Save it for the Meet & Greet

I'm sure a lot of ourselves have asked ourselves the question, "What is it like to be a celebrity?" Well you can probably imagine that you have millions of people love you, you'd be rich, like fill your gas tank all the way up rich. Honestly, it sounds like fame would be a whole lot of fun. Going to parties with other celebrities in limos and being able to buy whatever you want.. Sounds like the life. But like everything else in life, there is a dark side to fame. In fact, I believe Ed Sheeran sang it best when he said "Money is the root of all evil and fame is hell" in his song Eraser. You're probably thinking, "who is this 20 year old girl from Utah telling us about what it's like to be a celebrity". Well, I run a small twitter account that has just under 10,000 followers, and I sometimes feel like there is quite a bit of pressure that effects the contents of my tweets. But my 10,000 followers is nothing compared to Khalid's 2.8 million, Niall Horan's 39.3 million or Lady Gaga's 74.8 million. These celebrities also go through immense amounts of pressure and also sacrifice their privacy. I guess that's really the premise of my whole post today - celebrities and their privacy. Or I guess I should say, and the lack thereof.

PERSONAL STORY

Back in 2015, I stayed in the same hotel with One Direction. As a matter of fact, I stayed on the same FLOOR as One Direction. My dad, who took me out to California for the band, was an elite member of the hotel that just so happened to be in the parking lot of the venue that the band was playing at. After signing lots of paper work and receiving a mini lecture from hotel staff, we soon learned that yes, they were on the same floor as us. I was really enjoying this experience, until the word got around to the fans in the area. By 8am on the day of the show, there were girls running up and down the hotel hallways, shoving their phones under the hotel room doors playing One Direction music and cameras open to see if I was any of the band members. This is when it first dawned on me... It must really suck to be a celebrity.

THE REALITY OF IT

But unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. Fans and Paparazzi are following the celebrities to their homes.

Let's take our Hollywood Sweetheart, Kendall Jenner.

In a recent blog posting of hers called "How I feel about Paparazzi", she shares the daily struggles of waking up and having at least 10 people with cameras outside of her house. She says, "That's legit stalking", and honestly, it is. The intentions aren't always terrible, though!

Louis Tomlinson tweeted one morning that he was out of milk for his tea. Within 40 minutes, a fan was on his doorstep with a jug of milk for Louis Tomlinson so he could enjoy his tea. Although it's a very sweet gesture, that's borderline stalking and can even be dangerous.

What's more dangerous though, than being mobbed by fans? Celebrities go shopping, drive to the airport and go to the gym, just like us. But what makes their experience different from ours is the mobbing. As celebrities exit buildings, there will be hundreds of fans waiting to hug the person. 3 security guards VS. 250 screaming fans is not a very fair competition. That's not to say fans can't meet their favorite celebrities on the streets, people meet people all the time, it's how life works. It all comes down to respect and safety. It's also being considerate for the person being mobbed .

When celebrities are mobbed like this, not only are they putting the celebrity in danger, but also fans, paparazzi and even security guards .

Photographed below is a journalist named Chris Guerra. Chris had the responsibility of photographing Justin Bieber as he exited a gym after a workout. Chris Guerra risked his safety, ran out into the street and got hit by a car. He later died, over a picture of Justin Bieber walking out of the gym.

I guess really, what I'm trying to say, is that your safety is not worth the risk. And if you are one of the people that would jump in front of a bus for Niall Horan, at least remember that THEIR safety is not worth the risk.

Moral of the story, please respect the privacy of celebrities. Treat them with respect, they are people after all and they DESERVE the respect. There is a right time to meet your favorite, so maybe save it for the Meet & Greet line. For those that cannot afford a Meet & Greet pass, I guess I would direct this article to you. Consider and respect their privacy and everything can be safe and secure.