What you see isn’t always what you get. At least, according to the people on r/AskReddit, the third biggest subreddit on the site. Some redditors got together and started gossiping about which of the most popular stars and performers might not be as genuine as we might think.
The author of the thread, redditor u/0belisktheT, sparked a discussion after asking people for their thoughts on which celebrities might be “faking their entire personality.” We’ve collected some of the most interesting replies, Pandas, so have a scroll down and read through some of their thoughts and suspicions.
Entertainment, pop culture, lifestyle, and celebrity expert Mike Sington was kind enough to enlighten us here at Bored Panda about the relationship between celebrities and being genuine. Mike told me that it's difficult to know for sure if a star is truly being genuine or not. "You have to be quite a detective to figure out if a celebrity is being genuine," he said.
"Even with cross-referencing social media with media appearances, with what their friends and other celebrities say about them, you may never figure it out," Mike explained to Bored Panda how difficult things can get for amateur celebrity sleuths. "Some are actually that good at creating an image. And along with their team, it becomes an actual business. Even with all that, slip-ups occur. Watch for the celebrity apology which is almost a certain sign that something genuine occurred." Scroll down to read the rest of the celebrity expert's thoughts.
Got any ideas about which beloved celeb might be putting on an act? Want to rave about a chance meeting with a star in real life? Drop us a line or two in the comment section at the bottom of this article. Though, keep in mind that even if some stars might be pretending to be better than they are, many are pretty open about what they’re like. Though, if you want some more juicy gossip, check out Bored Panda’s earlier article right here where the relatives of celebs spill the tea about what they’re really like.
#1
Jimmy Fallon laughs like he has a sniper pointed at him at all times set to fire when he doesn’t laugh dramatically
Image credits: MrBirb_
#2
Gordon Ramsay…. I curse worse when I run a kitchen and it’s all an act… he’s retained like 85% of his staff for more than 15 years I’ve read… if he was really an a-hole they’d leave
Image credits: tweezer606060
#3
Bono pretends to care about less fortunate people and he was named in the Panama Papers list of tax cheats. Hypocritical piece of s**t. Wyclef Jean's Haiti charity was a scam too, his AMA was a hilarious disaster. Heard that Ellen Degeneres isn't as nice as she is on tv.
Image credits: reddit
I was interested to get celeb expert Mike's take about the pros and cons of celebrities creating completely fabricated personalities for themselves. According to him, it can be a financially lucrative decision, but one that's exhausting.
"The pro of creating an image or personality is that it sells," Mike shared with Bored Panda. "The image becomes a money-maker which leads to more work." There is, however, a major drawback here.
"The con is it's exhausting. It's very difficult leading a non-authentic life, constantly worrying about what you're doing and saying. It can also be expensive, hiring people whose job is to create that image."
#4
Old skool here: Marilyn Monroe.She acted like a ditzy blond but behind the scenes she was hella smart and something of a literary buff (one reason she was attracted to Arthur Miller).
Image credits: HoraceBenbow
#5
Kesha. Her rapey boss made her act like a trashy junkie to sell more albums. She actually is not like that but a religious person.
Image credits: dinosaregaylikeme
#6
Paris Hilton, she's not nearly as airheaded as she pretends to be
Image credits: teuflisch
The expert also revealed to Bored Panda that the celebrities we're most drawn to, the stars we're most fascinated by, are most like us in terms of character. Like attracts like, whether we're talking about niceness, drama, or mystery.
"I’m going to be brutally honest," Mike told Bored Panda. "I think people who are genuine and nice themselves are more drawn to celebrities who are genuine and nice, and people who revel in drama are more drawn to the celebrities who are always involved in drama."
#7
Almost all heavy metal rockers are anything but moody devil worshipers. It's always been hilarious to me that in reality, Alice Cooper is a soft-spoken Christian.
Image credits: drygnfyre
#8
Mariah CareyShe gets away with being a diva because people love it when she “slays” people but she’s actually a huge b**ch. She’s constantly bringing down other women in the music industry, and people hate working with her because her demands are too high.
Image credits: Bikinigirlout
#9
Adam Levine, a few years ago he had an act in Latin America's biggest music festival "Festival de Viña del Mar" in Chile, he was a massive a**hole, he asked the whole staff to not look at him in the eyes, instead made people turn around and look at the walls whenever he was walking, also he looked like he was hating to sing there as he had an angry expression all the time, his clothes were all dirty and his act was TERRIBLE (also he was like an hour late), the singing and everything he did on the scenario showed how much he hates to be there after like a 30 minutes show he stormed out and insulted everybody and the city itself. This festival is well known worldwide and there are an estimated 50 million people watching the show on TV and online, so everyone watched him being and a**hole and there was news about it around the world, so at the end, he recorded himself saying sorry and stuff.
