<\/p>\n
\n\tIn an impassioned plea on social media, Robbie Williams<\/a> has called on fans to be more respectful of artists when they are approaching them for photos, suggesting that people consider that celebrities also deserve privacy.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a lengthy post on Instagram<\/a>, the singer drew upon his own personal experience to make a larger point about the way people interact with celebrities, in the hopes that people will be more understanding in either respecting boundaries or not feeling deflated if their heroes don\u2019t agree to a photo opportunity.<\/p>\n \n\tWilliams, the subject of the recent, critically acclaimed biopic Better Man<\/a>, wrote that he was writing the post whilst on a \u201cdomestic flight, going across America,\u201d where he had \u201cthree interactions with fellow passengers\u201d in which they asked for a photo with him. He explained how each interaction went down, offering an insight into the crippling anxiety he feels at the best of times, that would only \u201cspike\u201d with taking photos with people, particularly after he had only gotten two hours of sleep and \u201cwrangled\u201d four kids through the airport, but that he also didn\u2019t shut down the offers outright as he still felt the need to acquiesce sometimes.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThere\u2019s a kind of unspoken law: as a celebrity, you should be accessible 24\/7,\u201d Williams wrote. \u201cGreet all strangers like you\u2019re the mayor of the best town anyone\u2019s ever visited. Make sure their wishes are met, whatever they are. Otherwise you\u2019re a [c-word]. There\u2019s no in-between.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWilliams added that he understood why people approached him but he reckoned, \u201cover 50 percent \u2014 probably much more \u2014\u00a0couldn\u2019t name one of my albums, let alone say they\u2019ve bought a ticket to a show. They\u2019re no more fans of me than they are of the Leaning Tower of Pisa or Big Ben. They\u2019re fans of fame. As am I.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHe recalled how, on another flight, he took photos with the crew and they told him he was \u201cmuch nicer\u201d than another celeb whom the crew said wouldn\u2019t take pictures with them. Williams said he\u2019s a \u201clovely lad\u201d but suggested there were legitimate reasons he didn\u2019t want to take a photo. \u201cMaybe he thought if he\u2019s paying 8 grand for a ticket the price might include some privacy,\u201d Williams wrote. \u201cWho knows what\u2019s going on in his world that day?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWilliams wrote that he hoped his thoughtful plea would provide \u201ccontext\u201d as to why sometimes celebrities don\u2019t want to interact with the public and why those occasions didn\u2019t make them bad people.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re the same ratio of good and bad as wherever you work,\u201d Williams wrote. \u201cWhat I am saying is: Let people be people. Humans, struggling \u2014 like we all are \u2014 in one way or another. Allow people the dignity of their privacy, their wants, their needs. Because most of us are just trying to protect ourselves \u2014\u00a0mentally, physically or both. Just like you.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWilliams\u2019 post has already resonated with fellow artists, with the likes of Adam Lambert<\/a>, Joey McIntyre, Natasha Bedingfield<\/a> and Afrojack all expressing support in the comments.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think it\u2019s helpful to explain it because it\u2019s hard for the public to understand what it\u2019s like from the opposite perspective,\u201d Lambert wrote in part.<\/p>\n \n\tMcIntyre said, in a longer comment on Williams\u2019 post, \u201cWhen I stop people pleasing, people aren\u2019t pleased. I hear you, good man. I have loads of anonymity in my life but when it\u2019s \u2018go time,\u2019 it\u2019s a tough pill to swallow for me when I have to say I\u2019m done for the day. Not easy when I am so grateful that folks come out to see me on tour and support me so wholeheartedly, but it\u2019s 11:30 p.m. and I just traveled all day, did a show, met a bunch of people, but I don\u2019t have it in me to take five (or even \u2018one more\u2019) selfie. It sucks saying I can\u2019t. But there\u2019s only one human that has some power over my serenity and well being, and that\u2019s me. And so when I feel my cup suddenly full, I have to shut it down. It\u2019s hard taking the cape off. It\u2019s hard to not \u2018compare and despair\u2019 \u2014 \u2018he can do it why can\u2019t I just hang in there for a few more.\u2019 But I know when I\u2019m done. If I listen I know when a resentment is brewing and that\u2019s not good for anyone. Especially me.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRead Williams\u2019 full post below. <\/p>\n \n\tI\u2019m sat on a domestic flight, going across America.
I\u2019ve had three interactions so far with fellow passengers. One of them handed me a lovely note -kind words about my documentary \u2013 and then asked for a photo.
I wrote a note back. I explained I\u2019d been up since 4:30 a.m., had two hours\u2019 sleep, and wrangled four kids through the airport. I\u2019ve got bags under my eyes and I\u2019m dealing with anxiety. I explained that if they came and took a photo with me, my anxiety Would spike \u2013 because then the whole cabin would start wondering who I am.
And I\u2019m not famous here.
That kind of attention would only pile more anxiety on top of my already-thriving \u201cbeing outside\u201d unease.
I didn\u2019t say no I wrote back, offered the letter, and said:
\u201cLots of people have photos with me, but no one\u2019s got one of these.\u201d
Then a lovely steward came down and said there was a man at the back of the plane who was a big fan of \u201cRock DJ\u201d and wondered if he could come take a photo. I wrote a similar note on the back of my plane ticket and said that when we land, I\u2019ll be trying to shepherd four children. Again, I didn\u2019t say no. I just hoped the note might be enough.
As I was writing that one, another passenger walked up and just asked outright for a photo.
I obliged.
These days, I see it as being of service. If it makes someone happy and I can then I\u2019ll do my best to facilitate that happiness.
