I promise, fame is NOT as amazing as you think it would be; but don't take it from me, take it from these people who have famous friends and family.
Spoiler Alert: The problem is US.
Reddit user kayhanah asked:
"Redditors who are friends with famous people, what are the benefits or disadvantages you encounter due to your friend's fame?"
If you know me in my "real" life you know a huge chunk of my family works in production, has a background in performance, etc. That, plus my job, means fame is not a stranger around here.
I grew up in studios, I've gotten warm hugs from major names, and have seen the way fame demands a human to be "on" at almost all times.
And it is NEVER without some major issues. Let's read through what Reddit has to say about their experiences with celebrities.
A Normal Friend
"I work in the film industry and have made some famous friends over the years."
"In this industry, you become especially tight when you're working on a movie on location together for a few months, staying in the same hotels, working out together, partying together, etc."
"Just like being on a sports team or something. You can often be really tight for a while but after the shoot ends everyone goes their separate ways to an extent."
"Sometimes you keep in touch or make a lasting friendship, but rarely. It's the same with other crew members."
"The benefits have been some cool parties, easier time meeting women, one time a hotel manager gave me free bottle service for a night hoping I'd invite a couple actors… which I did not, but I met a few girls myself because girls love free bottle service. Something rich guys in NY understand."
"I just order drinks like a normal person. Um, valet service if they don't want to be seen and for it to be a thing. One of my friends who I stayed close with has a poker game once a month at his kick@ss house, I've met a lot of other cool people through the game."
"The negatives are that people/ fans are often crazy/ awkward, so the celebs aren't able to act like a normal human being for very long. Most times we we go out, the actors leave early because more and more people realize who they are and bug them for pictures or to talk to them."
"More and more women show up for the guys, dressed to the nines, even though the guys are married. So the men eventually want to leave."
"On the whole people are cool, but we have had some fun nights completely ruined too. I went bowling with about 12 actors one time, and we ended up leaving after the first game because of all the odd people and that sucked."
"We've run into a paparazzi problem once, and it was a major problem. The guy was married and the pictures made it look like he was with another woman and it was in magazines, but totally not true."
"One thing that's interesting is a lot of times they're really happy to have a normal friend, somebody that will treat them exactly like everyone else."
"That's why celebrities often date other celebrities. Nobody likes to be put on a pedestal or treated differently. Most celebrities moved to NY or LA from a different city, don't know many people, and just want to have some normal friends who don't want something out of the friendship."
"My buddy Dan befriended a famous actor we now play basketball with. Dan realized this guy moved to Hollywood when he was 17, is now a multimillionaire celebrity and doesn't have a single normal guy friend who doesn't work with/ for him or something."
"So Dan just decided to befriend him. Now they're thick as thieves."
- [Reddit]
A Famous Father
Cabin Fever Reaction GIFGiphy"My best friend since childhood has a famous father. He's one of our countries most famous comedians."
"Pros: Free tickets to everything, which they would bring me and my friends. He would occasionally drop some funny jokes."
"Cons: Really annoying walking around with him in public and him getting recognized by fans. They swarm and two little kids don't exactly enjoy getting pushed aside and waiting all the time when we are just trying to spend time together or going for ice cream or something."
- Pererns
World Tour
Rock And Roll GIFGiphy"Was involved with the lead singer of a famous band. Honestly it was like any other relationship, we had cute dates, I offered to split the bill and he let me (sometimes), we bickered like a normal couple, he farted on me in his sleep, etc."
"We never really partied with the band or anything with the exception of two times, most times he was tired from touring and just wanted to have dinner and watch tv."
"Benefits - getting to check out awesome hotels and restaurants in my city that I normally would never have gone to."
"Disadvantages - It sucks when you really, really like someone and after a while realize you're just a stop on their world tour."
"I was stuck at my job and he would send me pictures of whatever city he was in that day. After a few years of touring the band took a break to work on a new album and such and he had no reason to come to my city anymore."
