Celebrities who have forbidden employees to look them in the eyes

Before anyone says this is a reasonable request because stars get tired of having people stare at them: no, this is not a reasonable request. You could say, "Please don't stare at me"--contractually requiring people not to meet you in the eye when they work for you is ridiculous diva behavior.

Vadge

Me two!

[quote]Me two!

⠕⠓⠀⠙⠑⠁⠗

Cruise on the set of (aptly) 'Eyes Wide Shut.'

What has Katy Perry done in her life to make her so arrogant?

Lady Gaga

Whitney Houston. My friend worked back stage at a concert she was performing at in the mid 90s. She popped a towel over her head and ordered everyone backstage not to look at her. What difference it made considering she had a towel over her head was a mystery. Her bodyguards surrounded her and ushered her back to her dressing room.

Once I ditched the heels, it became awkward having people fall to their knees to look me in the eye.

Maybe surprising to many of you, but many celebs have this as part of their job contracts with employees. May have started back in the ' Miss Ross' days, but it's become more popular (and pretentious). In fact, last month , on a quick jaunt over to Hawaii, Mr. H met with a good friend who is doing some major construction for Miss Oprah herself, at her (not so little) spread Upcountry, near Kula, on Maui - and yes, Miss O, and her people, instructed my friend, to tell his people (about 25 workers) not to pin their baby blues, or hazels, or any color eyes, on Miss Oprah's visage. Sad, but true.

I remember reading an item about Sandra Bullock in which unbeknownst to her the crew on the set of one of her movies was ordered not to make eye contact with her. Signs were even placed around the set to not look at Miss Bullock. Supposedly when Sandra saw one of the signs she ordered they all be taken down. She then threw the cast & crew a big party to break the ice & clear up the misunderstanding.

While trying to find the Sandra Bullock bit I came across this sweet little morsel from 2007.........

Jessica Alba Was Banned From Eye Contact On 'Beverly Hills 90210'

Jessica Alba was contractually forbidden from making eye contact with the likes of Luke Perry and Tori Spelling while working on the hit series Beverly Hills 90210 in 1998. Alba, who is currently dating film producer Cash Warren, was shocked by the behavior of her fellow actors on the set of the high school drama.

Alba, 25, says, "I don't really know why. Maybe because the leading characters were so popular they didn't want other actors looking at them.

"You wouldn't be allowed to talk to them unless they spoke to you first. It was bizarre. But I guess that's what happens when you become a big star.

"A lot of actors get away with murder on set, but I always like to be part of the crew."

R11 / R12 again. I'm now convinced that the Sandra Bullock piece I read was simply a PR plant to deflect bits like this...........

[quote] "I was an extra in The Lake House when Sandra Bullock was in it, and we were told that we were not allowed to make eye contact with her unless she initiated the eye contact." —AV Club's Steve Heisler in an interview with actress Kim Dickens

A friend of mine worked security at a Neil Diamond concert years ago. He obviously hates being looked at, so when he had to walk through a long corridor, leading to the stage, all the security people who lined the corridor were ordered to FACE THE WALL. He walked this "reverse gauntlet" with a towel over his head, so his face wouldn't be seen.

[quote]Maybe surprising to many of you, but many celebs have this as part of their job contracts with employees. May have started back in the ' Miss Ross' days

That Marian Ross would cut a bitch who dared look her in the eyes.

david letterman requires that when ne enters the building where his stood is, and exits, that no one be visible. you get a PA announcement that "mr letterman has entered the building" and everyone must hide.

I know Katy very well and this is a bs lie....where do people come up with this crap?

Streisand

R4, you just made me laugh out loud. Thanks!

Barry Manilow

Rosemary's Baby.

Is this come kind of phobia they develop?

rocky and bullwinkle

So-ooooo tired of these lame, no-talent douchebags walking around like some kind of royalty. Katy Perry??? PUH-LEASE.

Karen Black, but it was for their own good.

Don't you dare looking me in the eye!

