# What celebrities are known for being jerks(that are not named Chevy Chase)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839 "2020-09-04T19:52:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/301 "2025-01-15T00:55:49Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > What did you do on the movie? Very cool, by the way. I was just a PA, a production assistant. I was pretty young at the time. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/302 "2025-01-15T16:25:18Z")
That’s a shame to hear. I never met Stewart Copeland myself, but last year friends of ours had tickets to a ‘Music of the Police’ concert by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and invited my wife and me. It was hosted by Copeland, with a central band consisting of session player guitars, bass, keyboard(?) a trio of singers and Copeland on drums, backed up by the DSO. The music and performances were great, but what really elevated the show was Copeland’s showmanship-- in addition to drumming, he acted as ‘emcee’, sharing jokes and anecdotes in-between songs about the Police, Sting and the songwriting process, and running around all over the stage introducing and giving shout-outs to the various band and DSO members. He was an enthusiastic, energetic, extroverted whirling dervish. All the more impressive since he’s in his 70s. I know someone can be a great showman and still personally be an asshole, but it’s still too bad to hear. As is often said about this sort of thing, maybe he was just having a bad day when you asked him for an autograph. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/303 "2025-01-15T17:30:26Z")
What cracks me up about this whole episode is the fact that he was sitting at the bar in the first place. He didn’t even have enough pull with the restaurant staff to get a table? (Maybe that’s why he was in such a pissy mood.) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/304 "2025-01-15T17:38:18Z")
A lot of sushi aficionados, especially the ones who think they are experts in authentic sushi etiquette and know how to interact properly with the sushi chef, prefer the sushi bar to a table. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/305 "2025-01-15T17:58:04Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > What cracks me up about this whole episode is the fact that he was sitting at the bar in the first place. He didn’t even have enough pull with the restaurant staff to get a table? (Maybe that’s why he was in such a pissy mood.) That was his regular seat. I’d seen him there a few times before. But like who the fuck cares about an, at best, second tier actor in freaking Montecito? Maybe it’s the only local restaurant who kisses his ass. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/306 "2025-01-15T23:08:05Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I think it was Siskel or Ebert or both who buried the theatrical version they saw. That reminds me, I once managed a movie theater, and we held a preview showing that both of these gentlemen attended. As each arrived (separately), I welcomed them and told them to let me know if there was anything they needed. Ebert was very friendly and affable; Siskel was gruff and rather short, but nothing really approaching assholery. The above information is based on a sample size of about 20 seconds with each. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/307 "2025-01-16T02:55:17Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I know someone can be a great showman and still personally be an asshole, but it’s still too bad to hear. As is often said about this sort of thing, maybe he was just having a bad day when you asked him for an autograph. It’s quite possible. This happened at a time when The Police were on top of the world, and I haven’t a clue what pressures come with that. I try my best to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially since I still greatly respect his musical skills. But it still felt pretty shitty at the time, and as a musician who has a fair share of fans, I would never treat anyone, let alone a kid who admires me, that way. Maybe that was the lesson I learned from him - don’t be like him. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/308 "2025-01-16T04:05:31Z")
I have heard that many celebs are sore about autographs after finding that they are sold for profit. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/309 "2025-01-16T06:45:25Z")
That’s why most of them ask for your name - personalized signatures are worth much less. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/310 "2025-01-16T06:56:26Z")
> [@solost](#): > > A lot of sushi aficionados, especially the ones who think they are experts in authentic sushi etiquette and know how to interact properly with the sushi chef, prefer the sushi bar to a table. It’s not a pretension, though. When it comes to sushi, it’s not really possible to have an authentic _omakase_ experience at a table: > Omakase, a chef-curated dinner, is famous for its direct interactions with the chef. The customer leaves the order details to the sushi chef. The experience of watching the chef do their magic is a spectacle in itself. View it like an interactive performance, added with personal stories and recommendations. It is in fact possible to have an excellent Japanese tasting menu type of experience at a table, but it’s not true _omakase_ and will generally be a series of many different dishes, only some of which are sushi and many of which are not seafood and might be cooked and served hot. It’s a great experience in itself but if you’re having sushi at a really good sushi restaurant the sushi bar is the only place to have it. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/311 "2025-01-16T13:02:44Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It’s not a pretension, though. When it comes to sushi, it’s not really possible to have an authentic _omakase_ experience at a table: Yes, absolutely. I didn’t mean to suggest that _everybody_ who chooses the sushi bar is being pretentious. Though many who do in the states, I imagine, think they are more knowledgeable about the omakase experience and how they should properly act than they actually are. I love sushi, but I seldom sit at the sushi bar because I don’t feel like I remember enough about the proper etiquette of the experience to _deserve_ to be at the bar 😊 My post was meant more to distinguish between sitting at a sushi bar, which for many is more desirable than a table, and sitting at a normal bar because one did not have enough clout to get a table. