[imagesource: OverheardCelebs/Instagram]

Well over a decade ago, I had lunch with Sir Ian McKellen

They say you should never meet your heroes, but if you ever encounter him in the wild, and you aren’t invading his privacy (seriously, leave celebs alone when they’re trying to eat or enjoy themselves without being bothered), say ‘Hi’.

He is a genuinely lovely man who put up with me even though I was fangirling so hard I could barely get a word out.

Not my finest moment, but the type of story that would fit in nicely on what The Guardian is calling “the Instagram account of the moment”.

OverheardCelebs was created by Emma Diamond, Julie Kramer, and Jesse Margolis, and features run-ins with celebs submitted by its upwards of 90 000 followers.

The new account taps into our desire to hear what celebs are like during the less glamorous moments of life – like at the karaoke bar, or when idly washing one’s hands in a public bathroom.

Here’s a taste of what you’ll find:

The late Prince fixing his CD player so he could listen to Christina Aguilera:

 

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What a Prince wants. Story by @ChadHugghins 💿🏎

A post shared by OverheardCelebs (@overheardcelebs) on Sep 15, 2020 at 12:28pm PDT

That time Jerry Springer was sorry that someone watched his show:

 

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From the man that taught a whole generation conflict resolution… Story by @bpugs 🎁🤦‍♂️

A post shared by OverheardCelebs (@overheardcelebs) on Oct 5, 2020 at 2:02pm PDT

Snoop Dogg rescuing a moth:

 

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The moth is now known as “Moth Lion”. Story by @ misskristinyoo on Twitter. ✌️🦋

A post shared by OverheardCelebs (@overheardcelebs) on Sep 20, 2020 at 2:15pm PDT

The story above is used as an example of the fact that the account doesn’t seem to have a stringent verification process.

For example, one story claims the hip-hop mogul Diddy paid for two fans’ hotel stay after a hilarious, awkward exchange in the elevator, but followers were quick to question how the rapper would have known the names and hotel rooms of two complete strangers. But other posts include photographs to provide more credence to their claims.

The account is a nice change from the celebrity gossip that goes around, and to be fair to the creators, rags like the Daily Mail seem to obtain all of their information from mysterious ‘insiders’, who are probably just as reliable as the people submitting their encounters, if not less so.

How about a touching moment with Robin Williams?

 

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We miss you. Story by @nicolepsomas 📸🙏

A post shared by OverheardCelebs (@overheardcelebs) on Oct 7, 2020 at 5:24pm PDT

One more for good measure.

A fan asking a random person to take a photo of them and Lady Gaga, only to realise that the picture-taker was Celine Dion:

 

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Heart would not go on after this. Story by @JAGOfficial 📸🎙

A post shared by OverheardCelebs (@overheardcelebs) on Sep 15, 2020 at 12:27pm PDT

Most of the encounters are fun and come with a side of awkward from the people who submitted them.

OverheardCelebs is definitely worth a follow, if just for the entertainment value.

[source:guardian]