Now gimme a fan!

How can someone like Gaga, who purports to be some kind of humanitarian, forbid one of the most basic human interactions with the people who work with her/for her? And yes, where doe someone like Katy Perry, whose only real talent is looking cute, get off with an edict like this?

Mr. Hankey. He's likely to give you the Stank Eye.

People that believe this are so gullible!!

[quote]we were not allowed to make eye contact with her unless she initiated the eye contact.

How would you know she'd made eye contact if you weren't allowed to look at her?

How, prey tell, does one know if the highly elevated star 'initiates eye contact' first, without being able to look at them? That's absurd.

On her web site, Streisand has said she has never had written into a contract or given an order to not be looked at by people who work for her or she works with.

Rob Lowe

I worked on a video shoot with Katy Perry. It's true. We were forbidden from making eye contact with her. Fucking talentless diva.

Yeah, R32. She also posted that she's never stuffed her bra.

R32 Looking at BS's face would be tantamount to looking at Medusa's! BS is doing all those people a favor, truth be told.

for r35

It's really dehumanizing, certainly subservient, to demand that their serfs not look into their eyes. Why do these celebrities demand this?

Ditto on Manilow. first hand experience.

My brother used to write for a magazine and was told not to look Gillian Anderson or David Duchovny in the eyes when he visited the set of X-Files in Vancouver. Something about breaking their concentration while in character.

I see nothing wrong with this. Imagine going to work and EVERYONE, absolutely EVERY SINGLE PERSON you walk by or are in the same room with is staring right at you the entire time. It's fucking freaky as fuck.

Ever since I read that Katy Perry doesn't allow drivers to look at her, I now realize that she's a bitch.

Why would anyone want to work with celebrities who aren't allowed to be looked at? This celebrity worship had gone way out of control.

Weren't actors during the Elizabethan years treated like shit? Now, I know why.

I can understand this if it breaks character or they are otherwise performing. Yet, to demand this in ordinarily interactions is pathetic.

[quote]I see nothing wrong with this.

Then you are a toady and a totale enabler.

[quote]Imagine going to work and EVERYONE, absolutely EVERY SINGLE PERSON you walk by or are in the same room with is staring right at you the entire time.

Oh, boo hoo hoo hoo! People who have wotked their whole lives to be famous have people staring at them? Oh, boo hoo hoo hoo!!!

If they don't want the fame R40 then go work in the theatre or do voice over work or become a drama teacher. You don't want everyone staring at you? Then don't strive to become a movie star or a pop star. But they do want the fame don't they? They want the fans chanting their names, the big bucks, the free clothes, the fawning, the endless offers of sex from hot strangers, the celebrity friends, the free drugs, the private planes, invitations to the best parties and the awards. But god forbid should anyone look at them.

And what happens when the fame dries up and no one looks at them anymore? They end up on dancing with the stars trying to salsa their way back into our hearts, so they can be stared at again.

Do NOT look me in the eye.

What crap. They are friggin performers, not messengers sent from some devine holy place. Why society continues to tolerate such bullshit from performers, athletes, artists, etc is beyond me. They are nodifferent than anyone else, just luckier in their walk of life. They should be ashamed.

This whole thread is absurd. I worked at a movie studio for years. While there were exceptions, nobody likes getting stared at.

The rule was treat them like a normal business relationship. Do not ask for an autograph. Do not stare like a star struck little girl.

When they call action, everybody on the set is staring at the actors. They each have a job to do, the actors and the stage hands.

The well known actors that did liked to be stared at were always cutting up and making jokes. However, they were rare.

r41, if a celebrity were to suggest that anyone not stare, a driver is the only one who makes sense. No one should be star-struck and gawking when they're supposed to be driving a car.

In your experience R48 are you saying that professional crews who are used to working with various celebrities need to be reminded not to stare at the star every time he or she works by? I can see how the new kid on the job might need a nudge, but I just can't see how everyone else needs to be told this. In fact, I've always been told that people who have been doing this for years can barely muster the energy to care, let alone be insulted with a "please don't stare" memo.