Image credits: Kriger369
During another recent chat with celebrity expert Mike, Bored Panda learned that we should put aside any and all expectations when we’re meeting our heroes, whether they’re well-known or niche celebrities.
"When meeting a celebrity in person, get rid of all expectations. Expectations can just lead to disappointment. Some celebrities are just like they seem on screen, some are not. You’ll most likely have the best encounter if you go into it with zero expectations,” Mike told me earlier.
#10
All the big kpop bands. They’re so overworked. There have been so many occasions where they collapse on stage from exhaustion. They basically sign their whole life away to a company at such a young age, often becoming trainees at age 13. And yet they manage to keep their public image so polished and perfect, with none of the behind the scenes explicitly on show.
Image credits: adagiosis
#11
The Kardashians.Their entire on screen persona is carefully crafted by Kris Jenner.
Image credits: UnluckyObserver_1
#12
Anne Hathaway, but I guess it doesn’t count if she’s been recorded being a prick to her staff behind the scenes. In Japan, she was voted worst celebrity to work with lol
Image credits: TheKidfromHotaru
The expert, who has met hundreds of celebrities during his lengthy career, said that we should try to be as genuine and natural as we can before meeting a star.
"Stay grounded and be yourself, it’s really just a situation of a person meeting a person. Keep it that way and you’ll keep the celebrity comfortable. You don’t want to scare them off!"
#13
Benedict Cumberbatch. He carefully avoids having any discerning personality, and we know next to nothing about him.Takes talent. Good on you, BC
Image credits: Ok_Sheepherder_8313
#14
Tom Cruise if brainwashing counts
Image credits: Much_Committee_9355
#15
You don't fake a personality, you have a persona which is a separate contextual appearance of your personality. The same way you might act differently in front of your colleagues vs your friends vs your family, some celebrities might have different behaviours that they put on to suit the version of themselves that relate to their public career.That being said Samuel L. Jackson had so much success with some of the characteristics of his earlier roles that he constructed them very successfully into his entire career persona.
Image credits: ThearchofStories
"We tend to think celebrities are just being nice and kind because we think they have to do that to be successful. After all, who wants to admire a miserable celebrity? What we fail to realize is most celebrities are genuinely nice and kind, and you can definitely take advantage of that by being nice and kind yourself. That’s what creates a positive celebrity encounter," the expert shared his view that most stars are genuinely nice people.
#16
Demi Lovato. I believed it after their overdose but the second documentary promoting an album, coming out as NB, the selective outrage…it just feels like they are desperate to stay in the headlines and stay relevant. They have such a stunningly beautiful voice and are so talented! I wish they felt like they could just relax and be themself. I used to really like them but now I just feel sad for them.
Image credits: Elephant_chair
#17
Julia Roberts! I worked on a photoshoot with her and all I gotta say is wow...from the moment she showed up to the moment she left, screaming at everyone about everything. An absolute b**ch to the nicest people who didn’t do anything to deserve it. Apparently, that is how she always behaves when there are no cameras on her. Lost every ounce of respect I had for her after that day.
Image credits: reddit
#18
I don't know why but I feel Ellen DeGeneres fakes her personality. Just look at her episode with the actress from 50 shades [Dakota Johnson].
Image credits: Maxpro2001
"Celebrities have no problem being admired by their fans! Keep that in mind if you run into your favorite star. They know meeting fans, and interacting with them, comes with the territory, and is part of their chosen profession," he said.
"If you’re feeling nervous, just think to yourself, ‘This person is a star because of me. This person is successful because of me. I actually pay their salary by purchasing, or viewing, or listening to what they produce.’ Then go for it, as long as your timing is right and you’re not interrupting a personal or work moment," Mike told Bored Panda.
#19
Kid Rock and Larry the Cable Guy are pretending to be white trash hillbillies when they are actually rich rednecks.
Image credits: Nice-GuyJon
#20
The vast majority of country music stars are not “country” in any sense of the word. Most came from rich families.
Image credits: BobSacramanto
#21
Could be wrong about this. But I am starting to think that Joe *the bro Jesus" Rogan is actually an insecure little man.
Image credits: hermiones_btthole
#22
Julie Andrews aka Mary Poppins. A family member worked with her very closely on a few productions. She's tough as nails, way smarter than she leads on, and has the mouth of a truck driver.
Image credits: fulthrottlejazzhands
#23
Worked at a hotel and met Pitbull. Really polite guy and seemed humble. His whole crew got big a** rooms with the best available accommodations. Pitbull got a small single queen and he basically cleaned his own room before he left. The girl that was him was anything but basic
Image credits: luisadee19
#24
I know for a fact that Cetherine Zeta Jones is a b**ch who treats regular people like complete s**t IRL. I used to work at Mandalay Bay in 2002 and she expected you to wait hand and foot on her and then zero tip for anything you did. Oversight is one thing as we understand that it happens with celebrities, but not to this extent.Jeremy Piven is also a MAJOR A**HOLE IRL. When I was working at a cafe in Brentwood back in 2005 he was notorious for being a d**k to all the waitresses there. So much so that he had to be removed on more than one occasion.