- hummuscat
Keith
Chief Keef Lol GIF by RidiculousnessGiphy"I'm friends with Chief Keef."
"Man I do not know how to describe the dude. He's sporadic, but I love him."
"He's a pretty scary guy if you don't know him, but when you get to know him, he's kinda like a black Iron Giant."
"Anything he talks about in his songs, it's true. Sadly. He's got all the guns, he does all that gang banging. I used to be a part of that, but since he got famous, he's given me and my family enough money to move out of where we were, into a nicer place."
"I'm in Atlanta right now, talking with music executives. He's really gotten me on my feet, had me on some songs, etc."
"I'd say the benefits are that he loves helping people, and he's a giant teddy bear. I'll call him up and say, 'hey Keith, what's up?' And he'll give me a rundown of his day."
"He's in LA right now for rehab, and I hope this shapes him up a bit."
- [Reddit]
TV Heroes And Real Heroes
dad dancing GIFGiphy"Buddy of mine's father was a huge star in the 80's. He's the main character in one of the most famous 80's teen movie you could imagine."
"His kid, holy sh*t, he is like IDENTICAL looking to his dad. I really didn't see it as a big deal when I was a kid; but looking at it now it's got to be weird."
"I mean god damn, he sees his dad on the tube by accident ALL the time. Since he looks so much like his dad did then, that's got to be kind of like seeing yourself on TV all the time."
"One thing that stood out to me though, was a comment he made when we first started hanging out."
"We did theater together and my dad, a local cop, was also a carpenter. He would volunteer to build these bad@ss sets and design all sorts of neat stage props and pieces."
"Like really cool, intricate things."
"My buddy had always admired my father. So one he turns to me and says: 'Your dad builds things and fights crime. He's pretty much a superhero. Your dad rules.' "
"My dad passed away from brain cancer pretty recently, and the whole statement THEN meant very little in comparison to what it means NOW."
"This kid's dad is a celebrity, and here he was very often bragging about MY father."
"Kinda bizarre but I wish my dad heard me brag about him more."
- Thisguy0316
People Find Out...
Over It Sigh GIFGiphy"He's not really a friend; he married into my family. Technically he's my Uncle, but I am very close to my aunt and him in a friend like way."
"Anyways, he married my aunt when I was like 15 and at that time I thought this was pretty cool and needed to be shared with everyone. I feel differently now."
"The benefits are that I stay in their awesome apartment when I go to New York (which is rare these days, but still), and they treat me to nice meals at fancy restaurants. One time we went out to lunch with one of my favorite actresses, so that was really exciting. He's sent me autographs from celebrities he has worked with if he knows I like them."
"The disadvantages are, once people find out my connection to him, I'm suddenly their best friend and they must meet him, talk to him, etc."
"There have been several occasions where a distant relative on the other side of my family that I've never even talked to contacted me to try to get to him. In one instance she was trying to get me to arrange her son to meet him because he wants to go into theater."
"A friend from high school's older sister sent me a video of her daughter to send to him so he could tell his agent about her talent. Stupid annoying things like that."
"People find out you know someone and suddenly you are a more valuable friendship to them just for you and your friendship alone. "
- gonekuckoo
Obscure Opinions People Are Fully Committing To | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
We all have a set of beliefs about even the smallest of topics. Like sandwiches should have structural integrity. That's something we can all agree on, right...Fun If You're A Sociopath
Taylor Paparazzi GIFGiphy"Everyone assumes you're rich. Everyone gets disappointed when you're not also famous."
"People bug the f*ck out of you. Paparazzi follow you around. Newspapers fill up with rumors."
"Unless you have money, fame isn't that fun. Sure you can get women, but only so they have a story to tell their friends or to get benefits from you."
"Eventually you have no idea who is a real friend and who isn't. Celebrity is fun if you're a sociopath, I guess."
- [Reddit]
Off Season
Working Kansas City Chiefs GIF by Microsoft SurfaceGiphy"I'm pretty good friends with a professional football player. We were really good friends when we were younger."