I think that almost always this sort of thing comes from handlers, managers, etc. and others who think it's their job, rather than from the performer.

Yes, R50, the other stage hands would take the staring newbie off the set and give them a tongue lashing for being such an idiot.

The actors did not have to say a word.

[quote]I see nothing wrong with this. Imagine going to work and EVERYONE, absolutely EVERY SINGLE PERSON you walk by or are in the same room with is staring right at you the entire time. It's fucking freaky as fuck.

Meh. It's just part of the job and it's not just celebrities.

I was "the big boss" at my company. Every time I walked through, by, around, or went anywhere - everyone looked at me. In every meeting, everyone looked at me all the time. I was on display and stared at all the time, it went with having the top job. I made people nervous and they couldn't help watching me and what I was doing.

Freaky as fuck? No. Uncomfortable? Sometimes. I dealt with it and never, ever dreamed of allowing my subordinates to ban people from looking at me. These celebrity retards are quick to blame their staff for implementing the "no look" rule without their knowledge but it's not the staff's fault. It's the celebrity's fault, it's the celebrity's doing and they really should be bitchslapped for it.

How gullible do you have to be to believe this?

[quote]When they call action, everybody on the set is staring at the actors.

No, it's actually quite boring. Most people on-set have no need to pay close attention to the action(or lack of) while the camera is rolling. Out come the magazines, the sudoku, the crossword puzzles, or they step away and whisper to each other until they're needed.

The only time ever, in my more than two decades working in television and film when I was told to not interact with the cast was when I was hired on "Charmed". And even then it came from other crew who learned from experience that for your own good and to prevent drama and hysterics from certain unhinged "Charmed" cast-members, just ignore them as much as possible.

I worked on a film staring David Duchovny and there was never any such order concerning the cast. Duchovny would even hang out and chat with us when he didn't need to be in front of the camera or in wardrobe or hair/makeup so I seriously doubt there was an order on X-Files.

Ray Charles was adamant about it.

On set, no one is supposed to be in an actor's eye-line. Actors should no be distracted by the world behind camera while they're being filmed.

True. An assistant director (AD) will usually caution "Watch your eye-lines!" or "clear the eye-lines!" before the director says "and.... action!"

For experienced crew, it's second-nature but the AD is doing his/her job with the reminder.

Oh, they'll want people to look at them, when the career is over and Hollywood shuts the door on them. Next stop, autograph shows.

R14's story has been around for a few years now, and it's always the same one, with a few variations. But I've worked with a couple of people who have worked with Diamond directly, spoken online to a few more, including a biographer, and none of them have seen the "face the wall" rule in action. There's plenty of footage of him backstage with crew walking around as usual.  I'm not convinced there's a standard "face the wall" clause.

Now the interesting thing is that there is much weirder stuff than "don't look at me" going on. Many women who work for him report that he just randomly grabs and kisses them for no reason. There's also footage of him from some TV special (I think) where he's goading the lighting tech into doing pushups to "convince" him to stay on his mark, and the stagehands put towels down on the floor for her like this is a common occurrence, and as she's doing pushups he goes over and tickles her torso, including her breasts.

So even though I'm not convinced there's a "face the wall" rule, I'm certain there is a lot more really interesting screwed-up shit going on with that man. Does everyone lose their shit when they get rich and famous or just people who were already nutty to begin with?

It's hard to imagine that Neil Diamond still gives concerts. What is he, 85?

From my understanding it's not a don't stare at them command but don't make eye contact. You can still act servantly and feast your eyes on Miss Streidand's feets.

[quote]Before anyone says this is a reasonable request because stars get tired of having people stare at them: no, this is not a reasonable request. You could say, "Please don't stare at me"--contractually requiring people not to meet you in the eye when they work for you is ridiculous diva behavior.

