For many, it’s a dream come true to meet a celebrity in-person. We’ve seen them in movies, TV shows and on the cover of our favorite magazines. Yet, they don’t always feel like living, breathing people until we spot them in the wild (otherwise known as real-life). Sadly, some Reddit users have reported some unpleasant celebs they’ve met, so we compiled our 15 favorite rude celebrity moments. Some of these are pretty shocking.
1. Ellen Degeneres
Considering recent controversy, this one probably isn’t that shocking. In 2020, the world became the most privy to Degeneres’s bullying nature. On Reddit, notacreativeuser8, decided it was important to confirm this rude reputation even more, writing, “Incredibly rude, my uncle worked with her (he’s an architect) on some project and she treated her help like total crap. I couldn’t believe it at the time, but I’ve heard similar accounts of her bad behavior over the years.”
2. William Shatner
Despite having an acting career that’s lasted for seven decades, including playing the iconic Captain Kirk in Star Trek, Shatner has apparently made a bad impression on one Reddit user when they were only 10-years-old. User cptgonzo explained, “William Shatner said he would give me an autograph in Hawaii when I was about 10 . He said ‘lemme get a pen’, got in his limo and drove off.” Ouch, that probably left a few childhood scars.
3. Lenny Kravitz
We’ve heard of celebrities trying to keep a low profile in public, but in one Reddit user’s account of singer, Lenny Kravitz, things get a little intense. One user wrote, “I haven’t met many but Lenny Kravitz stayed at the hotel I worked at. He had the hotel sign an agreement that the staff were not to look at him or talk to him.”
4. Randy Jackson
This American Idol knows how to judge people, but it looks like there’s a Reddit user ready to judge Randy Jackson right back. User tatertotski wrote, “Randy Jackson. He was invited to a telethon hosted by a hospital for children with severe disabilities, where my little sister lived until she passed away. Whenever the cameras were off, he would hide in his hotel room and seemed disgusted with the kids. Didn’t want anything to do with them. When the cameras were on though, he was all smiles and hugs. It was so disheartening and disappointed. Almost 10 years ago and I still remember it so clearly.” This one sounds pretty heartbreaking.
5. Gwyneth Paltrow
It’s no secret, celebrities make a lot of money. Yet, not all of them are big spenders. In fact, rumor has it that Paltrow isn’t into bare minimal tipping. Reddit user, mattymo56 said, “I worked with Gwyneth Paltrow’s children for eight weeks at a camp, and we got paid $5 an hour. Parents usually tip $100 or more at the end, but she didn’t tip at all.” Yikes, talk about next level stingy.
6. Ed Westwick
Apparently, this Gossip Girl actor doesn’t always play nicely. Which may be fitting for certain characters on that show, but in real-life, just isn’t cool. Reddit user, tdee94, explained, “I met Ed Westwick from Gossip Girl at Coachella. I never watched the show, but I recognized him — he grabbed my slice of pizza, took a bite out of it, and then spit it out and gave it back to me.” That’s just nasty.
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7. Kristen Stewart
She’s been turned into a bazillion Twilight memes and TikTok videos , so she might be just a little angry. Of course, that doesn’t quite justify what one Reddit user said Kristen Stewart did. They wrote, “Kristen Stewart. I was waiting with friends outside of a pool hall for an Uber when Kristen and her girlfriend come walking out of the building laughing all loud. We naturally glance over and move out of their way. Then she comes up to us and says ‘WHAT.’, with her arms out like shes ready to brawl. Then they walk away laughing again. We didnt even realize who she was till they were walking away. She should really be careful who she talks to like that, someone might actually go for the punch.” Who knew that Stewart would stir the pot like that?
8. Madonna
Madonna may be the queen of pop and loved by many, but she’s not getting much love from one Reddit user. User iphone4s said, “She comes to my job few times a year. And every time she comes she’s comes with 5-7 other people wearing a big hat, sunglasses and tries to blend within her friends or whoever they are. The people she travels with are so needy and always have some sort of special request to ask for. No thanks no nothing when they leave no tip and also leave a big mess. Can’t stand them. No hi and no bye.”
Besides that a lot of the other celebrities are nice!”
9. Oprah Winfrey
When people think of rude, it probably doesn’t make Oprah Winfrey come to mind. Well, with the exception of this Reddit user that is calling out the same talk show host that’s famous for giving people expensive stuff. MommaBearJam wrote, “Oprah didn’t tip me on a $200 lunch — instead, she signed a napkin for me and acted like she was doing me a huge favor. The kicker was when she walked in, they gave away all of my other tables so she didn’t have to wait for anything. So I made $4/hour for two hours for the privilege of serving Oprah, and she went on and on about signing a napkin that I never asked for.” We’re guessing Oprah didn’t forgot her wallet that day and this was more likely a case of rude behavior.
10. Tim Duncan
He may have been a great player on the court, but Tim Duncan scores a ton of violations for this rude move. User odysseyproduction explained, “Tim Duncan, former Basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs. I met him at a Walgreens Pharmacy in San Antonio. I was trying to get batteries but he was getting batteries, too. He was in my way. So I said ‘Excuse me, could I just get through really quick—’He stopped me mind-sentence and said ‘Nah, I don’t take pictures. Just let me do what I gotta do.’ ‘My bad. I’m just trying to—’. ‘Hey, look. I don’t want to take pictures right now so just stop.’ He left. I got my batteries.” This one is kind of hilarious, it sounds like Duncan just really wanted a fan to brush off that day.
11. Chevy Chase
Looks like Chevy Chase wasn’t having it with this Reddit user one day, and it did not end well. Goosebump007 wrote, “Chevy Chase. Saw him at a hotel and as a small 8-9-year-old who liked the Vacation movies and asked for his autograph. He went off on me verbally and then, when my dad came over, he went off on him for something like ‘not raising me right’… [Dude was’ a straight asshole, mid-level celebrity in the ’80s for a second.” Yikes, looks like Chase wasn’t a fan of kids or something.
12. Seth Rogan, kinda
So, this one barely counts, but it got 1.6K likes on Reddit, so there’s gotta be something there. User royalflushed wrote, “I saw Seth Rogan in an elevator once. I nodded to him and he nodded back. He was very friendly, but he’s the only celebrity I’ve met, so I guess that makes him the rudest by default.” It’s hard to tell a rude nod from a friendly nod is some cases. Either way, we think it’s likely that Rogan is pretty great.
13. Eminem
Looks like this rapper got himself a bad rep after being pretty rude to one Reddit user. Nach0Man_RandySavage explained, “Eminem. I was in Denver once and I was waiting for an autograph with my little brother. It was a really cold and we waited for like 3 or 4 hours. He just said no.” That was pretty cold, and we don’t just mean the Denver weather.
14. Pierce Brosnan
Perhaps Pierce Brosnan was undercover for a secret mission or just being really rude. Reddit user K2D23PO would probably vote that he was just being rude after telling the thread that they, “…saw him loading his car up at a farmer’s market in Santa Monica. Walked up to him and told him I was a big fan. I didn’t ask for a picture or anything. He got into his car and as he was backing up he told me to [expletive] right off. Maybe I was in the wrong for walking up to him, I was just excited.”
15. Bam Margera
This skateboarder made one wrong move that amused Reddit user, Optic1. They wrote about how “Bam Margera showed up in Seattle once to film an episode. Talked a lot of [expletive] to the wrong local skater. I watched Bam get knocked out by said local. One of the funniest things I have ever seen.” Well, this is one story that reminds us that karma does exist.
Let us know what you think in the comments of these disappointing experiences Reddit users have had with meeting celebrities and if any of them resonated with you.
