People Who Worked With Celebs Are Sharing Their Best And Worst Experiences

There’s often a huge gap between who celebrities appear to be onscreen and who they really are in person, and unfortunately, that reality can sometimes be more disappointing than we’d like to admit.

Over the years, the internet has been flooded with firsthand accounts from people who’ve crossed paths with stars, revealing just how different those encounters can be. Some celebrities sound incredibly kind, humble, and down-to-earth. Others? Not so much.

Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community to share their best and worst experiences working with celebrities. Here’s what they had to say:

Note: Some of these responses have been edited and condensed for clarity. BuzzFeed can not confirm whether these stories are true. 

1. “I was working a flight from LA, and on walked William Shatner.” I’ve been a Star Trek fan from the beginning, in part because my dad was an airline pilot with the last name Kirk, therefore Captain Kirk. I’d hoped to have William on a flight someday so I could relay this story to him. Unfortunately, when I asked him if I could get him anything prior to takeoff, all I got was, in a very angry voice, ‘Don’t want anything to eat or drink, just leave me alone.'”

2. “I just recently worked with Joan Jett! She was AMAZING! I’ve been a fan of hers for as long as I’ve been alive, and I collect Funko Pops. I happened to have one of her, so I asked if she could sign it because we worked together!”

3. “‘Worked with’ is pushing it, but Keanu Reeves practiced his horse stunts for a movie at my barn.”

4. “I worked with Keith from the Try Guys last summer and his band, Lewberger. Of course, the same day that they were performing and we were working with them was the one day Houston decided to have a derecho, and a literal tornado took the roof off of the venue he was performing at.”

5. “The first movie I ever worked on starred Patrick Swayze, amongst others. One day on set, they realized they didn’t have legal approval to reference an actual place in LA, so the producers were trying to think of a made-up alternative.”

6. I was an extra in the show Portlandia. Fred Armisen was the sweetest! They were filming a skit as their book owner characters that I wasn’t in, so I was waiting around the set and there was a couch, so I sat there with a couple of other extras.”

7. “I volunteered to work at the National Civil Rights Museum for the Freedom Awards. Usher was one of the celebrities invited. I opened the door to let him in. He didn’t have an entourage, which was very surprising. He shook hands and was very friendly.”

8. “Worked for Jerry Bruckheimer as a receptionist in the 2010s. There was a huge fountain in the middle of the office that was always off since we were in the midst of one of California’s many droughts.”

9. “A few years ago, I was working on a production team of more than 30 people shooting a big-budget ad campaign for a prominent eyewear brand that was collaborating with Zayn Malik.”

10. “Years ago, I was working at a very exclusive salon in Beverly Hills. We had a great client named ‘Bob’ who was funny and totally cool. After a haircut and blow dry, he invited my boss and me to a preview of his friend ‘Rob’s’ new movie.”

11. “I once worked with James Earl Jones. I hired him to do the audio for a small multimedia show I was directing and producing.”

12. “Christina Aguilera screamed for her assistant to come running (from across the room) because, ‘My coffee is hot. Take the lid off!'”

13. “G-Eazy. He’s rude to minimum-wage staff. Gets real nasty when he doesn’t get his way. Will utilize his fan base to inflict hate on someone he doesn’t like. Dude is WAY too old to be acting the way he does.”

14. “Worked at a theatre with Piper Laurie many years ago. She was the nicest person, just a sweetheart. Near the end of the run, she took everyone involved with her show, all of us backstage people, to one of the most expensive restaurants in town and bought all of us a fabulous dinner. Great memory. Wonderful, talented lady.”

15. “I worked as a tour guide and would take celebrities out to see the animals at a famous zoo. I did tours for A-list actors, athletes, and musicians. My favorite was a private tour for Mariah Carey, who insisted on bringing her hair and makeup team on the tour. They touched her up mid-tour. She was nice enough, but was very late for her scheduled tour, I’m talking two hours late for a one-hour tour.”

16. “Worked with and for Paul Simon, nothing like his songs…nasty and rude individual.”

17. “My sister was a designer for one of Timothée Chalamet’s minor movies. She told me they had one interaction in which she dropped a pile of papers. Timothée helped her pick them all up, even though he was in a rush, and thought it was his fault! It wasn’t though, my sister has always been really clumsy, lol.”

18. “Used to work for the band Foster the People. They were nice to me and always had a big party after their concerts. Sometimes, Jacob Fink and I would hang out at the party and get a drink.”

19. “I was working security for Guns N’ Roses when they were just starting out in the late ’80s. Tommy Lee and Heather Locklear came to a concert in Pasadena, and I was assigned to escort them.”

20. “Worst celebrity: Mario Andretti. He flew into where I worked and demanded instant service, got pissed and started poking me in the chest with his finger.”

21. “Back in the late ’90s, I worked on Dharma and Greg starring Jenna Elfman. The set was filled with wonderful actors, but none shone as bright as Jenna.”

Do you have a story about a celebrity you’d like to share? Drop it in the comments.