Getty Image
If we took a poll of everyone in America, my guess is that a majority of people have at one time or another had an encounter with someone they would consider to be a celebrity.
Personally, off the top of my head, I can remember randomly running into famous people like Julius Erving, Franco Harris, Lute Olsen, Matt Ryan, and Joe Dimaggio. (Yes, I met The Yankee Clipper. I was a busboy at a hotel restaurant in high school and had to deliver him room service. This was shortly before he died. He was not a very nice person.)
Most of those celebrity encounters didn’t really warranted a story other than to tell my friends and family that I briefly met those people, but quite often when folks have a random encounter with a celebrity there is a story to tell. So when Twitterer @yusufyuie asked his followers to share their most awkward or interesting celebrity interaction, he was flooded with responses.
We already covered the tale of Phil Mickelson once trying to get a helicopter to pick him up while he was stuck in traffic after a Guns N’ Roses concert, which Phil himself confirmed, but that was just one of literally dozens of hilarious, awkward and amazing stories people had to share.
For example, @BENBALLER shared one about the King of Pop, “When I met Michael Jackson to discuss making him a 50 carat MJ broach and he only spoke to his manager to talk to me for 30 minutes while we sat at the same table and I could clearly hear him. His manager actually reiterated all MJ’s words to me.”
That sounds 100 percent believable.
Not all the tales are glamorous. In fact, most of them are similar to his weird encounter @SebastianYJ had with Mike Posner.
“Mine’s still Mike Posner takin’ a piss next to me via middle urinal when I’m on the far right and far left was wide open,” he wrote.
Some highlights…
I ignored Oprah once. She was in my building in TriBeCa and I was on my phone in the lobby and I heard “I like your hair” and I didn’t even look up I just said thanks. Then heard right this way Ms Winfrey. And I looked up and nearly died. https://t.co/XyfjOUx5LS
— Clit Dempsey 🇵🇸 (@thotzekage) January 6, 2020
First week i moved here to Atlanta .. i ran into @SHAQ at Lenox mall . I’ll never forget he called my brother a fake d Wade . We were in tears about it all day https://t.co/h08qp8KrRv
— Girth Brooks (@gradyunlaced) January 6, 2020
Ran into Spike Lee at Nike soho with @DoeyVanGogh and @Geist_Mode. I was looking at some random Air Jordans and i hear a voice behind me go "DO THE RIGHT THING.. JUST DO IT." I legit thought it was an employee until i turned around and saw Spike. He threw up the fist ✊🏾 😭😭😭 https://t.co/WUDmPb9YHw
— 156 nights crazy™ (@UnoCincoUno) January 6, 2020
I was helping KG shop. I mistakenly put a Medium hoodie in his shopping bag instead of XXL. he called the store the next day and I thought he was gonna come in and punch my face off. he actually joked with me about it, sweet guy! hell of a handshake! https://t.co/wAmhaoNVuv
— herman millie (@charliefranc0) January 6, 2020
john mayer mistook my girl at the time for corrine bailey rae and...things got um interesting backstage. https://t.co/ID8g3Cq3wN
— Antoine Hardy (@Slangdini) January 6, 2020
Randomly walked past Andre 3000 on the beach and i turned around and said “damn that looks like 3stacks” he heard what i said so i got a pic with him... nobody knew who he was and the moment i got a picture all the sudden everyone wanted one too. I felt bad i blew his cover pic.twitter.com/47tJ9MHITV
— NIKOLA (@montality222) January 7, 2020
In 2011 I was at New York Comic Con and this old man past by me and my mom. We realized it was STAN LEE. We ran after him. We were surprise that Stan Lee was walking around with NO security. He said hi to me but I was starstruck. I took a photo of him posing next to a Batmobile😂 pic.twitter.com/ovtRamrc7Z
— Aspiring Feminist Icon (@feminnazty) January 7, 2020
This 👇🏽 stepping on @Beyonce dress at the Grammys while she gives me a smiling but “get off my dress” through the teeth grin in my junior publicist days. 🤦🏽♂️ 🤷🏽♂️🙀 pic.twitter.com/1ql2NSfOp4
— RobSantini (@robsantini) January 7, 2020
During a school trip to NY I snuck out to go to a speakeasy... I walked in, they gave me a black light and told me to work security 😭 Lindsay Lohan walked in, got a girl kicked out for “staring at her”, got kicked out herself, then kissed me because I was “the nicest person”
— impossible meat dick 🌭 🍃 (@alesiavsworld) January 7, 2020
I ran into a blackout Morgan Freeman in Atlanta. He wouldn’t take a picture but managed to stick out his tongue, throw up two peace signs, and yell “BYE BYEEEEE” before getting in his ride. The voice of God smells like vodka. https://t.co/n1e2sIiv6d pic.twitter.com/fmkDcr60m1
— ziggy thizzle (@ziggy2ugly) January 6, 2020
Check out the rest of the crazy celebrity encounters people have had here.