Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer discussed some fans going too far with celebrity worship in a recent CTV interview. He mentioned he really started to notice it when he used to hang out with the band’s former guitarist John Frusciante.
“I don’t get it very often. If Anthony and Flea hadn’t been out to dinner with us last night, I probably wouldn’t have been recognized at all. I was not in the band for a long time, and I used to go out with those guys. I was good friends with John, the former guitar player, and we would go out together, and I was really good at spotting the people, recognizing them, getting all weird, and starting to stare. I’m kind of used to that.
Again, people are very sweet often, but you get people who don’t understand that just because you play in a popular rock and roll band, you’re a normal person. You don’t want to be treated that way, that’s the most embarrassing thing. It’s unhealthy to walk around being treated like you’re something that special.”
He added, “I spent a long time, not being a whatever that means, a rock star. I used to tour with this band as the bonus guitar player, I am not a rock star, and then as I graduate to full time member, nothing about me changes, except that maybe I can afford rent now. But really, nothing about my life changes.
I find that people will react harshly to you if you start acting like you’re something special and important, and start demanding that people do things for you and barking orders. One might do that when they’re treated like a freak in public. I think it’s a two way street, if people treat people in rock bands or celebrities normally, I think it’s less likely you’d see them acting strange and like they’re apart from the rest of the world.”