"I live a few hours from the city he plays in, so when I visit we just hangout at his place. It's hard to go out in public there but when he visits me, a few hours away in a small town, we can go to a bar and it's not too crazy."
"He's pretty much rich, but has never gave me any money though he always buys the beer and dinner and pays for anything my family does with him."
"I don't really talk to him during the season other than a text here and there, there just isn't time."
- JasonGD1982
Disney! But Also People!
disney world GIFGiphy"I'm friends with an actor you'd all recognize if I said his/her name."
"Big advantage - Disneyland! You get a person assigned to you to take you to the front of every ride, multiple times if you want."
"We did the whole park in about 4 hours. We were asked (told, politely) not to take pictures of the behind the scenes areas, but it was cool to see them."
"Disadvantage - watching them pose with pictures for an hour as you're trying to leave a restaurant."
"Observation - People do not treat celebrities like people. I've seen people come up and say 'Your last movie wasn't very good was it? Why do you think that is?' "
"Almost as bad are the people who act like they have some sort of inside joke with them just because they've seen them on TV."
- deProphet
The Line For Pictures
Fans In Line GIF by PepperGiphy"I am friends with a Hollywood celebrity. He comes out to Australia all the time and we hang out when he does."
"Benefits will be all the cool things I get to go to and see (e.g. getting backstage) and I get to meet other celebrities."
"Another funny benefit is the famous by association assumption. We had drinks after a performance at the opera house and there were 2 international celebrities, one national celebrity and myself."
"A girl asked for photos and autographs and she kept on giving me a weird look before asking for a photo with me and asked for my autograph - I work in IT."
"Disadvantages would be that for us to have an actual catchup, uninterrupted, we would have to chill in the hotel room or my house."
"Out in public everyone comes up and says something and wants to say hi. Also, I am always the guy taking the photo."
"At the aforementioned concert at intermission there was a line down to our seats that people lined up to take pics with him. I just took photos for the full intermission."
- wav3s84
The ACTUAL Answer
video games xbox GIF by Lopez on TV LandGiphy"Answer I think you're looking for: Free Disney trips, people kiss my @ss trying to get in, I get to drink, party with porn stars, famous people, and do it 20 feet away from Martha Stewart. I then leave with free sex toys."
"ACTUAL answer: I honestly get to know someone I love and trust. She's hidden from the majority of people due to who she is and always has to, "stay in character" when someone recognizes her."
"But we openly talk to each other and keep no secrets. We escape to each other's worlds."
"My favorite moments are vegging out, playing video games and appreciating the normal moments together."
- queerdeviant
Epic
fail social media GIF by CBCGiphy"I live in Hollywood and have a couple friends who are pretty well known. One is on Glee, the other played a fairly prominent character in the Harry Potter movies."
"Being that I'm not in the film industry, the only benefits I really get from them are invites to some pretty cool events and a bit of Twitter follower runoff."
"Epic, I know."
- MyCoolWhiteLies
"What Have You Been Up To?"
Ryan Reynolds Reaction GIFGiphy"Have a friend who isn't necessarily 'famous' but his picture appears in print, he makes an obscene amount of money for it."
"He spends his life jet setting all over the world attending exclusive parties, staying in luxurious hotels and eating expensive food with scads of beautiful women who have loose morals and looser, uh, necklines."
"Advantages? None really. I've never been invited to one of these parties, he doesn't treat anyone to a round mow and then, the aforementioned scads remain mysterious."
"Disadvantages? Well he isn't really the same person he once was. It's like being friends with a stranger who has no real clue how regular life works."
"He's the most annoying person to have 'what have you been up to?' conversations with."
