# What celebrities are complete bastards? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827 "2009-01-18T04:38:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/141 "2009-01-20T06:25:31Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I do think he plays it up a tad though. Even though he was still crass he was a lot more, how can I put this? Calm and reasonable sounding when he was on the Daily Show (recent appearance at least). He may be a bastard, but not as big a one as he’s been playing up. I am by no means a fan, and I don’t watch or listen to him often. But this is more how he is on his radio show. He cranks it up for effect on TV. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/142 "2009-01-20T06:31:15Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > My mother worked in bars and hotels and clubs for years and years. She hates Hank Williams Jr. with a fiery passion to this day, and says Linda Ronstadt was a big lush. Linda seems fairly health conscious these days, though I can’t say about how much she may or may not drink. She is an extremely friendly if somewhat shy person, though she is very outspoken politically, it isn’t ever in an aggressive or rude manner. At least not in social settings. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/143 "2009-01-20T08:25:59Z")
> [@drm](#): > > As for beating a hotel manager with a phone? That happened in 2005, although he didn’t “beat” the concierge with a pay phone. He did plead guilty to third-degree assault for throwing a room phone at the concierge however. He had apparently been trying to call his wife in Australia from his hotel room in New York. After asking several times for a replacement phone to be brought to his room, Crowe went to the front desk with his phone to confront the concierge, where he admittedly lost his temper, throwing the phone and striking the concierge with it. [Story here.](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/18/entertainment/main1055883.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/144 "2009-01-20T09:07:46Z")
> [@Convict](#): > > Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon. Whereas Gary Richrath, who has long since left REO, was a great guy. When I was underage (19) and desperate to see them in a local university bar, I waited behind the bar until they showed up and he let me carry in his guitar and pretended I was a roadie for the group - thus I got to hang around and see them perform. After that, he let me do that every time they came to the university to play, despite the fact that we never really even had a conversation other than me expressing my love for the group and him saying “thanks.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/145 "2009-01-20T13:35:56Z")
Woody Allen ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/146 "2009-01-20T15:50:57Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > See, that just proves my point. Burghoff once stayed at my mom’s condo for a fortnight while he was performing in a local play, and she **forswears** that he was very nice during their several encounters (handing the keys off, meeting him backstage, etc.). But don’t take her word for it-for all anybody else knows he is an asshole. \ I do not think [that word](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forswear) means what you think it means. \ ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/147 "2009-01-20T16:05:36Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > The single most unpleasant celebrity I had to work with was a name most people are surprised at…Deepak Chopra. I’m not surprised in the slightest. I never dealt with him directly, only his assistant (who called _me_, not the other way 'round), and she was a piece of self-important work. I was really rather glad that our small alt medicine school ended up being beneath his notice when he came to town, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/148 "2009-01-20T16:09:01Z")
I used to have a friend who had worked for a law firm in New York that represented various celebs. He said Meryl Streep was exceptionally unpleasant to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/149 "2009-01-20T16:50:48Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > That happened in 2005, although he didn’t “beat” the concierge with a pay phone. He did plead guilty to third-degree assault for throwing a room phone at the concierge however. He had apparently been trying to call his wife in Australia from his hotel room in New York. After asking several times for a replacement phone to be brought to his room, Crowe went to the front desk with his phone to confront the concierge, where he admittedly lost his temper, throwing the phone and striking the concierge with it. > > [Story here.](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/18/entertainment/main1055883.shtml) Oh, right, forgot about that. I still contend that he’s really not so bad, but that certainly isn’t all that good for your image. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/150 "2009-01-20T18:29:09Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > This is second hand, but I talked to the person who saw it. Reeves was a pilot and he attended flight school here in Florida. When he graduated, everyone else in the class chiped in and had a special shirt made for him to commemorate it. When they presented it to him, his reaction was “Oh great, another boat rag.” That is _so_ dickish that I have to think the story is apocryphal, or that Reeve was attempting (perhaps unsuccessfully) a wry joke. Even the most bastardy celebrity asstards usually feign some sort of gratitude when a group of people is kissing their ass… ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/151 "2009-01-20T19:38:12Z")
> [@YamatoTwinkie](#): > > My wife got to organize a few cooking demos as part of her job. > > She said Tyler Florence was great to work with, but Emeril Lagasse (BAM!) was an introverted dick. I knew a bartender who often travelled to NOLA; a friend’s boyfriend worked for Emeril. She met him several times & said he was a good guy. Definitely _not_ the hyper “Bam” guy you see on that particular show. Ooh, he was “introverted.” ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/152 "2009-01-20T20:28:10Z")