Image credits: IndioFromChino
#25
The Rock’s “aw shucks” routine is getting old. If you pay close attention, you realize it’s an act and the second you go against him the conversation will not be amicable.#26
My wife and her friend randomly were eating at the same restaurant as Jason Mraz a few years ago. Despite publicly talking up the benefits of his raw food/vegan diet, they watched him down two cheeseburgers at a place that doesn't serve veggie burgers.
Image credits: opulation-Tire
#27
Rammstein. They look like they beat up old grannie for fun, but they are a wholesome bunch.
Image credits: JazzPhobic
#28
I'm friends with someone who worked on a set with Bruce Willis. An intern at one point went up to him and told him how much he loved and appreciated his work. Bruce smiled and said thank you, and as soon as the intern walked away went to the guy's manager and proclaimed he would leave set if the intern wasn't fired immediately. The kid was fired and its pretty f**ked considering how much time and work he probably put in just to get to that point
Image credits: newyorkglaze
#29
DJ Khaled. I really struggle to believe that someone so stupid can have such a huge amount of success... I keep expecting to find out that he's an amazing comic mind and super intelligent and has just been punking us all this whole time with a character he's been playing.
Image credits: r-tyme
#30
Ariana GrandeShe's just playing a characters in public I bet she's not even slightly the sake person at home.
Image credits: CaptainSebT
#31
Jennifer Lawrence isn’t actually a party girl that drinks. She is a super put-together actress pretending to be relatable.#32
I have never heard anybody who has met William Shatner ever say a nice thing about him. Which is weird, because he just has the face of a person who seems likable to me.I've heard a lot of people say Adam West was a HUGE d**k, but I met him more than once, and he was incredibly kind, complimented my outfit, let me take a picture with him, AND gave me an autograph. I try not to bother people, and I hated being that guy (even when I was younger and dumber), but he was at a convention when I did stop him, and he was incredibly cool with it.
#33
Kevin Hart. If you watch that documentary about him, you see the mask slip a little when he loses the “everybody’s BFF” persona for a minute and is a REAL scumbag to one of his boys going on a completely unprovoked tirade about how “without ME, you’re NOTHING”
Image credits: UnclePepe
#34
Jared Leto. I used to be a huge fan of his band (30 Seconds to Mars) back in the day. He seemed pretty genuine and passionate about art and activism, based on old interviews I had seen. As time has gone on, he seems really self-serving and egotistic, like he sees himself as some profound artist who is changing the world.
Image credits: gh0stm4k3r
#35
Nicki Minaj. I mean she might be this weird woman who does sexual music videos. But she did donate to an Indian village without making much of a fuss about it.#36
Tucker Carlson knows 90 percent of what he peddles is bulls**t. He's just a sociopathic grifter.#37
Elisabeth Moss potentially.She is outwardly feminist and often plays very strong female roles. She is a Scientologist however, and the backlash to her golden globes speech is a little evidence that people are waking up to this. She also smokes a ton, but I bet most famous people do that. Not that that is a "bad" thing, but it's never an image that actors want to portray.
#38
Chris Pratt.I hate to say it but since he and Anna Faris split, his new wife and his Instagram posts are just…weird.
Image credits: Yippee614
#39
Kanye. He's a very disciplined performance, I can't believe he's like that in real life.
Image credits: godarddd
#40
John Elway has a huge reputation in the service industry in Colorado. He supposedly doesn't tip and treats staff like s**t.#41
Supposedly Die Antwoord is essentially putting on a really intense and deep art show and their entire persona is a complete act. If you think about it that is insane dedication. They're also covered in ridiculous tattoos.#42
Any of those YouTubers who are geared towards kids. If they were half as happy as they act, their eyes wouldn't look so dead#43
I hate to give him the “celebrity status,” but NikoAvocado.He use to weigh 200+ pounds less than he does now, could play violin and was just an average man. Then, he started Mukbang’s, and saw how many views he got. The crazier the video, the more views he would get. But unfortunately, it seems he is stuck in this lifestyle. He’s physically in terrible shape, I don’t even know where to start mentally.
Everyone can hate that sack of potatoes but I honestly hope he finds peace and doesn’t destroy his life for views of youtube.
#44
From what I've seen and heard, Conor McGregor is WAY more chill when there are no cameras around#45
Hilaria Baldwin is a pretty obvious one if she even counts as a celeb#46
I've read somewhere Jake Gyllenhaal puts on a fake public persona. Which is sad to me. I love that guy.from Bored Panda https://bit.ly/3nH7z0A
via Boredpanda