But seriously can someone explain the mentality behind this ritual? Sometimes, it seems, this has to be something more than simple arrogance on part of the celebrity. If it is so commonplace and if sometimes the celeb's "people" are doing it FOR the celebrity without their knowledge, what's the reasoning there?

I have a real estate agent friend in Beverly Hills who can attest to Katy Perry not wanting anybody to look her in the eye, or at least she refused to look the real estate agent in the eye, and yes, she's a huge cunt. For that matter, so is Christina Aguilera, who was also a client.

Howard Stern demands that the hallway from his studio to his office be empty when he is done and leaves the studio. Someone bust his balls on it and he said "look I just want to get the fuck out of here and in the old days there were 20 people all wanting something, a picture or a autograph or 10 mins of my time and I just want to go the fuck home. I can't control the exit from the building but I can at least get a quiet walk from my studio to my office.."

I kind of get it.

r14 If celebrities hated being looked at, they wouldn't be in please-look-at-me-showbiz to begin with.

Celebrities CRAVE being looked at.

All these cases of "don't look a star in the eye" crap are just a power game that is meant to make the regular ppl feel inferior and powerless around a celeb.

On their days off, these celebs go to the zoo, to stare at the animals.

There is a storage facility in Stamford, Connecticut that used to post signs asking patrons not to look at the celebrities. When I asked a staff person the identity of the celebrities, he replied, "Diana Ross." She lives in a mansion. Why does she need to rent out a locker in a storage facility?

r68 she keeps her dignity there.

When Diamond has played concerts in Austin he has a don't look me in the eyes rule. I knew one of the officers who works for UT PD and works security at the Erwin Center. He told me about other performers who had the same rule but I can't remember them. I remember Diamond because there was a lot of joking about who would want to look at him anyway. This was about 8 years ago.

I've been an extra many times over and have only been told not to ask for autographs or bother the celebs when we were in the meal tent. We always go out of our way to ignore them but they usually come over and hang out with us anyways. I hate it when they come over and sit with the extras for meals because it's pretty much an unspoken rule that we don't mingle.

R71 Who are some celebs you met on set?

I can sort of understand the not asking for autographs or bothering them when they are getting ready to shoot a scene, but when they are just walking around the set, or backstage? No eye contact? PUH-LEEZE.

It's the same attitude that made me quit doing theater. All the 'divas' with their 'process' and shit. I couldn't help laughing at the pretentiousness of it all. I sure as shit wouldn't be obeying the rules of Katy Fucking Perry.

R72 Ryan Gosling, Jack Black, Rosario Dawson, Keanu Reeves, Lisa Kudrow...those are the only ones that come to mind that I've actually had any bit of conversation with. Others I've just walked by or was in their presence enough to do my job--then I gtfo.

R74 Did Keanu say anything interesting? Did he look good in person? What year was that?

Celebs only demand this because enabling, pathetic cunts let them get away with it. If everyone else banded together and refused, celebs would be forced to interact just like the rest of us. Sadly, there will always be those desperate types who bow down. It's pathetic.

R76 You are completely correct. As someone who has met quite a few celebs, I can tell you that many of them are total assholes off camera and you wouldn't give them a second thought if you knew what assholes they truly are.

R77 can you recount who was nice and who was an asshole?

Personally I'm a fan of plenty celebs but I would never act like a starstruck clown when meeting 1 of them. They're just people. If they were rude, I would be rude back.

"How can someone like Gaga, who purports to be some kind of humanitarian, forbid one of the most basic human interactions with the people who work with her/for her?"

Because she and the rest are fake phonies. Maybe we should heed the Wizard's advice and pay no attention to those men behind the curtain.

Tom Welling had a clause that no one could look at him in between takes for years on Smallville. He got several people fired and replaced for violating it.

"he said "look I just want to get the fuck out of here and in the old days there were 20 people all wanting something, a picture or a autograph or 10 mins of my time"

Now, alas, nobody really wants anything from the "King of all Media."

