“Don’t You Know Who I Am?”: 107 Times People Embarrassed Themselves By Not Realizing Who They Were Talking To (New Pics)
Many of us spend a decent chunk of our time following our favorite actors, musicians, and other public figures on social media and in the news. However, unless you happen to live in Hollywood, you probably don’t consider that you’ll ever run into these stars in person. However, Fate is fickle and has a good sense of humor.
Bored Panda has collected some of the most intriguing internet posts about folks accidentally meeting celebrities and talking to well-known people without even realizing who they were. Scroll down for a good dose of humor, confusion, and embarrassment. Enjoy the stories, and don’t forget to upvote your fave posts!
Entertainment, pop culture, and lifestyle expert Mike Sington, from Hollywood, was kind enough to share his thoughts on what to do if you recognize a celebrity only in the middle of your conversation. He also shared a few insights with Bored Panda on what stars should keep in mind while in public.
#1 Rage Against The Barista
Image credits: tmorello
"If I were in a situation where I was talking to a celebrity and didn't realize who they were, I would simply continue the conversation as if they were any other person," celebrity expert Mike, Hollywood's Ultimate Insider, told Bored Panda.
"I would treat them with the same respect and courtesy that I would extend to anyone else. If I eventually found out that they were a celebrity, I would still maintain a professional and respectful demeanor," he said.
"To avoid embarrassment in such a situation, it is important to focus on the conversation and the person you are speaking with, rather than their celebrity status. It is also helpful to keep an open mind and be prepared to learn from the experience."
#2 Tony Walks Into An Elevator…
Image credits: tonyhawk
#3 Jeff Goldblum Pretends Not To Know Who Jeff Goldblum Is
Image credits: Zealousideal_Talk479
According to Mike, celebrities should always keep in mind that they're constantly in the public eye—fans can (and do) approach them at any time.
"They should be gracious and polite when interacting with fans, even if they are not feeling their best," the expert explained the right etiquette to us.
"Celebrities should also be aware of their surroundings and take steps to ensure their safety, such as traveling with security or being mindful of their personal space. Ultimately, celebrities have a responsibility to set a positive example for their fans and the public, and they should strive to do so in all their interactions, whether in public or private."
#4 Youtuber Told To Watch Her Own Channel
Image credits: ContraPoints
#5 Jack Monroe Has A Tony Hawk Moment (With A Happy Ending For A Change)
Image credits: BootstrapCook
#6 I Thought This Was A Good One, Spotted On My Twitter
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It can be absolutely mortifying to realize that you’ve been speaking to a star without even realizing it—especially if you’ve said or done something foolish. And, look, the fact of the matter is that nobody really enjoys feeling like they’ve embarrassed themselves.
All of us want to be adored and respected by our peers (even if we sometimes pretend like we’re above it), so finding ourselves in a situation where we’ve made a mistake, in public, isn’t how we imagine having a good time. Imagine if someone famous you’ve been looking up to all of your life was to think you’re a tad weird. The horror! Fortunately, it’s not the end of the world.
#7 How Dare You?
Image credits: MohanadElshieky
#8 What Would A 4-Times Olympian & Triple World Champion Athlete Know About Elite Athletics
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#9 Actually, It's Miss Doctor
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If you’re ever in an awkward situation, you essentially have three options open to you. You can ignore reality and desperately pretend that nothing embarrassing happened. You can quickly mumble an excuse and physically extract yourself from the situation (possibly replaying the interaction in your head all day afterward). Or you can do the mature but uncomfortable thing: slow down, feel whatever messy feelings and chaotic thoughts are raging inside you, and embrace them.
As we’ve covered on Bored Panda before, by accepting what’s happened and showing everyone that you were slightly embarrassed by it all, you’re (somewhat ironic) improving your reputation among the people who saw you mess up. It’s counterintuitive but it works! It also improves your emotional resilience.
#10 It’s Always A Kevin
Image credits: JolyonMaugham
#11 Condescending People Are The Worst
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#12 The ‘Nerve’ On This Guy…
Image credits: Could-you-end-me
We tend to like people more if they admit to their mistakes and have a good sense of humor. Contrast that with folks who are such perfectionists that they deny they’ve made any mistake at all. Or individuals who run away at the slightest sign of social discomfort. Honesty and straightforwardness will help you make more friends than pretense.