I hesitate to include tales of celebrities being dicks because we all have our moments. That celebrity that was wonderful to me yesterday may have lost his phone, fallen into a mud puddle, gotten food poisoning, and been stung by a scorpion before seeing you today. When Willie Nelson did a concert near here last year, his contract had some odd riders, and he did take off after the show without doing any appearances, interviews, or anything. On the other hand, he treated everyone nicely, and signed the things he was handed to sign. > [@Jragon](#): > > I think in the Two truths and a Lie thread a long time ago some poster (Invisible Wombat?) said that RL Stein is a complete tosser. Yep, that was me. I was seated next to him at a conference and invited him to include my store in Montana on his next publicity tour. He laughed at me. Not a little chuckle. A long, drawn-out laugh that left everyone at the table looking at each other uncomfortably. He stopped, looked at me, and said, “I’m sorry, but _Montana?_” and started laughing again. > [@Tuckerfan](#): > > I’ll state the obvious: Andy Dick and William Shatner. I’ve been in the book trade from both angles (author and bookseller), and owned my own store since 2001. William Shatner is the only author I’ve ever met that charged for his autograph in a book. He wanted $10 _each_ to sign his $6 mass-market paperbacks. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/153 "2009-01-20T21:18:09Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > I hesitate to include tales of celebrities being dicks because we all have our moments. That celebrity that was wonderful to me yesterday may have lost his phone, fallen into a mud puddle, gotten food poisoning, and been stung by a scorpion before seeing you today. Well sure, but the same is true of that jerk who cut you off in traffic/took the last jelly donut/wore shoes in the house/hung the tp upside down/invaded a small village somewhere in the second world/drove his SUV in the carpool lane with no one else in it. We Pit them all the time for being complete bastards. I don’t see the need to hold celebrities to a higher standard, but neither to a lower. If I’m having a bad day and do most of the things mentioned here, I’d be (rightly) considered a cuntswallop. ---
**Author:** ![moonstarssun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@moonstarssun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moonstarssun)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/154 "2009-01-20T22:35:38Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > I hesitate to include tales of celebrities being dicks because we all have our moments. That celebrity that was wonderful to me yesterday may have lost his phone, fallen into a mud puddle, gotten food poisoning, and been stung by a scorpion before seeing you today. I agree. Unless there’s a pattern, anyone can have a bad day, not be feeling well, whatever. The only experience I’ve had with a celebrity being unpleasant was Douglas Adams at a book signing. I was surprised because I’d always heard what a wonderful guy he was. Thinking about it later, I realized he’d been sitting there for a long time and was probably wanting a cigarette. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/155 "2009-01-20T22:39:40Z")
> [@moonstarssun](#): > > I agree. Unless there’s a pattern, anyone can have a bad day, not be feeling well, whatever. > > The only experience I’ve had with a celebrity being unpleasant was Douglas Adams at a book signing. I was surprised because I’d always heard what a wonderful guy he was. Thinking about it later, I realized he’d been sitting there for a long time and was probably wanting a cigarette. The link in **ZipperJJ** ’s [post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10715923&postcount=135) to Stephen Fry’s essay on fame is well worth reading, but it boils down to pretty much that. Famous folk are still only human. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/156 "2009-01-20T23:29:51Z")
> [@Simmerdown](#): > > What would be the consequences if Diamond Dave stuck a finger in and pulled out a brown one? I _know_ you’re talking about M&Ms, but I happened upon this sentence out of context and it created a mental image that’s going to take awhile to erase. ---
**Author:** ![beanpod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9adbd/32.png) [@beanpod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beanpod)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/157 "2009-01-21T00:10:31Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] Yep, that was me. I was seated next to him at a conference and invited him to include my store in Montana on his next publicity tour. He laughed at me. Not a little chuckle. A long, drawn-out laugh that left everyone at the table looking at each other uncomfortably. He stopped, looked at me, and said, “I’m sorry, but Montana?” and started laughing again. [/QUOTE] _[R.L. Stine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rl_stine)?_ Crappy horror stories for 10 year olds R.L. Stine? His 15 minutes was up 15 years ago R.L. Stine? If he thinks he’s as important as that story makes it sound, the schadenfreude is delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/158 "2009-01-21T00:27:25Z")
> [@beanpod](#): > > _[R.L. Stine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rl_stine)?_ Crappy horror stories for 10 year olds R.L. Stine? His 15 minutes was up 15 years ago R.L. Stine? If he thinks he’s as important as that story makes it sound, the schadenfreude is delicious. To be fair, he’s been living in New York for over 40 years. Even very ordinary New Yorkers are known to resist visiting the wide open spaces. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/159 "2009-01-21T06:49:15Z")
One of my husband’s coworkers used to be a security guard for one of the big studios. He said Helen Hunt was known as Helen Cunt, by anyone who was unlucky enough to work with her. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827/160 "2009-01-21T14:50:54Z")
[QUOTE=Simmerdown] What would be the consequences if Diamond Dave stuck a finger in and pulled out a brown one? [/QUOTE] Presumably, he’d eat it and smile. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-complete-bastards/481827.md?page=9)