I didn\u2019t always see it that way.
But I do now. Mostly.
Still\u2026 I think there needs to be a caveat. So let me try to explain.
This is dodgy terrain for a famous person to give context around. Anything short of:
\u201cOf course, it\u2019s my duty and the right thing to do\u201d
\u2026is risky.
There\u2019s a kind of unspoken law: as a celebrity, you should be accessible 24\/7. Greet all strangers like you\u2019re the mayor of the best town anyone\u2019s ever visited. Make sure their wishes are met, whatever they are.
Otherwise you\u2019re a [C-word].
There\u2019s no in-between.
I\u2019ve seen the argument:
\u201cThese people put you where you are should.\u201d so you
But that thinking\u2019s off.
I reckon over 50 percent \u2013 probably much more \u2013 couldn\u2019t name one of my albums, let alone say they\u2019ve bought a ticket to a show. They\u2019re no more fans of me than they are of the Leaning Tower of Pisa or Big Ben..
They\u2019re fans of fame.
As am I.
But not necessarily me.
Now listen \u2013 if we cross paths in the wild and you are a fan of me, I want you to tell me.
That means a lot. I\u2019ll make time. I\u2019ve got gratitude for that.
It warms my heart when I feel I\u2019ve warmed yours.
But here\u2019s an open question:
Do you think there should be a limit to how many people can access you in a day?
Is there a number that\u2019s too much?
Or is it infinite as many as there are, that\u2019s how many you should serve?
I think people imagine these moments as one-off, isolated things.
One person. One photo. One request.
Not the ten that happened that morning\u2026 or the five still to come that evening.
Every. Day.
Honestly, I\u2019m not moaning. This is a problem I\u2019d rather have than not.
This isn\u2019t a complaint \u2013 it\u2019s context.
I was on another flight recently, chatting with the crew. Lovely bunch.
They asked for photos \u2013 I obliged. Then more came
Then a few just hung around for a chat at my seat.
One of them didn\u2019t know what to say and neither did I, but he said some words anyway.
Then came the kicker:
\u201cYou\u2019re much nicer than ____ . He wouldn\u2019t take a photo with us.\u201d
That made me bristle.
I know that other celebrity \u2013 and he\u2019s a lovely lad.
Maybe he thought that if he\u2019s paying 8 grand for a ticket, the price might include some privacy.
Who knows what was going on in his world that day?
Here\u2019s the truth:
Every interaction \u2013 with strangers or even people I know well \u2013 fills me with discomfort.
I mask it well.
But social interaction still frightens me.
So much so, I didn\u2019t go out for years.
I had to relearn how to interact. And I had to do it without drugs or drink.
I used to find it impossible. Now I\u2019m\u2026 ok-ish.
But still crawling inside.
Every time a stranger approaches \u2013 and they are strangers \u2013 I panic.
Also\u2026 have you met the general public?
If I have 20 interactions like this in a day \u2013 which is average \u2013 the odds are, one or two of them will be with complete dickheads.
And if I\u2019m not playing the role of Mayor of the Best Town?
Then I\u2019m the dickhead.
Notice how, when there\u2019s a bad interaction with a celebrity, the blame always lands on the celeb?
Never the person who approached them, or how they did?
That\u2019s odd.
Because let me tell you \u2013 I\u2019ve dealt with every type these last few days:
The entitled:
The sociopaths.
The narcissists.
The disassociated.
The passive-aggressive.
The silently-judgmental.
The off.
And I\u2019ve dealt with lovely people too.
But how am I supposed to know the difference -especially when I\u2019m with my four kids?
Surely, my first duty is to protect them?
if you work in any public-facing job, I bet you know what I\u2019m talking about.
I was on the phone to my wife the other day \u2013 she was in floods of tears about her mum.
Is it okay for me to say no to a photo request then?
What if I\u2019m having a challenging mental health day -is it okay if I don\u2019t want that captured by a stranger?
Is it okay if I don\u2019t want to fake a smile and play Mayor again?
Two thumbs pointing at my chest with a beaming grin:
\u201cEverything\u2019s fine!\u201d
Maybe I\u2019m in the middle of an argument with my wife. Maybe I\u2019m on the phone with my Mum, talking around her dementia. Maybe I\u2019m thinking about my Dad\u2019s Parkinson\u2019s. Maybe I\u2019m just\u2026 sad.
Is it okay to sit in that sadness without having to perform?
I\u2019m not saying don\u2019t ask. You can.
And I\u2019m not saying all celebrities are saints.
We\u2019re the same ratio of good and bad as wherever you work. Look around you \u2013 some people are just [C-word]s.
What I am saying is: let people be people.
Humans, struggling \u2013 like we all are \u2013 in one way or another.
Allow people the dignity of their privacy, their wants, their needs.
Because most of us are just trying to protect ourselves \u2013 mentally, physically, or both.
Just like you.
Let \u201cno\u201d not mean someone\u2019s a see-you-next-Tuesday.
I do want you to be happy. I do want to help make you happy.
I do want to be of service.
But there has to be space for self-preservation too.
Also \u2013 thank you for letting me share this.
Letting it out, rather than keeping it all stuck in my head, is healing.
It\u2019s not a moan. It\u2019s just something I needed to get off my chest.
I\u2019ve let you into parts of my life that maybe I shouldn\u2019t\u2026
But I hope, as with everything I\u2019ve shared lately, it\u2019s met with the same compassion.
Unless you\u2019re one of the strangers.
SEE? It\u2019s always the strangers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n