#13 I Think He'd Be Pretty Disappointed If He Didn't See The Lead Singer Of The Band In There
Image credits: Tim_Burgess
#14 Creating A Package Doesn't Mean You Are Familiar With It
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#15 Algorithm
Image credits: DavidCornDC
Besides, by dealing with your embarrassment here and now, you’re stopping it from strengthening and morphing into shame now. Better a bit of social discomfort and a quick apology to your fave celeb for being a clutz/jerk/having the emotional intelligence of a rusty spoon, than spending the next few years cringing every time you think back to what happened. By being humble and communicative, we have the power to solve quite a few issues!
#16 Tony Can’t Catch A Break
Image credits: tonyhawk
#17 You Don’t Know Who Will Wheaton Is, Do You?
Image credits: whoozywhatzitnow
#18 In The Future, Everyone Will Be Tony Hawk For 15 Minutes
Image credits: itsnashflynn
Odds are that if you’re polite and say ‘sorry’ for any real or perceived slight, the celeb is bound to accept your apology. The best stars are graceful and gracious—they know that not everything will go smoothly in public, but they know how to stay cool under pressure. Besides, they probably know that not everyone will recognize them.
#19 Lady Does A Good Swim
Image credits: LizzieSimmonds1
#20 A Pretty Wholesome One
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#21 Main Character Syndrome
Image credits: ItalianGreyhounds
The average person spends most of their time worrying about how others will perceive them instead of really noticing who’s around them. Tom Brady or Joe Biden might come into your coffee shop and you might not recognize them because they’re physically in a different context than you’re used to seeing them, so you think they’re simply lookalikes.
#22 Just Found This One In The Wild
Image credits: swagfugu
#23 Matt Leblanc (Joey From Friends) On Meeting Younger Fans
Image credits: FernandoMty
#24 One Of The Early Developers Of The Go Programming Language Is Being Told By A Recruiter They Can Teach Him Go If He Doesn‘T Know It Yet
Image credits: _rsc
Or they might be wearing clothes that you’re not seeing them in. In short, we don’t live our lives expecting to stumble across Barack Obama or Tony Hawk while we’re out shopping for groceries. But if you do spot them, be courteous, treat them like any other human being (i.e. be polite and kind), but feel free to compliment their work and/or achievements if you feel it's appropriate. Don't gush, but don't be aloof, either.
#25 Yeah, Scott‘S A Well Known Microsoft Mvp With A Long History In Tech (And With Ms), But Sure He Doesn‘T Know Anything About Windows
Image credits: swiss-nibbler
#26 On A Post About How Amusement Parks Should Raise Their Wages.
Image credits: 7ballcraze
#27 Mike Offers An Engineering Role To Microsoft Azure Cto
Image credits: markrussinovich
We’d love to hear some of your own stories about meeting well-known people you didn’t even realize were (semi)famous, dear Pandas. Drop by the comments to share your experiences. And we’re curious about which of these posts you enjoyed the most. Be sure to share your opinions.
For some more stories about people who had no idea who the heck they were talking to, check out Bored Panda's earlier post right over here.
#28 Dead Serious
Image credits: DefendtheStarLeague
#29 British Tennis Player Gets Mistaken... For Himself
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#30 How Do You Know?
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#31 Elon Musk Doesn't Know Who Garry Kasparov Is
Image credits: KaseQuarkI
#32 Yes, Mister Edward. Do You Think You Have What It Takes To Be Hated?
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#33 Random Person Explaining An Astronaut How Space Works
Image credits: dutchess_of_pork
#34 Telling A Comic Book Writer To Get A Real Job
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#35 Fair Point Well Made
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#36 She Could Have Clicked To Check His Bio Before Asking. Would Have Saved Her Some Time Too.
Image credits: JeezuzTheZavior
#37 A Pleasant Twitter Interaction
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#38 ‘You Know Nothing About Game Development’ To A Certified Twitter Account For An Indie Dev After He Carefully Explained Why Nfts In Games Would Be Troublesome At Best.
Image credits: thebeatabouttostrike
#39 Called Out For Performing My Own Song. Life Goal Achieved
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#40 Have You Seen The Wire?
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#41 Mit Graduate Gets To Show Off His Stem Degrees
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#42 Basement Dweller Gets Roasted By Indiana Jones 5 Director
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#43 I Wrote The Movie
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#44 Telling Middle East Politics Expert To Learn Something About The Region
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#45 Tony Hawk Truly Is The King Of This Sub
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#46 User Tells Nfl Player To Take A Class In Economics. Well...
