funny lady. Totally cool and chill to talk to. She just had a natural charisma to her.”

—u/frogvscrab

Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic

34. Finally: “I met LeVar Burton at MegaCon; he was really as kind as you would hope. He told me my name was poetic.”

—u/sajen16

Jesse Grant / Getty Images for Paramount+

Who’s the best (or worst) celebrity you’ve ever met? Tell us your story in the comments!

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.