14 DAY TRIAL // Because of social media and smartphones, celebrities never get a day off anymore: whether they’re working, running errands or vacationing with the family, they must be on their best behavior at all times because the fans are there to demand a piece of them.
So, whether they want to or not, they must pose for selfies with the fans, sign autographs and pretty much act like they’re doing a promo tour. “Vampire Diaries” star Ian Somerhalder wasn’t into that during a recent Paris trip.
Ian addresses fans, makes one cry
In the video below, Ian and new wife Nikki Reed are coming out of their hotel in Paris, France. They are there on vacation, an extension to their honeymoon, and they seemed somehow taken aback by the large group of fans and paparazzi waiting for them outside.
Ian shakes a couple of hands and addresses the fans immediately: this is his day, not theirs. He has nothing but love for them, but he won’t be posing for photos, he says, asking them not to follow him and Nikki around town.
At one point, a girl standing by the side, touches him on the arm, and completely ignoring what he’d said, asks him for “just one” picture. “It’s not just one...,” he tells her, trying to convey to her the idea that, if he agrees to do one photo with her, he would have to do the same for the other fans there.
The girl starts to cry, which is when Ian touches her on the shoulder and tells her, “Hey, I’m right there.” As in, “instead of crying you didn’t get a photo to post to social media, live in the moment when we’re actually interacting.”
With a few more “I love yous” and “Thank yous,” Ian moves toward the car, making sure Nikki is coming right behind him.
Not rude, only fair
Some voices online claim Ian was “rude” to the fan because, for all the time he spent making that speech, he could have posed for several selfies and thus not broken that girl’s heart.
However, most point out that Ian is actually the nice guy here: it’s the fans who are imposing on him by pressing him for something he has no obligation to comply with. He just wants to enjoy the sights of Paris with his wife and not have to “work,” as much as he loves his fans. So why should he not be allowed to do it?
In fact, if you consider the way many celebrities act around their fans when they’re not promoting something, Ian actually goes beyond the call of duty in the way he handles this intrusion of his privacy. Any other star would have probably rushed to the car hidden behind sunglasses and an army of bodyguards: Ian actually stops and talks to them, and he does it in the kindest manner.
Indeed, celebrities owe everything to their fans, but that doesn’t mean that the fans should turn them into their commodities, ready to smile for a photo whenever they (the fans) want it.
Check out the video below and then drop us a line in the comments with your thoughts on it: do you think Ian handled the situation well, or was he just being “rude”?