"Please remember that when Miss Lucci comes onto the set, you are not to look her in the eye."

Please remember that if it wasn't for that stale Soap Opera, Miss Lucci's career would've ended during Gerald Ford's White House term.

[quote]I know Katy very well and this is a bs lie....where do people come up with this crap?

Many people have testified to the contrary due to personal experience with her. It sounds like you're the one who is in denial because you're starstruck.

I was once invited to a party in WeHo and just before I arrived, the host telephoned me and told me Nelsan Ellis, who plays Lafayette on True Blood, would be there and I could not look him in the eye. At the party, Nelsan sat with the hood of his fur-lined coat up so as not to see anyone not directly in his line of sight. His friends had to walk over and sit directly in front of him in order to talk to him. I thought he seemed severely damaged. I felt insulted by the host for putting an unreasonable stricture on his guests, and told him afterward I wouldn't ever come to a party where I was asked to do something like that.

Nobody even knows who Nelsan Ellis is? He must be a meth-head.

I was an extra in an Eddie Murphy film and it was announced that we were not to look into Mr. Murphy's eyes on the set.

It's also funny when celebrities call ahead and have a store closed so they can shop, then walk around the empty store with their collar up so the staff won't speak to or look at them. Like they couldn't just hang out a little with the peons who are, after all, there to get them their items.

John Cogar Mellencamp. Comedian Dom Irrera did a comedy bit about it.

So, R89, no looking down then?

I was watching into the woods interviews and I've discoverd. Chris pine can't be looked in the eye and Emily blunt had an onterage of 96. You can't touch her or look her in the eyes. Avril Lavigne is probably the worst though. You can't touch her look at her face or breathe on her. If you do she freaks out and screams people come and spray her with disinfectant. It's crazy I've seen videos

Bob Dylan is famous for not allowing people to look him in the eyes. At first it was thought to be an urban legend until his tour manager confirmed it. And yes he does the hood or towel over his face when he goes to his bus.

Jessica Lange. Don't flatter yourself, Jessica!

I do not understand the big deal, people only look me in the one time and that's it !

Onterage, R91?

Oh dear

If you were an extra on Will & Grace you couldn't look at Debra Messing

Some "method" actors use this as part of their process as to not be drawn back to themselves away from the character they are portraying. But if your process is that weak...you are tight rope walking on sewing thread to start with.

Like others I have been on set as an extra and the only thing we were told was please don't speak to the actors while getting ready for the scene. Nothing about not looking at them in the eye. The actors I've been on set with made a point of coming over and thanking us for coming out. The most gracious and engaging by far Cobie Smulders.... Sweet lady I understand there are a number of actors and actresses who suffer pretty severe social anxiety. Eye contact for these people is very uncomfortable some of those have been mentioned on this thread.

To be fair, Tori Spelling specifically requested that she not be POKED in her BROWN EYE. r12

A simple misunderstanding.

How can you work with people and not look at them? Do you walk around all day looking down? Are people constantly running into each other? What a bunch of self centered jackasses!

Renee Zellweger had this rule when she stayed in a hotel in SF

Once I saw Nicole Kidman out shopping in my city with her mother. I was surprised to find myself looking at her. I had never considered myself a fan. I thought she was much prettier in person. I suppose I was staring at her. She made eye contact with me and gave me a lovely, genuine smile. Maybe she would tell people not to look at her but I find it difficult to believe.

Did Charlotte Cushman have this rule? How about the Lunts?

You just know that a lot of the celebrities mentioned must hate it when their fame fades and no one even notices them anymore. From ordering that no one look at them to having no one look at them because no one cares. Careful what you wish for.

R104 don't I know it!

George Clooney Matt Damon Ben Affleck Jennifer Lawrence Queen Latifah Kobe Bryant Steve Buscemi Gwyneth Paltrow Steve Harvey

Prince does this too - I thought he was the only one, but apparently a lot more stars do this...

r 82, I've worked with La Lucci, and no one has ever told me that.

