Celebrities – do they deserve special treatment?

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    OnslowSW7
    Participant

    I’m currently sitting in the First lounge in Houston beside a guy with rather resplendent makeup and nail varnish. It turns out that it is Eddie Izzard. And a BA staff member sat beside him and mentioned that he was a huge fan and had seen a lot of his shows. That was quite sweet I thought… But then from his pocket he pulled a new boarding pass for the coveted seat 1K.

    I’ve seen this happen before with celebrities being upgraded. And I was wondering- do we think that they deserve an upgrade over those of us who clock up many miles on BA metal (or any metal), attain status but lack a high public profile?

    What do we think? Is it as bad as the BA staff occupying club and first and paying a nominal fare?


    Andrew66
    Participant

    I suppose sometimes in life , it’s not what you know , but who you know !!
    Perhaps Eddie doesn’t even know the significance of 1K , he might not be bothered or impressed , but the staff member feels that he as to try his best and try to impress him ??
    Last year while in the CCR , Kate Moss was lying down on a sofa behind me ( I was going to suggest a cabana ) she was quiet and seeking no attention and had a BA staff member escorting her around , not sure which seat she got or had , I’m sure most celebrities want to be treated and talked to normally ?
    My wife in her job has met a few names , and the bigger they are the nicer person they are , very polite and chatty , the ones who think they are important and show a bit of attitude and DYKWIA are the talentless z list ones .
    A funny story from a few years ago , was when Ricky Gervais was going thru security , my wife knew who he was but her colleague didnt , she asked my wife who he was and she replied that he was in ” the office ” on TV and then made a remark that the American version of “the office ” was much funnier not realising Ricky Gervais was standing behind her , unfortunately for Ricky he was with Stephen Merchant who heard this and made a big deal of it repeating it and ridiculing Ricky , I can just picture Ricky dealing with that !!


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    The problem is not the A list celebs, who generally fly First or business jet, but those on the B and C list who think they should be on the A list.

    I have had some wonderful experiences on business jets with the wife of an A list Hollywood star, helping the cabin crew hoover the jet before landing or insisting the cabin crew sit down and share their sushi and filet steak…

    Most B and C list have beens or wannabees, generally fly C and hope for an upgrade… they are the problem DYKWIA’s. Never flown any of these sorts on business jets…..


    jsn55
    Participant

    The celebrities, of course, don’t deserve special treatment, and I am always interested in why the rest of us are so interested in them … to the degree that people gush all over them and make fools of themselves … often irritating the celebrity no end. I spent 10 hours with Jeremy Irons in May from LHR to SFO … he was having issues with his laptop and we kind of worked together most of the flight so he could get his scripts read before we landed. The first hour I realized that he must be someone, then my husband told me and I realized that he was indeed a celebrity (by now using MY laptop) but I just never let it show. Cabin crew kept parading back and forth with stuff for him to sign, but no other passengers bothered him. He was very good company, very appreciative of my vast knowledge of things (like knowing how to copy a file on a flash drive!) and no more important than any other nice, good looking man with a gorgeous voice on the airplane.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    We mustn’t forget that many stars do travel a lot as well and for them acting is their business so perhaps in the same way we hope for an upgrade, so do they. Do I begrudge them (or anyone else for that), no I don’t. Am I envious, yes I am!


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    London Underground last night, my 11 year old son wanted to recharge his Oyster card. It’s his turn when a female uniformed member of staff pushes in.

    Me. Excuse, my son was here before you
    Her. I’m staff
    That still does not give you the right to push in
    I’m helping someone
    Well, just like us, they can also wait
    I don’t have time to wait
    I don’t think it’s very nice to push in front of a child. You could at least ask and I’m sure he’d have said yes.
    I don’t need to ask!

    At this point, flustered and with other people looking on and grinning, she could not complete her task and walked away muttering something unintelligible.

    Moral: You don’t need to be a star to be a “DYNWIA”!


    Charles-P
    Participant

    The whole ‘celebrity’ thing has always amused me only because I so frequently have no idea who people are or why they are supposed to be important. My wife has come to accept this but my young daughter found it incredulous that I did not who some pop star was on a recent flight to New York – “but Daddy she is sooooo big”

    I agree with earlier posters that it is those with the C level profile that are the most keen to be treated like a ‘star’ – saw this in the Gold Lounge at Frankfurt recently with a full on hissy fit by someone I later discovered was in a German soap opera.

