8 things to do when a celeb snubs you

A sign of good times, actually

Visualise this: You’ve admired this actor, model, cricketer, or filmmaker all your life. Just like PiKu’s fandom for ViRu in my book PiKu & ViRu. (Buy/download/read/review it here—it’s FREE on Kindle Unlimited!)

Suddenly, fate brings you face-to-face with your idol at an event, during a flight, or on a serendipitous Zoom call.

You’re nervous AF, yet you muster the courage to talk to them and tell them how huge a fan you are of their work.

But your dream conversation is cut short.

The celeb simply refuses to acknowledge you, forget replying to your ‘Hi’.

You’re heartbroken—thoroughly embarrassed, too.

What are you going to tell your friends and family about this person?

You fear coming across as a clown if you admit the truth.

Yet, your conscience doesn’t permit you to lie about the incident and let this celeb get away with what they’ve done.

What do you do in this case?

Here’s some expert help from yours truly, who’s a pro at being celebrity-snubbed.

Accept that it happened

Don’t worry about coming across as egoistic. Don’t try to brush off the incident as the celebrity having a bad day.

Permit yourself to feel sad and angry. It’s human to do so.

Snubbing is not cool, no matter how busy that person is or how bad a day they’re having, period!

Take them off your life

Remember how you threw your ex out of your life post-breakup?

It’s the same drift.

Tear the celebrity’s posters off your wall, unfollow them on social media, refuse to watch their movies or matches.

This is your way of saying, “I won’t let you get away with it.”

Work harder than them

Take your celeb-snubbing incident as a sign that the universe wants you to become a bigger, better person.

So, go write that book, audition for that role, pen down that screenplay, learn that foreign language, start that company you’ve been dreaming about. Use these 50 business lessons from celebrated chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain’s bestselling book Kitchen Confidential as a guide.

Even if that celebrity doesn’t come to you for an autograph, selfie, or *gloat gloat* work, you’ve still done something more worthwhile with your time.

Laugh it off

Instead of indulging in face-saving behaviour, just embrace your comic self and tell the world you were snubbed by this megastar. You’ll up your cool quotient this way.

But don’t tag them on social media

Burning bridges is never an option. Imagine facing this particular celebrity for a job interview after you’ve roasted them on Twitter (or perhaps even been blocked by them), especially if it’s a lucrative once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Don’t stop meeting more celebs

Of course, you’re justified in switching celeb loyalties, but don’t let one incident hold you back from approaching other people. The celeb world is a huge pool, and you’ll easily find plenty of politer, better-mannered folks in it.

Ruin their auditions

If the devil in you is still itching to do something, here’s a sneaky tip inspired by the popular 90s sitcom Hum Paanch. (I know it’s a problematic show, but this one could be worth some mischief, hehe.)

If you can, find out where your heartbreaker star is trying their luck for their next gig or assignment, and show up—with a bagful of tamarinds.

Suck on the tamarinds in front of the celeb when they begin saying their lines.

You can safely bet they won’t be able to make it past the first line without stammering, and your job will be done.

Personally, I don’t endorse this suggestion, so it’s just an idea, nothing more.

Write about it

Do you think this post came from a random chain of thoughts?

Not at all!

This was within an hour of a real-life incident.

What was supposed to have been a film review and a selfie with this celeb is now a genuine embrace for every friend who’s been through this obnoxiousness but could never talk about it.

You could also write a comedy sketch on your experience, upload the clip on YouTube and see yourself becoming a stand-up sensation!

Or depict your tragedy in a cartoon strip.

Or write a book, like how I did.

As they say, turn your broken heart into a piece of art.

Refer to this cheat sheet to mine content ideas from such life incidents and more.

Have you ever been snubbed by someone famous? How did you react to it? Let us know in the comments.