Why I Would Never Meet a Celebrity

I was at the Immigration Office the other day in Kathmandu to renew my visa, and I was at this shop to print my documents when I saw a popular guy sitting at a table outside the shop. He was talking animatedly to someone over the phone - possibly giving an interview. This guy isn't a movie star nor a singer but he got his popularity only recently by a stroke of luck, as one does over the internet. His social media handle doesn't have his name, nor does his bio. His face was all over social media in the past 2 weeks and he's been acting admirably despite his new stardom, and I had a teeny tiny crush on him the first time I saw him. I nudged my dad and told him about the guy. Dad didn't recognize him so I had to tell him why the guy was popular. He kind of understood who I was referring to but didn't really appreciate it enough to approach the guy himself. It felt creepy to snap a picture without his consent, and so without a hello, a selfie or a chat, the guy left. When I showed dad the videos of the guy later, he said I should've gone and said hi. I don't even know his name to begin with but I guess that's beside the point.

I've been having these imaginary conversations with this guy in my head ever since and I imagine I will continue to have these for a few days or until I run out of the things I would have said to him. You see I'm not a very good conversationalist - and definitely not the first time I meet you. I'm not rude or anything but for someone whose first language isn't English and who has had the amount of exposure to English language movies/series/social media content like I do, I cannot help but occasionally emulate the way of talking which might be considered mean. And I've been known to be too direct which can come across as unsympathetic and disrespectful. 

I also have this notion that for one to come off as a "fan" when meeting a celebrity, one has to know more than a few things about the said celebrity. And I never bother knowing too much about anybody. The celebrities that one cannot avoid being exposed to, I don't much care about - except Pedro Pascal and even though I adore Pedro, I cannot, for the life of me, remember where he is actually from. I google time and again and find out but cannot retain this information. I imagine it wouldn't be relevant if I were to ever meet him but I wouldn't want to be caught unawares. The thing I hate being the most is embarrassed. As someone who grew up getting embarrassed one too many times because of the way I spoke, I do not want to be caught in a situation where I get flustered by a conversation I have not planned out. And 98% of the conversations I have planned out have not panned out the way I planned. You don't really plan a conversation with a celebrity unless you're interviewing them, which I don't plan on doing. Anyways, I digress.

Do you find yourself doing this thing where you're watching a movie/series and you see a face and you wrack your brain trying to remember where you saw them before? And because you don't know their name - of course you don't, you google the name of the movie/series you're watching and check the cast? Most of the times, I don't know the names of the people I like. I watch their movies or listen to their songs (if they're a band) - love their acting/music but if I were to see them in out in the wild, do I call out to them say I love their work? They wouldn't ask me but what if they do ask what do I like the most? I will have no answer. Will I want a picture with them - yes, but will I want to save face more - definitely! 

I have a picture with Passenger. The only reason why I have it is because he did a surprise concert in Hobart and I happened to be there eating a sandwich at the Salamanca market. People were lining up to take photo with him after and his photographer was helping us take them. If he hadn't been doing the concert and the fan feet/greet, but only had been there out and about, I most probably would not have had the guts to go to him and ask for a picture - because to this day I have no idea what his name is and that, in my eyes, is unworthy. I don't know much of his music other than the hit - Let Her Go. I do have another one of his songs saved in my Spotify but, again, I don't remember the name of that damn song.

I don't have a single favorite celebrity but I admire so so many artists be it an actor, singer, a standup comedian, an influencer, a talk show host, an internetainer (winking at the Good Mythical Morning folks). I don't have the capacity or the time to follow all of their goings on these days. And ever since that time I heard Rhett (or was it Link) talk about that time when someone approached them and said they used to watch GMM a lot and they asked why they don't anymore, and it felt like they got offended so I'm kinda scared thinking about all the people I love but don't watch/listen to anymore.

Celebrities, at the end of the day, are people. Some don't want to be talked to when they're out and I get it. Why would I want to deprive them of their peace that they don't get a lot? Some love it when their fans start a conversation with them. I've seen many a star share about not appreciating being hounded by people at all times, whereas some have cute anecdotes of when they shared a meaningful moment with their fans. When all is said and done, every celebrity is different and they could be having a good day or they could be having a bad day. By the same token, every "fan" is different. A star's reaction could vary depending on the fan themselves. And because I have no confidence in being the good anecdotal fan and I can't think on my feet to say something cute/quirky, I'll continue to avoid not approaching a celebrity and have imaginary conversations with them for days on end. No one gets hurt. Win win.