"Him: 'What have you been up to?' "
"Me: 'Oh nothing really, just studying and working. Probably going to have to sell a kidney to pay for tuition next year. My hair is starting to fall out in clumps and I haven't eaten in 2 days. Not sure if it's from the anxiety, the stress, or the fact there's no food in the fridge. How about you?' "
"Him: 'Pretty much the same. Went to Miami last month for a couple weeks. It was ok, I guess. But you know how spring break is down there, there's just sooo many hot chicks throwing themselves at you after a while you're just like 'enough already! I'm trying to have a private surf lesson with Kelly Slater!' So annoying.' "
"Anyway, yeah so next week are you busy? You should come with us to Dubai, we're staying with this friend of a friend of mine who has this like palace or whatever and he said it'd be cool if you want to crash on the couch. My flight, accommodation, transportation, food and incidentals are comped, you gotta pay for yourself though.' "
- [Reddit]
Everything Takes Forever
Seth Meyers Time GIF by Late Night with Seth MeyersGiphy"Actors."
"Benefits: They often make really great friends. They come stay with you when they need a break from fame, and let you stay with them when you need a break from reality."
"Biggest downside: Going anyplace out in public takes a LOT longer than normal because people stop you everywhere constantly."
"Wanna go see a 90-minute film? Better pencil in 3 hours at the theater."
"Dinner and a movie? That's typically a 7-hour affair."
"Not that it can't be fun to watch, but I'd never be able to tolerate being in their position."
- NeverEnufWTF
Nothing Like His Act
acting jon lovitz GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy"A bunch of my friends from High School were in a pretty successful screamo band."
"They're all cool guys except for the much older guy who was the 'nice'/melodic singer/songwriter in the group. He's an absolute tool, and nothing like the sensitive guy act he puts on for his solo project."
"I'd go into detail about some of the things he said & did around me, but I don't feel like getting sued."
"The other guys are all awesome - though I don't really know the second drummer they had, after the first one left. I moved to the other side of the country after high school, and they'd put me on the list for their shows."
"I'd go and hang backstage, and drink some free beers, even though it wasn't really my scene. We still have beers whenever I visit my hometown & they're around."
"I guess the only other 'advantage' was that 17 year old girls with too much eyeliner would try and hit on me so I would bring them backstage."
- GMRealTalk
No Kids
Espn Snow GIF by X Games Giphy"I used to be great friends with a really popular X Games athlete. It's not so much of a problem anymore, but when he was getting big we'd hang out all the time and we couldn't go anywhere without him getting bombarded by young kids asking for autographs and pictures."
"It was fun at first, but it got old fast. Really fast."
"He hated it, but was always polite. They were kids."
"Basically we couldn't go anywhere where there'd be lots of kids around. So basically we couldn't do anything fun like movies, amusement parks, the mall, etc."
"It kinda sucked."
- [Reddit]
The Legend And His Son
GIF by Dolly PartonGiphy"So my mother's cousin is a really famous country singer who is no longer alive."
"While growing up we went to this annual family reunion celebration. It was ridiculously great. Through my mom's uncle I met stars like George Strait, Dolly Parton, Randy Travis, and so many others."
"Young me didn't even realize the greatness of this and just assumed it was normal."
"I also spent a lot of time with this famous person's son. We would go to his dad's trailer, where his mom was, and be given all kinds of toys. Pop guns, water guns, weird PVC contraptions that you put a black cat into and it would shoot rocks."
"Now this country legend's son is famous for being in film and his own music. I'm not sure if he'd remember me but I'll never forget the good times."
- toddinator
Celebrities have been saying basically this for forever. They're just people out here doing their job, and would like to be treated like normal humans please.
Unfortunately, people tend to forget that or think they are entitled to some sort of intimate access just because they're a fan. It's unsafe for the celebrity, it puts the people with them in awkward and unsafe situations.
Not to mention our celebrity obsession just straight up isn't healthy. We put expectations on them and give weight to their opinions JUST because a lot of us know their name.
They're not experts, folks. They're just "Keith" (proverbially speaking) and they want to do their job, take their kid for ice cream, and maybe have a beer with an old friend.
They should be able to.
Let's leave that dangerous celebrity worship behind for 2022, fam.
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Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.