Celeb Confessions That'll Make You Never Want to Be Famous

From the lack of privacy to the public struggles, these stars are telling it like it is

Amanda Seyfried: Anxiety & Panic Attacks Caused by Fame Feels Like 'Life or Death'

Amanda Seyfried. TODAY/YouTube

Although she's been acting for over two decades, Seyfried still struggles with the pressures of being in the spotlight.

"It feels like life or death," she told Willie Geist on The Today Show of her anxiety.

"That's what a panic attack is, really," Seyfried continued. "Your body just goes into fight or flight. The endorphin rush and the dump that happens after the panic attack is so extraordinary. You just feel so relieved and your body is just kind of recovered in a way. It's so bizarre because it's physiological, but it starts in your head."

Daniel Radcliffe: People Will Boo You, Even if You're a Child

Daniel Radcliffe. David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

"Crazy s--- happened to us as a family very young," Radcliffe said of his childhood Harry Potter days in a new episode of Off Camera with Sam Jones.

During one particular scary incident, the actor and his parents arrived in Japan to find thousands of fans waiting for them at the airport with only about 100 security guards there for protection.

"There were highly trained security guards being pushed around by, like, 6-year-old girls to 80-year-old women," he said.

Despite never feeling like he was actually in danger, Radcliffe found it excruciating to deal with being harassed by photographers. "As a kid, the thing that sucked, and the thing that did, you know, burrow its way in there and was really unpleasant was getting booed. If you would be going into an event and the professional autograph hunters … There are some people who can do it and they go about it in a way that is okay, and they're not d---- about it and they're fine. But there are also some people that will boo and shout at a child," he said. "If you just hear people booing and shouting stuff at you and about you, that, as a kid, sucked. I do remember that being very disheartening."

Daniel Radcliffe: It's Tempting to Turn to Alcohol to Cope With Scrutiny

Daniel Radcliffe. Anthony Harvey/Getty

During his sitdown with Sam Jones, the Miracle Workers star also opened up about using alcohol to cope with fame when he was a teen. "The quickest way to forget about the fact that you were being watched was to get very drunk," he said about trying to enjoy nights out. "Then as you get very drunk, you become aware, 'Oh, people are watching more now because now I'm getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more.'"

"Part of the thing is the expectation that you should just be delighted all the time," Radcliffe continued. "You have a great job, you're wealthy, you don't have a right to not be excited about the thing all the time. I think that's a pressure as well. You suddenly start to feel, 'Man, if I am just feeling some human emotion of sadness, does that mean I'm doing this wrong? Am I not good at being famous?'"

The star's own unique experience helps him empathize with others who have dealt with growing up in the spotlight. "There is no blueprint for starting young and working stuff out," he said. "That's why whenever people are having a go at Justin Bieber drag racing cars or whatever, I'm always like, 'Yeah, but you never know. Stuff could be super crazy for him right now.'"

Billie Eilish: You're Basically Miserable Half of the Time

Billie Eilish. Noam Galai/Getty

"I don't mean this in a necessarily negative way, but I sort of lost my teenage years, because this all started when I was 13," the "when the party's over" singer told Dutch channel 3voor12.

"There is no training, there's no like, let me go to a school that's going to teach me how to be famous. Also, that would suck. That would be trash school … Famous people suck," she added. "Fame is trash."

However, Eilish says the euphoria of performing her songs onstage makes up for the hardships.

"Someone was asking if, like, 'How much of it's miserable and how much of it's not?' I was just like, 'It's fifty-fifty. Half of it's horrible and half of it's unbelievably amazing and completely priceless,'" she said. "So, it's okay to do the trash."

Gigi Hadid: You Lose a Lot of Friends

Gigi Hadid. Isa Foltin/Getty

In 2017, the supermodel revealed to Harper's Bazaar that her time in the spotlight has had a major impact on her circle of friends — and made her less willing to open up. "A lot of interesting things in friends come out," she said of what happened when she became famous. "So in a way it's good because you learn that it's better to have a few really good friends than tons of friends you aren't really sure about. There are people who understand that I love them and who know that when I get back to town I'm going to call them, but sometimes I can't call every day because I'm in weird places."

She continued: "I've lost a lot of friends because I'll get busy for a short period of time, and they're not reaching out, but if I don't reach out, then it's like I've changed. I'm good with [the friends] I've got."

Amy Schumer: Glam Events Are a Hassle

Amy Schumer. Andrew H. Walker/REX/Shutterstock (

During a visit to the Howard Stern Show, the comedian confessed that going to the ultra-exclusive Met Gala "felt like punishment."

"It's people doing an impression of having a conversation … I don't like the farce," she explained. "We're dressed up like a bunch of f------ a-------."

Schumer admitted to making an early escape from the star-studded event — even after meeting musical royalty.

"I left, not the second I could; I left earlier than I should have been allowed," she told Stern. "I got to meet Beyoncé, and she was like, 'Is this your first Met Gala?' and I was like, 'It's my last.'"

Idris Elba: Fame Makes You Paranoid

Idris Elba attends the 68th Berlin Film Festival. Camilla Morandi/REX/Shutterstock

Now married to Sabrina Dhowre, Elba confessed to Loaded in 2014 that his famous face made it hard to trust potential love interests. "Sometimes you're not sure what's real or not, especially when it comes to relationships," he lamented. "If you're adored by millions, sometimes even on your own front doorstep you can become paranoid and constantly question, 'Who is he? Who is she?' I know I've been guilty of it in the past."

Kylie Jenner: It's Hard to Ignore Bad Press

Kylie Jenner attends the Pre-GRAMMY Gala. Kevin Mazur/Getty

Jenner told Interview magazine that she's constantly feeling anxious about the unflattering things showing up in the media.

