Meeting celebrities up close and personal

Why is it when you meet someone face to face that your opinions of them change radically? Today I became fans of Donny Deutsch and Jay Z.

Donny hosts a show called the Big Idea on CNBC. He asked Bill some excellent questions like "what do you get pissed about?" Bill tried to weasel out of that and Donny had none of it. Bill was really stumped. He also asked "what would you say to Google?" He set a high bar for interviewing Bill that I hope I'll get to meet someday.

Jay Z is a rapper. But he breaks all the stereotypes. He's astute. Personable. And is interesting to listen to.

Donny's interview with Bill Gates will be on CNBC on Monday and Jay Z's interview will be up next week.

Anyway, both interviews are ones you should consider checking out.

18 thoughts on “Meeting celebrities up close and personal

  1. “Why is it when you meet someone face to face that your opinions of them [often] change radically?”

    Because text, while uniquely useful, does not convey as much information as do additional media types.

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  2. “Why is it when you meet someone face to face that your opinions of them [often] change radically?”

    Because text, while uniquely useful, does not convey as much information as do additional media types.

    Like

  3. SCOBLE HE IS NOT JUST A RAPPER HE IS CO OWNER OF THE NEW JERSEY NET WHO HAPPENS TO BE IN THE NBA PLAYOFF’S RIGHT NOW & PRESIDENT OF A RECORD LABEL KNOWN AS DEF JAM. AND OWNER OF 3 EXCLUSIVE NIGHT CLUBS IN THE GOOD OLD US (40/40 IS THE NAME OF THE CLUB). INCLUDING HE HAS HIS OWN SNEAKER BY REEBOX. AND HIS NAME IS SHAWN CARTER.

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  4. SCOBLE HE IS NOT JUST A RAPPER HE IS CO OWNER OF THE NEW JERSEY NET WHO HAPPENS TO BE IN THE NBA PLAYOFF’S RIGHT NOW & PRESIDENT OF A RECORD LABEL KNOWN AS DEF JAM. AND OWNER OF 3 EXCLUSIVE NIGHT CLUBS IN THE GOOD OLD US (40/40 IS THE NAME OF THE CLUB). INCLUDING HE HAS HIS OWN SNEAKER BY REEBOX. AND HIS NAME IS SHAWN CARTER.

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  5. “Jay Z is a rapper. But he breaks all the stereotypes. He’s astute. Personable. And is interesting to listen to.”

    Although (I think) I understand what you’re trying to say, this sentence is vaguely weird and discomfiting, in a “with compliments like these, who needs insults” sort of way.

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  6. “Jay Z is a rapper. But he breaks all the stereotypes. He’s astute. Personable. And is interesting to listen to.”

    Although (I think) I understand what you’re trying to say, this sentence is vaguely weird and discomfiting, in a “with compliments like these, who needs insults” sort of way.

    Like

  7. I met the Barenaked Ladies as a result of winning a contest sponsored by their fan club. I thought it would be the best day of my life, since I’d admired them for years, but it turned out to be a disappointment I’ve still not gotten over, even though it’s been over nine months since I met them. I’d heard how friendly they were from fan club newsletters and message boards. However, when I met them, I got the feeling that they’d rather have kidney stones than talk to a fan. Now, I wasn’t expecting the red carpet treatment, but bear in mind I DID go to the trouble of entering a contest, which I won, and then bought a ticket to the show that was nearest the city I live in (Fort Wayne) which ended up being in Chicago, an eight-hour round trip drive in bitterly cold weather. I also called in sick that day, because I wasn’t entirely sure my boss would let me off work just to go to a concert. I felt that they should have been just a tad bit nicer to someone who worked to enter a contest, instead of some groupie hanging around their bus. I brought a copy of my winning photo to show the group (the theme of the photo contest was “Dress your pet like a Barenaked Ladie”) and I explained to them what the contest was all about. They looked at the photo, but didn’t say one word. Total silence. Steven, Jim and Kevin never even spoke to me, and Ed and Tyler’s conversation didn’t get beyond, “you got cameras? You want pictures? And, “You’re Gloria, right?” I got the feeling they totally hated me, and during the show, Steven acknowledged all the fans he’d met, except for me.

    I’m still not over this. It makes me crazy that something like this is really depressing me. And of course their new album is out and they are making appearances to promote it, so for the next month or so, I won’t be able to escape them.

