Do you know who I am? : The Celebrity Ego Thread

[Richard Channing]

Inspired by a couple of recent posts by @Mel O’Drama, one about Will & Grace's Eric McCormack having a tantrum because Madonna didn't know his name, and another about Debra Winger claiming that Lynda Carter wouldn't allow anyone to have the same colour eye shadow as her on Wonder Woman (although in the interview it's Winger who comes across like the bitch/diva), I thought it would be fun to devote a thread to stories about celebrity egos/tantrums/demands.

Stories from the set about stars who are difficult to work with, ridiculous demands or clauses in their contacts, and interviews or quotes where they expose their inflated egos.


One interview that springs to mind is Jerry Seinfeld's appearance on Larry King where he got very upset at the word 'cancellation' and his show being used in the same sentence. I like Seinfeld, and always thought Jerry came across as smug and judgmental, but I had no idea he was such a pompous asshole until I saw this.

He demonstrates this even further in this interview:

 

[Sarah]

(although in the interview it's Winger who comes across like the bitch/diva

Oh!! The irony!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Richard Channing]

Oh!! The irony!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Indeed. I think it's worth reposting these to give Lynda the chance to clear her name over the eye shadow accusations. She's having none of it and rightly points out just how many other actors have found Debra difficult to work with. Actually I had no idea the list was so long! I know she and Shirley MacClaine couldn't stand each other, but then I kind of imagined working with Shirley might not be a walk in the park either.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

So many people to dislike; so little time.

I pretty much dislike MacClaine for all the obvious reasons, but can watch her as an actress. Same with Winger. Carter was perfectly cast as Wonder Woman, but I think Lyle Waggoner said she didn't really want any co-stars.

I think Seinfeld is just being his brand of funny.

 

[Barbara Fan]

love it, insipid actress - love it when they get taken down to earth

 

[Richard Channing]

love it, insipid actress - love it when they get taken down to earth

Ooooh, I'd never actually seen/heard the footage. It doesn't get much more embarrassing than this. She's more of an idiot than I ever gave her credit for. And since when has being arrested been anti-American?!?

 

[Daniel Avery]

I'll have to think a bit deeper on this (indeed, so many people to hate on!) but off the top of my head:

Susan Lucci was dead-set against her All My Children character, Erica Kane, being depicted as...well, her correct age. She fought a ret-conned daughter (Kendall) being written in because mentioning the girl's age meant viewers would be able to 'do the math' and make Erica look about seven years older than what she played. The mutual dislike between Lucci and the actress who played her long-lost daughter (Buffy's Sarah Michelle Gellar) was palpable. Even when they later "de-aged" Kendall, hoping to make Lucci happier, the bad blood remained. Even more humorous over time was when Erica's other, younger daughter Bianca had a baby. No script ever referred to Erica as having a "grandchild", she was never called "grandma" or any derivative of that term, and characters actually had to say awkward things like "Erica's daughter's daughter" on several occasions to get around it. Kendall also had a child eventually, but I'm not sure if the "Grandma Embargo" had been lifted by that point.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Eileen Fulton of As the World Turns allegedly had a clause in her contract where her character, Lisa Grimaldi, was never to become a grandmother. In her time, "Lisa" was a major daytime "bad girl" character who even got her own prime-time spin-off series for a while, so the demand to remain grandchild-less was one that the producers were keen to give her in order to keep her around. Lisa had a grown son, Tom Hughes, who went from one failed romance to another for decades because the writers were not allowed to marry him off and give him a family of his own.
At some point they were unwilling to go along, or Fulton didn't care as much, because Tom ended up with a couple of kids; one was played by Ming Wa, and another by Billy Magnussen.

Hot from the headlines, Steve Harvey just can't catch a break these days....http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/steve-harvey-memo-staff-talk-show-1202423077/

 

[Emelee]

One interview that springs to mind is Jerry Seinfeld's appearance on Larry King where he got very upset at the word 'cancellation' and his show being used in the same sentence. I like Seinfeld, and always thought Jerry came across as smug and judgmental, but I had no idea he was such a pompous asshole until I saw this.

He demonstrates this even further in this interview:

That's 100% the Seinfeld humor (also, the Larry David humor) that I absolutely LOVE!!! It's that humor that makes Seinfeld the best sit-com ever in history. It's the "self-absored, everyone else are just dumb" kind of humor that is a signature on Seinfeld. The reason why the characters could never hold on to their partners, why they could be themselves only in front of each other and also why they ended up in prison at the end.