"I wake up every morning with the worst anxiety. I don't know why. I have, like, a problem," she shared. "I wake up every morning at, like, seven or eight because I think that there's a bad story about me, and I have to check. My worst fear is waking up and finding something bad about me on the internet."

Jennifer Lawrence: Dating is Near-Impossible

Jennifer Lawrence. Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Before her marriage to Cooke Maroney, the Oscar-winner struggled to connect with eligible bachelors. "No one ever asks me out. I am lonely every Saturday night," she told Vogue. "Guys are so mean to me. I know where it's coming from, I know they're trying to establish dominance, but it hurts my feelings. I'm just a girl who wants you to be nice to me. I am straight as an arrow. I feel like I need to meet a guy, with all due respect, who has been living in Baghdad for five years who has no idea who I am."

George Clooney: You Can't Enjoy Simple Pleasures

George Clooney. Jeff Bottari/AP

Being a celebrity definitely isn't a walk in the park. "The big house on a hill is isolating," Clooney told Esquire. "There's no other way to say it. There are restrictions to this kind of fame. I haven't walked in Central Park for 15 years. I'd like to, you know?"

Johnny Depp: All of Your Moves Have to Be Carefully Planned

Johnny Depp. Jason Merritt/Getty

Like stepping out for spontaneous adventures? Then the carefully planned famous life is probably not for you.

"[Being famous] is a little bit like living like a fugitive," Depp explained on Today.

"Everything has to be some sort of strategy. To get you into the hotel, to get you out of the hotel, to get you into the restaurant, to get you out of the restaurant."

Daniel Craig: Everything You Do in Public Will Be Photographed

Daniel Craig. AKM-GSI

Craig told ShortList that the rise of camera phones has completely changed his social life.

"[Phones] are the f------ bane of my life. I get people who [photograph me] while I'm having dinner. I want to get violent and I can't," he said, adding, "They think it's their right to take a photo of me and I find that incredibly intrusive. But every phone has a camera on it, so how do we stop it? We can't. So how could I go into a pub and have a few pints of Guinness and get a bit rowdy and sing a few songs when some t---'s going to film me and put it on the Internet?"

Megan Fox: You Experience Bullying on a Massive Scale

Megan Fox. Ken Ishii/Getty

The actress used a relatable analogy to explain how brutal the public's treatment of celebrities can be.

"I don't think people understand," she told Esquire.

"They all think we should shut the f--- up and stop complaining because you live in a big house or you drive a Bentley. So your life must be so great. What people don't realize is that fame, whatever your worst experience in high school, when you were being bullied by those 10 kids in high school, fame is that, but on a global scale, where you're being bullied by millions of people constantly."

Robert Pattinson: Fame Means Being Bothered Constantly

Robert Pattinson. Anna Webber/FilmMagic

"In L.A., I have at least 40 seconds from the moment I arrive somewhere, before I get asked for my autograph," Pattinson told Premiere.

According to him, social media makes it all-too easy for fans to track his movements: "It's Twitter's fault. If this website didn't exist, I'd be in peace."

Selena Gomez: There's Nothing But Constant Pressure

Selena Gomez. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

In an interview with Vogue, Gomez opened up about the circumstances that pushed her to decide to cancel part of her Revival World Tour and enter treatment for depression and anxiety.

"I've cried onstage more times than I can count, and I'm not a cute crier," she revealed about the effects of being open and authentic with her fans at all times.

"Tours are a really lonely place for me," she said, adding that before she checked into a facility in Tennessee, "My self-esteem was shot. I was depressed, anxious. I started to have panic attacks right before getting onstage, or right after leaving the stage. Basically I felt I wasn't good enough, wasn't capable. I felt I wasn't giving my fans anything, and they could see it — which, I think, was a complete distortion.… What I wanted to say is that life is so stressful, and I get the desire to just escape it. But I wasn't figuring my own stuff out, so I felt I had no wisdom to share. And so maybe I thought everybody out there was thinking, This is a waste of time."

Justin Bieber: People Kick You When You're Down

Justin Bieber. Kevin Mazur/AMA2015/WireImage

The pop star candidly discussed his struggles in the spotlight during an NME interview.

"I'm struggling just to get through the day," he said. "You get lonely, you know, when you're on the road. People see the glam and the amazing stuff, but they don't know the other side. This life can rip you apart. I watched the Amy Winehouse documentary [Amy] on the plane and I had tears in my eyes because I could see what the media was doing to her, how they were treating her. People thought it was funny to poke her when she was at rock bottom, to keep pushing her down until she had no more of herself. And that's what they were trying to do to me."

Bieber went on to detail the "isolation" of camping out in hotel rooms to avoid fans and photographers: "And I feel isolated. You're in your hotel room and there are fans all around, paparazzi following you everywhere, and it gets intense. When you can't go anywhere or do anything alone you get depressed. I would not wish this upon anyone."

Lady Gaga: You 'Belong to Everyone Else'

Lady Gaga. CBS Sunday Morning

In a revealing interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the singer opened up about her album Joanne, as well as some of her personal struggles with fame.

"As soon as I go out into the world, I belong, in a way, to everyone else," she said. "It's legal to follow me, it's legal to stalk me at the beach, I can't call the police or ask them to leave. And I took a long hard look at that property line and I said well, you know, if I can't be free out there, I'm going to be free in here [pointing to her heart]." She got teary-eyed talking about the way that being recognized by everyone has transformed her interpersonal interactions.

"I miss people. I miss, you know, going anywhere and meeting a random person and saying 'hi' and having a conversation about life. I love people," she said.