Admired to Despised

   
  
   Have you ever had a bad day? One in which the people around you were influenced in such a way that their opinion of you became negative? Well, celebrities are no different in that regard, however when they have a bad day and someone around them is affected, it can affect their reputation in the industry as well as their image to fans. Unfortunately, I have had a few ugly experiences, here are my stories.
  
                                                                    
                                    David Carradine   

     About 10 years ago, my family and I attended a celebrity convention in Orlando. This one was going to be special because a lot of our favorite celebrities were going to be in attendance, including a few Harry Potter cast members from the 2nd Harry Potter film. Of those who were destined to attend, my young daughter was especially excited to meet her favorite "Kil Bill" actor, David Carradine. Upon entering the building, my daughter kept asking to see Kill Bill, then she spotted him and began walking in his direction. Once we reached his table, we waited until he finished shuffling pictures and talking on his cell phone, once he was done, he made eye contact and I said hello. I then tried to explain what a huge fan of his my daughter is and how she couldn't wait to meet him. He replied with a scowl and said "I guess that makes you a push-over mom". I was stunned, I didn't know how to react if I was to react at all, but I tried to pull it together with a smile and found a picture my daughter liked.
     We then politely asked if he would sign it which he did. Before we left his table, I asked if my daughter could take a picture with him and again with a scowl, he replied "she'll have to lean over the table". Later that day I ran into my husband and we shared stories, his were all great but then I told him about Mr. Carradine. After our conversation, I over heard a group of people behind me talking about a rude celebrity, they had just met. They discussed how horrible the meeting was ..yadda yadda yadda.. I turned around and asked, "who was it" and they replied "David Carradine". In a brief second, I felt justified in my negative meeting, like suddenly I realized it wasn't my fault. I later saw Mr. Carradine outside the building smoking and yelling into his cell phone and then I realized, I can either dismiss his behavior as just a bad day or I can try and forget the meeting altogether.   





                                                      
                        Tony Todd
      Last year, my family and I attended a horror convention in Cincinnati Ohio, among the many guests was a horror legend named Tony Todd. While we have met him many other times and he has always been pleasant, in fact my daughter rode the elevator down from our room floor alone with him. However, it would be on this day that the experience would not be pleasant and in fact, left my husband never wanting to see another film with Mr. Todd as a cast mate.

    The meeting itself took place after my husband waited in his line for over an hour. Once he got up to the table, my husband handed him a comic book of a tv show he once appeared in. Mr Todd asked him "Am I in this?", my husband replied "No, you are in the tv show of this comic" then Mr. Todd replied "Then why the hell am I signing it?". My husband was speechless but insisted he sign it as it was for a friend. After he signed the comic book, my husband asked if Mr. Todd would pose with the comic so our friend could have a momento to share. Mr. Todd replied "don't you want to be in the picture too?", my husband replied "no, because the picture was for his friend, not for us but thank you". So far, the meeting is not truly horrible but then Mr. Todd went off on a tangent about all celebrities do for fans and how they constantly ask celebrities for stuff......What this actor failed to mention is that as fans, we are standing in hour long lines and paying $40 for the opportunity to meet him and get his autograph and picture. It wasn't charity on his part by a long shot. Needless to say, this one moment erased every positive memory we ever had of meeting and talking to Mr. Todd prior to this meeting. 


                                      
                      James Marsters
     Back in 2012 my family and I attended Dragon Con in Atlanta Georgia. I was running an autograph business at the time and had a ton of autograph orders that needed to be filled. I was excited that one of my customers needed an actor that I had previously met when he was first popular on the tv show Buffy The Vampire Slayer, James Marster's (Spike). During that first meeting back in the late 1990's, Mr. Marsters was so sweet and truly seemed to care about his fans to the point that he played with my son who was video taping his meeting. Mr. Marsters took the camera from my son and filmed my son while joking about how tired he himself looked on the video monitor. That was then and well, this ugly meeting is now.

    It is extremely common in the convention hobby to stand and wait for whoever you need to meet. It might be a 5 minute wait or it could be hours but for Mr. Marsters, I waited about an hour this go around. Once I got up to his table, I didn't expect him to remember me from our first meeting but I did expect the same attitude and love for his fans. However, that is not what I got. He never made eye contact, never said hello or nice to meet you, he simply took my $40 and signed the item I slid in front of him. Pictures were not allowed so basically after he signed the item, I walked away confused as to how a talented actor like himself could have changed from a lovable fan friendly celebrity into a money hungry rude excuse for a celebrity.  

        The one common issue that I have found in all my experiences, both good and bad of meeting celebrities is that they are famous for their talents in film and music but they do not ALL feel comfortable in their own skin. They know how to behave as a different person (character) but being themselves can sometimes be uncomfortable and awkward. I've learned though my Communications courses at Ashford University that we speak with our mouths (verbally), through our body language (non-verbally) and our with our active listening skills. Eye contact is a big must with me when I communicate, I feel as though I cannot hear what a speaker is saying unless I can see their face, their eyes and their mouths. As shy as I have been throughout my life, I always try to give eye contact to whoever I am speaking to. I feel as though it is a sign of respect and a sign that I see them, I hear them and I acknowledge their message.