Fame isn't for everyone, including some celebs who are already famous. Believe it or not, there are many celebrities who hate being famous. That might not make sense to some, especially when you equate wealth and luxury with fame, and what could be so horrible about that? Well, when your privacy is constantly invaded, when you're repeatedly scrutinized for everything you do (like what you wear to the grocery store), and criticized for your thoughts and opinions, it's not really that desirable.
If you look at being a celebrity in that light, yeah, I definitely wouldn't be OK with being famous either. Waking up every day and having the paparazzi follow you, having an insane, crazy, hectic schedule, and answering questions left and right from the media? That doesn't sound like anything I'd like to deal with on a daily basis. But, unfortunately, that's the price you pay when you want to be an actor, musician, author, or whatever other high-profile profession you choose.
There are some who just can't handle it nor like it, which is totally understandable. Actually, there are many famous faces who've spoken bluntly about it and basically said, "Fame and being a celebrity totally blows." If you're Shia LaBeouf, well then you just wear a bag over your head.
Whatever the case, here are several celebs who hate fame and aren't afraid to say it.
1. Kristen Stewart
The Twilight actor has been known from time to time to say she isn't a fan of fame. In 2015, she came outright and said to Harper's Bazaar U.K., "Fame is the worst thing in the world. Especially if it’s pointless. When people say, 'I want to be famous' – why? You don’t do anything?" She also added about doing interviews, press conferences, and red carpets, "Having that much human energy thrust at you and then being critically analyzed is obviously disarming."
2. Shia LaBeouf
As you can see above, in 2014 the former star of Disney Channel's Even Stevens declared how he wasn't famous by wearing a bag over his head, which pretty much solidified how over fame he was. Actually, in January 2014, he announced via Twitter after being accused of plagiarizing Daniel Clowes, "In light of the recent attacks against my artistic integrity, I am retiring from all public life. My love goes out to those who have supported me."
3. Johnny Depp
Apparently, Depp hates being in the public eye so much so that he once compared it to the life of a fugitive. As he told Today in 2014, "It's a little bit like living like a fugitive. Everything has to be some sort of strategy. To get you into the hotel, to get you out of the hotel, to get you into the restaurant, to get you out of the restaurant." He said something along the same lines in 2013 while chatting with Fox News, "I don't mean this in a way that is whiny or complaining or anything like that because I know how lucky I am to have been around this long and to maintain this career... you got to pay the piper, as well, in the sense of anonymity."
4. Shailene Woodley
As reported in 2011 by W magazine, Divergent actor Shailene Woodley also isn't a fan of being in the spotlight. She said, "To me, the F-word is 'famous,' and the C-word is 'celebrity.' I hate those words with a passion." Well, I think it's safe to say if you equate the "F-word" with "famous," then, yeah, you definitely despise fame.
5. Jennifer Lawrence
In a 2016 interview with Glamour, J. Law got candid (no surprise here) about going from slightly famous to super famous. Hint: She's not a fan, but doesn't like to complain about it too much. She also feels like celebrities should get time off from being a celeb. She said,
Yes. Three months. "Oh, it’s my three months off. You can’t photograph me." I would love to be able to control being photographed. Then I wouldn’t have a new headline out today that I wore the same jeans three days in a row. [Laughs.] I was like, “First of all, yes, I did. Second of all, f*ck you, yes, I did.” [Laughs.] But I hate the “movie star blues.” We are so lucky, and I love my life. I wouldn’t take any of it back for anything. So I don’t like complaining about it.
6. Megan Fox
Megan Fox isn't one to hold back, especially when it comes to telling the world how she really feels about being an actor. In a 2013 interview with Esquire, she even compared fame to being bullied. She said,
I don't think people understand. They all think we should shut the f*ck up and stop complaining because you live in a big house or you drive a Bentley. So your life must be so great. What people don’t realize is that fame, whatever your [sic] worst experience in high school, when you were being bullied by those 10 kids in high school, fame is that, but on a global scale, where you’re being bullied by millions of people constantly.
7. Zach Galifianakis
For a hilarious comedian, The Hangover star sure hates being recognized. During a press conference for the 2014 film Birdman, he confessed,
Being a celebrity is sh*t — it's dumb and I'm not interested in it. I like to be an actor, and that's it. The blurred lines are, I think, man-made. I think celebrity is a man-made thing. It's not innate in us. We have people telling us, "We should pay attention to these people," for all the wrong reasons, their personal lives and whatnot … I'd rather just do my work and go home and watch Lifetime.
8. Chris Evans
Even Captain America doesn't like being the hero all the time. Actually, as Evans told The Boston Globe in 2009, he's trying to avoid becoming Brad Pitt. "I think when I first came out here I was very hungry to get to the top. Now I’m kind of at this middle road, and I’m looking around like, isn’t life pretty much as great as I want it right now? If you get too far, there’s no off switch. Once you’re Brad Pitt, you can’t not be Brad Pitt."
9. George Clooney
I think it's safe to say most people understand why George Clooney wouldn't be a fan of fame. He's such a huge celebrity that I'm sure the daily ins and outs of the paparazzi, tabloids, etc. get old real quick. As he told Esquire U.K. in 2014, many probably think, "What’s the guy in the big house on the hill got to complain about?" But as he put it, "But the truth is, the big house on a hill is isolating. There’s no other way to say it. There are restrictions to this kind of fame. I haven’t walked in Central Park for 15 years. I’d like to, you know?"
That said, he did admit that "it's the price you pay" for wanting to star in movies and be an actor. "There’s a funny thing about fame,” he said. "The truth is you run as fast as you can towards it because it’s everything you want. Not just the fame but what it represents, meaning work, meaning opportunity. And then you get there and it’s shocking how immediately you become enveloped in this world that is incredibly restricting."
10. Robert Pattinson
Like his Twilight co-star and former girlfriend, Stewart, Pattinson also looks at fame quite differently than most, especially outsiders. Like he told GQ in 2013, "It's strange, you don't have a normal life anymore. You spend much time trying to fight it, but in the end you find another way to live." He then added, "People don't realize how lonely you are. In any case, I feel fortunate because success didn't reach me very young, at least, I had the opportunity to have a life before."
11. FKA Twigs
Like her boyfriend Robert Pattinson, FKA Twigs doesn't like the paparazzi that follow her because of her relationship. While chatting with the New York Times in 2015, she said about the photogs, "It’s really hard — I can’t begin to explain how awful it is. It makes you want to just stop everything sometimes. It makes you want to smash your face into the mirror."
She even admitted that the attention her relationship gets in the way professionally. "There’s no amount of songs I can sing or dances I can dance that will prove to them I’m not a monkey," she confessed. That said, even though the singer never expected her life to turn out like this she is beyond grateful. "But it’s worth it," she said. "I’m so happy."
There you have it. Sometimes fame isn't all it's cracked up to be.
