I remember the first time my wife told me that Jon and Kate were having marital problems, I said “Who?” I was vaguely aware of their show on TLC, as my wife liked to watch it every once in a while, but I had never paid much attention to the people in it until their marriage started going down the toilet.
Also, before September 2008 I had never heard of ACORN.
Never heard of those two until about March of this year.
I have never heard of 80% of the hosts on this year’s Saturday Night Lives. January Jones? Blake Lively? Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Ryan Reynolds? Gerard Butler? I recognize the name Taylor Swift, but that’s it. I’m anxiously awaiting the next fake celebrities lined up for hosting gigs, including Art Valdelay and I.P. Freely.
Regretfully, I had heard of John & Kate before their marriage breakdown. Mrs. Homie used to think that show was the greatest thing since sliced bread. :smack:
Had never heard of ACORN until their association (however tenuous) with Obama came up.
Who is Sarah Palin? Is she a porn star (cuz I keep hearing references about MILF)?
Definitely John & Kate & ACORN. And usually, when some celebrity is arrested for drugs or domestic abuse, my reaction is “Who?”
There’s also Paris Hilton. I had no idea who she was until the sex tape came out.
I think that may reflect simply the fractured media world we live in. I only knew about half of them off-hand and yet all have been in at least one successful movie. And most have starred in fairly popular multi-season TV shows. Excepting of course Taylor Swift who is a multi-platinum country singer. So I’m not sure I would call them “fake celebrities”. 
That’s a problem of a world with 500+ channels, the proliferation of celebrity.
… who can’t sing. The wonders of technology.
Tell me about it. I had assumed she was associated with American Idol in some way up until the moment she sang her Monologue Song. Then I realized she wasn’t good enough to be a top finisher on American Idol.
Ooh, but I thought of another one: Perez Hilton. I had assumed he was a sister of Paris Hilton because I only saw the name in the Yahoo Entertainment News sidebar, associated with saying stupid/inflammatory things. It was only when there was all that coverage of the Miss USA pageant what with all the “opposite marriage” talk that I understood he is a dude. Well, not really a dude, but has a Y chromosome, and has nothing to do with the hotel fortune. I think.
Rihanna and whoever her boyfriend/beater/publicist is.
hh
This is what I was going to say, along with Kim Kardashian, who I only know of because they make fun of her on The Soup.
I use The Soup to stay in general touch with the sleazy news-makers that I detest. Am I the only one who does this?
I, uh, really like Blake Lively because she was in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies. I don’t-watch Gossip Girl when I crochet because I like her so much. Don’t tell anybody.
Chris Brown. I vaguely knew who Rihanna was, but I had no idea he even existed until it came out that he beat her up. And yes, I am kind of proud of this.
I like to thiink I keep up with Spanish music and such (even the Mexican Regional stuff) but I had never heard of Selena until she was murdered.
How could you not know who Ryan Reynolds is? Van Wilder? Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place? Just Friends? Waiting? That guy is in everything.
I had never heard of her until the movie came out… but I pay no attention to Spanish music at all.
ETA: I had a vague memory of raising an eyebrow when I heard Adam “Pacman” Jones’ name during the NFL draft, then I totally forgot about him until he threw $80,000 around at a strip club and picked a fight with the bouncer or something.
Me too. Entertainment Weekly, which I read, pushed Rhianna for awhile, so I knew that she existed. I have never heard her music, though.
I had no idea who Chris Brown is, and I still don’t outside the abuse.
Is he a rapper or pop star?
Also, if you’ve seen a romantic comedy the past five years (my wife drags me to them all the time) there’s a good chance he was in it.
I read somewhere that Selena didn’t speak a word of Spanish until she started singing Tejano music.
Michael Vick and Plaxico Burris. But I don’t follow sports at all.
He’s sort of an R&B/hip-hop crossover type.