Since I’ve always defined myself as primarily a writer, with that comes a self-image of someone who’s more or less behind the scenes, crafting words which other people read and/or perform, but who exists mostly as an image on a book jacket –– one that gets updated every five to ten years.
Basically, I’m in total denial of facts such as when I had 2 ten minute segments on REGIS that over 3.5 million people watched that (and it’s been repeated more than once.)
I’m still quite convinced I’m entirely anonymous –– and compared to major celebs, of course I am –– and thus part of what might be “holding me back” (as they say) is still this lingering horror of standing in the spotlight myself (rather than just hoping people like the things I write in the privacy of my room with just my dog for company.)
Part of that very common fear of being increasingly public is based (for anyone) on people being mean, basically school playground flashback experiences.
It’s just so easy to focus on the one inappropriate/wrong-headed/nasty comment from a stranger and ignore the 99 raves. I was particularly aware of this during the summer when DOWNWARD DOG was released and I got tons of five star reviews and even some fan mail, along with 1 or 2 completely bizarre responses.
The traditional wisdom has been that you just have to ignore those kind of things, that you should never respond in anger certainly, or even defend yourself. And while that does seem to be the Public Relations “right answer” to the problem, it’s also a little annoying. Strangers get to say whatever crazy thing they want about you or your work, and you’re just suppose to pretend you’re untouchable.
The Pop Star James Blunt, however, has seemingly pioneered (for me at least) an entirely new way of being with his haters: he laughs with them/at them, sometimes is self-deprecating, but delivers killer putdowns. In other words, he goes back and forth between heckling his hecklers and laughing at himself. For example,
@alif_novaldi felt the freedom to tweet: “F*** you, James Blunt.”
He replied: “I’m sorry but you’ll have to get to the back of the queue.”
Or “Your music makes me want to cave my own skull in with a hammer.”
“Be my guest,” Blunt tweeted back.
Or … “I cannot put into words how much I hate James Blunt.”
“Try singing it,” Blunt suggested.
Or “James Blunt just has an annoying face and a highly irritating voice”
Response: “And no mortgage.”
Or “I must be 1 of only 2 who genuinely likes every @jamesblunt song. The other person being him.”
James: Nope, you’re on your own.
Or: “Does anyone still care about James Blunt?”
“Thanks for asking.”
It’s always annoying when you hear celebrities complain –– yes, we understand that no one’s life is “perfect” –– but James Blunt has transformed the entire realm of lamenting that celebrities are unfair targets and that people can say whatever unkind, inappropriate thing they’d like about them, making it into a showcase for his humor. Even more than Jimmy Fallon’s having celebrities read mean tweets others have written about themselves –– which makes the point that stars are regular people, too –– for me at least, Blunt’s wit is a game changer.
As I’m treading further out in the waters of social media and promotion, Blunt’s skillful blend of barbed wit and self-deprecation –– which are surprisingly hard to juggle –– gives me hope that you don’t need to defend yourself against the Haters … you can have more fun mocking them (and yourself.)