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/312 "2025-01-16T13:40:26Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I seldom sit at the sushi bar because I don’t feel like I remember enough about the proper etiquette of the experience to _deserve_ to be at the bar 😊 Not to get too far off topic, but the trick here is not to worry about appearing ignorant because that’s how you learn. As much as I thought I loved sushi, it was only when my son introduced me to really first-rate sushi bars that I truly appreciated the whole experience and realized the basic mistakes I had been making, besides believing that second-rate sushi was really sushi. For instance, that only a total boor like me would ask the chef for wasabi. In any decent restaurant, if the chef considers wasabi necessary, he will use the appropriate amount when he makes the sushi. It’s not stuff that you slather on like mustard! And neither does all sushi require either wasabi or soy sauce – some come anointed with a perfectly matched richly flavourful sauce. The other thing I quickly learned is that I was in the habit of drowning my sushi in soy. Even most of the _ignorati_ know that the correct procedure is to carefully hold it upside down and gently immerse just the fish portion in the dish of soy. But I also learned that it’s quite common for a sushi chef, on request, to brush the sushi with soy for you if it happens to be the kind that requires it. The job of a good sushi chef is to make his creations as delicious and attractive as possible and create the best possible experience for his customers. As one sushi chef once summed up my responsibility as his customer, “just eat”! Since I know I’m going to get a bill for around $600 for two, I don’t feel guilty about it. Likewise, when I once expressed my ignorance about the different types of exotic saki they had on offer, I wasn’t ridiculed. This is not the Japanese way. Instead, a gentleman who was a sort of Japanese saki-oriented version of a sommelier, asked me about my preferences and brought me small tasting samples of about half a dozen of what he thought I might like best! Sadly, I can’t afford to do the top-tier sushi bar scene very often. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/313 "2025-01-16T13:52:19Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Not to get too far off topic, but the trick here is not to worry about appearing ignorant because that’s how you learn. Interesting post! Hopefully the OP will be tolerant enough of the thread hijack to allow me a reply to your post before we go back to jerky celebrities… I do know the very basics-- like only putting the fish side of nigiri into the soy sauce. I am kind of a wasabi junkie though, and I usually use up all of that extra little mound of wasabi the chef gives you. Hopefully that wouldn’t insult the chef too much if I did that at the bar. Why they give you the extra if you ain’t supposed to use it? Maybe it’s a test? Darn it, it’s not even 9am on a Thursday and now you got me craving good sushi… ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/314 "2025-01-16T14:07:53Z")
Living in practically the geographic center of the continental US, we don’t have a lot of sushi places around, so I’m not familiar with how it all works. Good to learn, and sorry for the table/bar hijack! ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/315 "2025-01-16T15:38:39Z")
In my (admittedly limited) brushes with Hollywood and the music biz, it was the C-listers who were the biggest divas. My then-wife, oldest daughter, and I once decided—on a whim—to show up for a cattle call and got ourselves bit parts in the movie _Lonely Hearts._ Now, John Travolta, Laura Dern, and Salma Hayek couldn’t have been more gracious—Travolta especially. The guy was downright hilarious and chatted my ear off between takes. James Gandolfini, Jared Leto, and Scott Caan were a bit standoffish, but still polite enough. Many of the lesser-known cast were simply jerks to us bit players. Back in my college days, I spent summers in Philly working as a stagehand alongside my BIL, who was a master stagehand. We set up for acts including David Bowie, Yes, Renaissance (with Annie Haslam), and Chubby Checker. Every one of them was super friendly and accommodating—no attitudes or nonsense. On the other hand, many of the _almost_-famous were _all-the-way_-jerks—give some people a whiff of local fame and it goes straight to their heads. The worst offender was Elvis Presley. … well, not the real King (I wish!) but a wannabe who called himself “The Big El.” He was briefly popular in our area—though not briefly enough if you ask me. He was a nightmare to work with, constantly treating everyone on the crew like dirt. One time, a mom approached me with her wheelchair-bound son, hoping they could get a photo with him. I passed along the request, and The Big El—class act that he was—muttered something nasty about “cripples” and told me to charge ten bucks for the privilege. I didn’t comply, but took the requested photo anyway, free of charge. I just told The Big Dick; King—of Jerks, _“yeah, she paid.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/316 "2025-01-26T00:34:31Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > A number of famous record producers come to mind, including **Kim Fowley** and **Phil Spector**. Didn’t Spector get convicted of something major and go to jail? That would _definitely_ qualify him as being a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/317 "2025-01-26T00:39:54Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I’m picturing Shatner is like a child probing their parent for a case where whatever they want to do is actually a _good_ thing. > > “You could sleep with Captain Kirk! Who doesn’t want that?” I’m willing to wait the 7 years for Spock. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/318 "2025-01-26T01:01:30Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > A number of famous record producers come to mind, including **Kim Fowley** and **Phil Spector**. > [@SuntanLotion](#): > > I think that was just **Kim’s** persona. I have found him quite charming in interviews. Wait, Kim Fowley? Yeah, he could be a charmer. But truly a [scumbag](https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/the-lost-girls/). A defensive response to that article from a Runaways biographer which is slightly critical of it [for balance](https://populismblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/statement-on-the-lost-girls/), but no less hard on Fowley. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/319 "2025-01-26T01:07:10Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Didn’t Spector get convicted of something major and go to jail? Yes, murder. He died in prison in 2021. Even before the murder, he was widely known to be eccentric and erratic. > **[Murder of Lana Clarkson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Lana_Clarkson)** > > On the morning of February 3, 2003, American actress Lana Clarkson was found dead inside the Pyrenees Castle, the Alhambra, California, mansion of record producer Phil Spector. In the early hours of that morning, Clarkson had met Spector while working at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. > Spector was tried for the murder of Clarkson in 2007. On September 26 of that year, a mistrial was declared due to a hung jury, with ten jurors of twelve favoring conviction. He was tried again for second-deg... ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839/320 "2025-01-26T16:42:47Z")
Mark Harmon earned a terrible reputation on the _NCIS_ set. Lots of star 'tude behavior with hints of much worse activity that caused problems for females on the set. But he was the star of the #1 drama on TV. CBS made the choice to look the other way, which of course didn’t help. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-known-for-being-jerks-that-are-not-named-chevy-chase/919839.md?page=17)