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#47 Italian Researcher Getting Sent His Own Article About Grafene By Antivaxxers :)
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#48 On An Article About Nuclear Submarines
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#49 Talking Down To A Professional Character Artist
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#50 What Could Go Wrong Arguing With The Creator Of Deadpool?
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#51 Musk Fan Trying To Shut Down Famous Computer Scientist
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#52 Been A Wild Couple Weeks On The Internet. Vax Experts To Geopolitical Experts To Nuclear Experts All In 2 Weeks.
Image credits: TheBonusWings
#53 Apparently Pro Rugby Player Ian Madigan Is Not Qualified To Comment On A Match He Played In
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#54 Father Of The Xbox Is Told He Doesn’t Understand Gaming.
Image credits: WeightliftingTA
#55 Sonic Fan Speeds To Conclusions Too Quickly
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#56 Let’s Reply To The Senior Advisor Of The Eu Parliament And Ask For A Source On The Eu
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#57 Ahh... The Good Old "Do Some Research" At The Guy Who Wrote A Book About It
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#58 Pato O'ward Cheers For His Favourite Indycar Driver
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#59 On A Thread Of People Arguing That Scots Isn’t A Language. Apologies For The Scrappy Censoring.
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#60 Twitter User Isn’t Really Sure Who He’s Insulting
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#61 An Unfortunate Mistake
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#62 He Tried. Bless
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#63 “You Know Nothing About Crypto.” I Created Crypto
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#64 Former Head Of FBI Counterintelligence
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#65 Arguing With The Artist
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#66 Mark Is An Openly Gay Media Analyst And Writer
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#67 Gail Simone Is A Regular Here Huh
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#68 On A Twitter Post About A Woman Claiming To Have Seizures From The Vaccine
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#69 Ranting Against Cyclists To A Multiple World And Olympic Champion Cyclist
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#70 Orbital Police
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#71 Yer A Wizard Harry (Rip Mr. Coltrane)
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#72 Advice On Getting Somewhere “Substantial” For The Person Who Wrote The Book On Rust Programming
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#73 Dude Explains Subreddit Purpose
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#74 Random Twitter Account vs. Rabbi And Bible Teacher
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#75 Poor Joel
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#76 Watch Out For Ctos, They're Everywhere
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#77 Pokéfan Calls Out A Pokéartist Too Quickly
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#78 Someone's Quick To Call People Racist
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#79 I Guess Ritz Is In The Dictionary For A Reason
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#80 I Wouldn’t Usually Pull The “Don’t You Know Who I Am” Line But I Couldn’t Resist
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#81 Ethan Hein, Who Has A Doctorate In Music Education, Was Recommended His Own Blog In Response To His Post In R/Musictheory
Image credits: Cheap-Sky-5459
#82 Source???
Image credits: RobotPirateMoses
#83 One Of These People Definitely Don’t Do Their Research
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#84 Worth Reading To The End.
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#85 Re: Alec Baldwin
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#86 Arrogantly Told The Author To Read Some Nietzsche, Not Knowing The Author Wrote A Whole Book About Nietzsche
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#87 “I Don’t Think You’ve Been To This Country” “I … Was Born There” (Green = Me)
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#88 What Qualifies This Astrophysicist To Be A Spokesperson About A Moon Landing???
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#89 Source?
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#90 Forgot To Take The Safety Off
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#91 He Created El Tigre
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#92 Telling The Director Of Shazam What Is In His Own Movie
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#93 Well Someone Wasn't Paying Attention
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#94 A Simple Bio Check Could Have Been Nice
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#95 Congressman Complained That Aoc Won… To Aoc
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#96 Do You Understand E Of Economy?
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#97 Gravely Ill Son Of A Leader Of The Human Genome Project Is Advised To “Run A Genetic Test”
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#98 Someone Got "Schooled"
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#99 Hank Censored The Poor Sap’s Handle But, C’mon… ??♂️
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#100 This Community Doesn’t Allow Crossposts. You Can Skim/Skip Most Of The Original Post, The Gold Is In The Comments
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#101 Guy Thinks Ops Art Looks Similar To A Popular Artist. Op Is The Artist
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#102 Man Sends A Haskell Tutorial Made For Kids To A Developer Of The Haskell Compiler
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#103 Commenter Makes Up Story About Getting Banned, Gets Noticed By A Moderator
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#104 I Wonder If Dan Is Into Rivals?
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#105 From R/Whowouldwin's Current Featured Character
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#106 Asking An Electrician If They Know What Electrocuted Means
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#107 Telling A Member Of The Band About His Bandmate
Image credits: PoliticalMilkman