We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about their embarrassing, awkward, and downright humiliating celebrity encounters. Here are some of their best responses.
1. "One day at the grocery store, I saw Selena Gomez. I was a huge fan of hers, so I went up and tried to talk to her but tripped over my shoelace and fell flat on my face right in front of her. All I could say was, 'You’re pretty,' and then I ran away."
2. "A friend of mine saw Nick Lachey and his wife, Vanessa, at a University of Cincinnati basketball game. Because she was so starstruck, instead of yelling 'Hey Vanessa!', she yelled 'Hey Jessica!' – as in Jessica Simpson. Nick Lachey's ex-wife."
– Caitlin Klein, Facebook
3. "I once saw Pierce Brosnan at a resort while on vacation. I was so nervous that I fell off the sidewalk as we passed one another."
4. "I met Whoopi Goldberg in New York and was so excited that I told her that I loved her work in The Little Rascals. She doesn't have any speaking parts in that movie."
– Alyssa Kristine, Facebook
5. "I was at a meet-and-greet with Ariana Grande and before we took the photo I farted really loudly. There was kind of a long silence, and then she shifted away from me a bit and smiled awkwardly. My picture isn’t the cutest, but I still framed it."
6. "I told Busy Phillips I watch White Chicks at least once a week, and she told me that's the most pathetic thing she'd ever heard."
– Michael Swenk, Facebook
7. "When I was 14, Seth Meyers was the entertainment at my school’s annual fundraising party. That same night, my friend had unwittingly given me a large cup of strong Irish coffee thinking it was non-alcoholic. I proceeded to ask Seth to dance with me (twice), and then volunteered on behalf of one of my friends to ask a girl in his entourage if she was on Gossip Girl. And that’s the story of the first time I ever got drunk."
8. "First, let me admit that my celeb crush is (and has always been) Josh Peck. When I saw him at a hotel in Chicago a few years ago I was so overwhelmed, I leaned in and whispered, 'You smell just like I imagined you would.' He didn’t run away…he just said, 'Thanks, it’s my natural scent.'"
9. "My brother accidentally punched Bruce Springsteen in the face while he was running down the aisle at Jazz Fest."
10. "Many years ago I literally ran into Alexander Skarsgård in Stockholm. When I tried to step back and apologise, my hair got stuck in his jacket. I realised who it was, and I panicked when my hair wouldn’t come loose. I started babbling apologies and almost screamed, 'I swear I’m not doing this on purpose!' He just laughed, helped me untangle my hair, patted me on the head like a child, and hurried off. I wanted to die."
11. "I was on the news the same day Martha Stewart was on to do a segment on cooking. They offered me a piece of peach pie and it tasted so bad I spat it out. As I was spitting out my pie, she walked in and looked right at me, mid-spit."
12. "I worked on the set of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I didn’t know who Ezra Miller was, assumed he was an extra, and asked if he was interested in acting when he was older."
13. "I was at the airport and it was really early so no one else was around and all of a sudden my mom death grips my arm and goes, 'That’s Ben Affleck!' Since it was so early my brain wasn’t quite functioning yet, so as he walks by I go 'AH-FLACK.' He hears me, gives me a WTF look, and continues walking."
14. "I was a cocktail waitress at a Sundance Film Festival party, and I ended up serving on a balcony where the big-name stars were hanging out. I saw Paul Rudd having a conversation with someone, and without even thinking, got uncomfortably close to the two of them and stared until they stopped their conversation. It took a split second, but I finally said, 'Oh, can I get you anything?' I found a girl to take my place and hid downstairs for the rest of the night."
15. "I was in line for a ride at Disney when the group of girls behind me started hysterically screaming and pointing. When I asked the girl they were pointing at what the problem was, she just gave me a funny look and got on the ride. And that’s the story of how I didn’t recognise Kylie Jenner at Disney World."
16. "My husband and I visited the LA Festival of Books the same day Julie Andrews was scheduled to do a reading. The line to see her was so long and it was so hot that we quickly decided to call it a day. As we were walking behind the stage on which she was scheduled to appear, who should walk directly in front of us but Julie Andrews and her entire entourage. I grabbed onto my husband’s side so hard I left bruises – and I apparently screamed at the top of my lungs, 'I WISH JULIE ANDREWS WAS MY GRANDMA!'"
– jmeindl
17. "I was walking down the street in NYC and passed Kevin Bacon, who was walking his dog. The dog made a beeline for me and thrust his nose directly into my crotch...like, relentlessly pursuing my goods. Kevin was pulling on the dog's leash, trying to pull it back and apologising profusely. I was trying to laugh it off and let him know it wasn't a big deal, so I said, 'It's OK, he's probably just smelling my cat.' FML."
– Jamie Kate Cragwall, Facebook
18. "In around 2004, my cousin saw Fall Out Boy at the grocery store near Chicago. She waved at them and ran up, but Patrick Stump didn't notice her. She yelled 'HI' behind him and he screamed and dropped his milk."
19. "I met Jack Black two summers ago at a sushi restaurant. I was so starstruck and panicked that the first thing that came out of my mouth while I shook his hand was, 'Your performance in Nacho Libre was nothing less than Oscar-worthy.' Of all the movies he has been in, I blurted out Nacho Libre. He just gave me a soft smile, shook my hand, and walked away."
– Alessandra Mayne, Facebook
20. "I saw Ralph Fiennes in the West Village and accidentally screamed, 'IT'S VOLDEMORT!'"
– bartg
21. "When I met Ryan Gosling, I poked his arm because I didn't think he was real. I let my finger linger on his arm a few seconds, just to feel him, and we exchanged some awkward eye contact. I walked away immediately afterwards because I was too afraid to say anything."
– Gabriella Salazar, Facebook
22. "After watching Darren Criss on Broadway, I waited for him at the stage door. When he came out I yelled at him until I got his attention, but I couldn’t think of what to say, so I just said, 'nice eyeballs.'"
23. "I was working as an extra in a Harrison Ford movie and the shoot had gone on extremely long. As I watched Harrison doing stunts, I randomly mentioned to the guy next to me that he reminded me of my dad and that I wanted to give him a hug. On our next break, he made his way up the aisle, and just as he passed me, my fellow extra shouted, 'Hey! There goes your chance to hug Harrison!' To my complete chagrin, Harrison turned around, looked me in the eye and asked, 'What did you say?' I don’t do well under pressure, so my stammered response was, 'I was just saying you look like a man who likes to be hugged.'"
24. "I told the real Arnold Palmer that he looked a lot like Arnold Palmer."
– Trey Cantrell, Facebook
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.