    Turning to real ‘stars’ I once had a very pleasant conversation with Sophie Lauren on a flight to Boston – if asked I am prepared to bore people at dinner parties for a good 30 minutes with my “when I was sitting next to Sophie” story.


    canucklad
    Participant

    You’ve nailed it Charles –P

    In my world I’d describe a “CELEBRITY” as a trumped up, often talentless over hyped by their agent individual who see’s publicity as a measure of their success. Being famous is more important than their contribution to society. When encountering these people I’ve found them to be rude, arrogant and most of all, stuck so far up their own arse they don’t even realise how unpleasant a human being they’ve become.

    A CELEBRITY lacks charisma

    A “STAR” is somebody who’s talent, whether it be as a musician, comedian, sportsmen or indeed an actor is respected and admired by their peers. I’ve found these people would rather not be recognised for their celebrity status, more for their talent and whenever I’ve met such people, they’d rather just talk person to person, and I’ve generally found them to be more interested in me than me in them.

    A STAR oozes charisma


    CXDiamond
    Participant

    I recently discovered that two gentlemen who had sat across the aisle from me on a flight to SYD who were very full of their own importance are known as Ant & Dec. At the time I thought they were perhaps a gay couple with a very overblown sense of their own importance. I know I was right about the latter, I have no idea and am not interested in the former.

    Either way I wouldn’t want to be in close proximity to the obnoxious pair ever again.


    TimFitzgeraldTC
    Participant

    I have to agree with many comments on here. One of my friends has recently become a very successful musician (I have seen him play to audiences of 50 – my girlfriend said he saw her play to less than 10 in a pub) – now he play to Tens of Thousands. He certainly isn’t in the DYKWIA category – he’ll still fly Easyjet in Europe and Economy/Premium on Longhaul, though sometimes in Business if schedules require it. I know he had to get from Australia to Dublin quickly for a gig so booked Business and the Etihad check in staff member was at his gig the night before – so upgraded him to First which he was very surprised by (and enjoyed!!). It’s the price of being in the spotlight – he can get these little perks – but if he walks around Brighton – or in other countries where he has had more success than the UK he now gets mobbed and can be quite difficult to be “normal”. So that is the other side of the coin. Would he ever expect preferential treatment – not in a million years. Which list he is on (A,B,C) – No idea – but he wouldn’t care!

    However I have dealt with a prominent Radio 2 DJ years ago and he was full of the DYKWIA. Wanted a midweek trip to the US so quoted him the applicable BA fares. Then ranted about how expensive they were and that he would book economy and get upgraded at the airport to Business because of who he was – and his exact words to me were DYKWIA (I couldn’t care less – price is the same for him as it is for anybody else!). Obnoxious horrible man. About the only time I can really say that about someone.


    Tom Otley
    Keymaster

    What I find interesting about celebrity is how local it is – meaning a huge celebrity in one country is unknown in another. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve been chatting with people only to be told afterwards that they are very well known.

    I’ve often thought that it must be a relief for many of them – that all they have to do is get on a plane, and at the destination they can walk down the street without being hassled.

    But I know there are the other sort, who demand recognition and are offended if it’s not given, along with all the associated privileges….

    Of course, there are plenty of non-celebs / Platinum / Gold card holders who fly premium who act in just the same way !


    Andrew66
    Participant

    That is very true , SA 09.13 ,
    CXD , did you ever work out which one is Ant and which one Dec , that always confuses me 🙂


    Charles-P
    Participant

    Always remember the Bill Nihy character in “Love Actually’ referring to them as “Nice to be here, Ant or Dec” I understand that was improvisation from him and the director enjoyed it so much they left it in.

    The point about being famous in one country and unknown in another is a good one. Lewis Hamilton has often talked about his enjoyment in America at being completely unrecognised nearly everywhere.


    canucklad
    Participant

    Had to laugh at your comment SA….
    “What I find interesting about celebrity is how local it is – meaning a huge celebrity in one country is unknown in another. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve been chatting with people only to be told afterwards that they are very well known”

    I’m so useless I’ve chatted to some mega stars totally oblivious to their status as globally well known persons…….Including getting drunk in a Heathrow hotel with a few of my colleagues and a mega band from the states. Not till the next day at work did I find out!
    Or my mates, getting all excited about T in the Park, reeling back in horror as I ask if they’ve heard of a band called “News” who I’d just met on my flight up from LHR

    And when I was younger chatting up a rather gorgeous girl from down under, and I might add getting on fine. Until her minder took his job to seriously and moved me on…….She was not a happy person as I was man handled away……. : (

    Whether or not I’d have had the courage to approach her & chat her up if I knew who she was, is another matter all together. ….. : )

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