Nikki Minaj- you actually have to turn around or leave when she walks in. She's going down to Lauren Hill Road...

Katy Perry is great with the people she deems is cool. If you don't look it, she's a total bitch (I have 2 friends who have worked with her directly and hate her with the white hot heat of a thousand suns). I've worked with her, and she was reserved, but nobody told us not to look at her.

Faye Dunaway

Michael Jackson (but you can't help but stare at him). He usually wore reflective glasses.

Sandy Bullock is a lovely person.

Pink is also a wonderful gal.

r40, meet r1.

R65:

"To my fellow Sirius XFM employees...you ARE good enough to look at One Direction."

The HYPOCRISY.

Sandy Duncan really doesn't care about people looking at her in the eye.

So help me, God...

R108, interesting you say that about Nicki, it would appear she's steadily been earning that reputation for awhile now.

I also was an extra on The Lake House and both Bullock and Keanu were very friendly. Even Christopher Plummer, who is a notorious prick, came over and commented on a book I was reading during a break. The director was an asshole, however.

I used to do a lot of extra work when I was in grad school. I worked on The Breakup and, again, both Vince Vaughn and Aniston were very nice (Vaughn more so since he was a producer and interacted with everyone. Aniston asked me where I got my CFM shoes and I told her I stole them from my sister. She laughed.

Opera diva -- and I do mean DIVA -- Kethleen Battle. Once one of the Met's superstars, she was eventually fired during rehearsals for a major new production due to her unprofessional and erratic conduct.

One of her best known incidents occurred while she was guest starring at the San Fransisco Opera. While being driven in a limo, she called her agent in New York to contact the opera company to have them contact the limo driver to lower (or raise?) the heat in the car.

I feel the same as R40. How can you get anything done with people staring at you, wanting a piece of you, a picture? On the sidewalk you can be nice to fans but have your henchmen do the dirty work of ushering you along. At work, you're stuck.

Yeah but r101, pretty much any hotel has this rule about celebrities. On guy I worked with got fired because he just had t go up and gladhand hi favorite ball player. He just decided the risk was worth it.

As Battle's status grew, so did her reputation for being difficult and demanding.[25] In October 1992 when she opened the Boston Symphony Orchestra season, she reportedly banned an assistant conductor and other musicians from her rehearsals, changed hotels several times, and left behind what a report in The Boston Globe called 'a froth of ill will.'"[25]

In February 1994, during rehearsals for an upcoming production of La fille du régiment at the Metropolitan Opera, Battle was said to have subjected her fellow performers to "withering criticism" and made "almost paranoid demands that they not look at her."[26] General Manager Joseph Volpe responded by dismissing Battle from the production for "unprofessional actions" during rehearsals. Volpe called Battle's conduct "profoundly detrimental to the artistic collaboration among all the cast members" and indicated that he had "canceled all offers that have been made for the future."[27] Battle was replaced in La fille du régiment by Harolyn Blackwell.[28]

At the time of her termination from the Met, Michael Walsh of Time magazine reported that "the cast of The Daughter of the Regiment applauded when it was told during rehearsal that Battle had been fired."[26] After she sang with the San Francisco Opera at this time, several backstage workers wore T-shirts that read: "I survived the Battle".

[quote] Katy Perry

Nobody is looking at Katy's eyes regardless.

[quote]R13 "I was an extra in The Lake House when Sandra Bullock was in it, and we were told that we were not allowed to make eye contact with her unless she initiated the eye contact." —AV Club's Steve Heisler in an interview with actress Kim Dickens

I'm trying to picture how one could "initiate" eye contact with someone who is not looking in your face.

Do you snap your fingers? Send over a note?

Ellen pulls this kind of crap. I know this from someone who worked crew on her show. Everyone has to make themselves scarce when she's walking down the hall and generally keep away from her and not interact with her unless they are senior enough and have permission to do so. It sounded like she's quite the cunt and not remotely like her 'fun' on screen personality. Another total phony.