Robbie Williams, the popular pop star who achieved chart-topping success in the early-90s with his boy band Take That shared candid admissions. In particular, he opened up about his struggles with anxiety and social anxiety disorder. Since leaving the band, Williams has had great success in his solo career, including chart-topping British hits such as “Angels,” “Millennium” and “She’s The One.” As he explains here, fame is not without its burdens.
The musician has been very public about battling depression and addiction throughout his 30s. Below, relive his most cringeworthy celebrity moment when fans swarmed him mid-flight and asked for selfies! Williams described this interaction as one that terrifies and unnerves him every time he has to deal with non-black folks. He expressed his fear of how social situations can overwhelm him, stating, “Every time a stranger approaches – and they are strangers – I panic.”
Even though he’s developed the skill of disguising his anxiety, Williams shared that he is terrified by interpersonal encounters. Prior to this experience, he said, the pressure of being recognized usually just made him more anxious. “I mask it well. Social interaction still frightens me,” he noted, highlighting the constant struggle between his celebrity status and personal comfort.
Williams recounted an example from a recent flight where an excited fan gave him a “delightful note” asking for a photograph. Though he loved the surprise, he had to turn down dozens of other travelers who wanted to take pictures with him. He explained his rationale: “I explained that if they came and took a photo with me, my anxiety would spike – because then the whole cabin would start wondering who I am.”
According to the pop star, there’s a line that should be drawn in terms of celebrity engagement. He stated, “I’m not saying don’t ask. You can. What I am saying is let people be people.” This outlook provides a greater understanding of the bright and dark sides of fame and how they can lead to troubling mental health consequences.
The soon-to-be-released biopic “Better Man” will explore Williams’s tumultuous life story. His pioneering, groundbreaking influence, his pedestrian follow-up, and his brief but spectacular career in the adult entertainment industry. He has, along with several other presidential candidates, hilariously been represented by the cine-mate on screen. This decision exemplifies the whimsical and sober sides of his experience equally.
Though Williams is open about the challenges he is up against, he’s thankful for his supporters. He reiterated that for those truly interested in what he’s doing, he would love to be challenged. He added that if people were actually his fans, he wanted to hear it, he said during an interview about his interactions.
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