    So I would have to honestly say, if I’d never met them, I’d still be a huge fan today. But by blowing me off and barely speaking to me, it really put a damper on my enthusiasm for them. I really haven’t listened to any of their music in months, except for one song, because I wrote a song parody in response to their t-shirt design contest. I, along with other people, think the contest rules take advantage of artists by claiming ownership of EACH and EVERY entry, ensuring that BNL have free t-shirt designs at their disposal for their rest of their careers. And all they have to do is offer $1000 in merchandise and meet the winning designer. And of course, the winning designer can’t ever claim he/she created that design, because as soon as he/she submitted the design, BNL became the owners.

    That’s my recent experience with meeting celebrities. I have to say when I asked Dorothy Hamill for her autograph, she refused, because it was right before the ice show was supposed to start, but at least she gave me a hug. BNL just gave me the impression they didn’t care. And it’s very hard for me to meet someone and be enthusiastic and to have them treat me like a leper.

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  8. I met the Barenaked Ladies as a result of winning a contest sponsored by their fan club. I thought it would be the best day of my life, since I’d admired them for years, but it turned out to be a disappointment I’ve still not gotten over, even though it’s been over nine months since I met them. I’d heard how friendly they were from fan club newsletters and message boards. However, when I met them, I got the feeling that they’d rather have kidney stones than talk to a fan. Now, I wasn’t expecting the red carpet treatment, but bear in mind I DID go to the trouble of entering a contest, which I won, and then bought a ticket to the show that was nearest the city I live in (Fort Wayne) which ended up being in Chicago, an eight-hour round trip drive in bitterly cold weather. I also called in sick that day, because I wasn’t entirely sure my boss would let me off work just to go to a concert. I felt that they should have been just a tad bit nicer to someone who worked to enter a contest, instead of some groupie hanging around their bus. I brought a copy of my winning photo to show the group (the theme of the photo contest was “Dress your pet like a Barenaked Ladie”) and I explained to them what the contest was all about. They looked at the photo, but didn’t say one word. Total silence. Steven, Jim and Kevin never even spoke to me, and Ed and Tyler’s conversation didn’t get beyond, “you got cameras? You want pictures? And, “You’re Gloria, right?” I got the feeling they totally hated me, and during the show, Steven acknowledged all the fans he’d met, except for me.

    I’m still not over this. It makes me crazy that something like this is really depressing me. And of course their new album is out and they are making appearances to promote it, so for the next month or so, I won’t be able to escape them.

    So I would have to honestly say, if I’d never met them, I’d still be a huge fan today. But by blowing me off and barely speaking to me, it really put a damper on my enthusiasm for them. I really haven’t listened to any of their music in months, except for one song, because I wrote a song parody in response to their t-shirt design contest. I, along with other people, think the contest rules take advantage of artists by claiming ownership of EACH and EVERY entry, ensuring that BNL have free t-shirt designs at their disposal for their rest of their careers. And all they have to do is offer $1000 in merchandise and meet the winning designer. And of course, the winning designer can’t ever claim he/she created that design, because as soon as he/she submitted the design, BNL became the owners.

    That’s my recent experience with meeting celebrities. I have to say when I asked Dorothy Hamill for her autograph, she refused, because it was right before the ice show was supposed to start, but at least she gave me a hug. BNL just gave me the impression they didn’t care. And it’s very hard for me to meet someone and be enthusiastic and to have them treat me like a leper.

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  9. listen up people there are changes in thisworld that only few realy see. the gift of forsite was given to each one of us; i say that we are all gods but we do not charis our inner thought mind you’r mind for the jewels of our souls. I been sent to meet jay z. but why?

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  10. listen up people there are changes in thisworld that only few realy see. the gift of forsite was given to each one of us; i say that we are all gods but we do not charis our inner thought mind you’r mind for the jewels of our souls. I been sent to meet jay z. but why?

    Like

  11. I met the Barenaked Ladies too! They didn’t engage in heavy conversation with me, but at least they were nice. I got to talk with each of them for a few minutes, got some autographs and pictures too. Ed and Steve were very funny and had a lot of spunk. Kevin stayed with us for like 10 minutes and basically interviewed us. Tyler made awesome poses, and Jim got down to our level for the picture since he’s so tall. I’m sorry your experience wasn’t too good.

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  12. I met the Barenaked Ladies too! They didn’t engage in heavy conversation with me, but at least they were nice. I got to talk with each of them for a few minutes, got some autographs and pictures too. Ed and Steve were very funny and had a lot of spunk. Kevin stayed with us for like 10 minutes and basically interviewed us. Tyler made awesome poses, and Jim got down to our level for the picture since he’s so tall. I’m sorry your experience wasn’t too good.

    Like

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