7.
“At first, it was fun. Then, you find you can’t turn it off. I mean, everyone wants something from you. If you don’t say hello, someone gets offended. If you aren’t in a good mood, you just aren’t allowed an off day. As long as you provide the expectations people have of you, everything will go smoothly (even then, sometimes it will be rough). When you don’t provide that expectation, people judge you for it. I mean, one might think that you shouldn’t be so affected by what people think of you, but it has real consequences with fame, especially in the entertainment business. So, you play the role so much, and you are supposed to just smile, wave, and ignore the taunts. It just affects you despite your efforts to be sane and normal. Also, on top of that, there is no privacy. You always feel like you are in an exhibit at a museum.”
“Then one day, it hits you that no one truly cares about you. All that attention is a reflection of the fan’s needs/desires. They only care as far as you relate to them. So, all your effort is mostly just unappreciated. It can make you bitter. After the initial fun, I started really hating people. I had heard it all, seen it all. It just became so boring, so monotonous, so predictable. I isolated myself and went for the ‘least exposure.’ And that, too, changed when I let it all go. I see people who never escape that, even friends, even people who I thought could handle it well. It bothers you, but you can do nothing until they look inside and change it. Meanwhile, the world just crushes you.
My father, who was famous, always told me to be one step ahead, which is pretty hard. Always be off to someplace, never sit still. Don’t be complacent with your favorite places; constantly find new ones. Never go to the same place two days in a row. If you see me out somewhere, I don’t stay around very long, or the paps follow me. That way, no matter what comes of it: ‘Oh, they’re just busy.’ It has worked for the most part. Still, I get annoyed when they catch up sometimes. Look at any celeb caught on vacation — they know what I’m talking about.”