I was not happy that I had to cancel my appearance at the Denver Comicon this weekend, mostly because I knew that there were a significant number of people who bought tickets specifically because I was going to be there.
Aaron Douglas did a magnificent job (because he is awesome) replacing me, and I understand that Paul and Storm rocked several faces right off.
I thought it would not suck if I had the con organizers send me some questions from con attendees, which I could answer on videotape from the back of a limousine with Rollergirl.
They liked most of that idea, so I took their notes to heart and recorded this in my backyard Friday, with some help from Anne:
I had more fun than I thought possible doing this, and I understand that it went over fairly well at the con, so all was not lost. If you want to hear me talk about stuff for about 26 minutes in glorious high definition, I've got you covered.
My entorouge as wwebsite as on the internet.
ODD FRONT ROW SEATS FOR EVERYONE!
I don’t know much about space travel, but helicopters are loud!
I enjoyed the video. You took time and effort to make this as an apology for missing a con. Who does that? You give more shits about your fans than anyone else I can find on the interwebs. I don’t know where you put it all. I hope someday I’m lucky enough to BE at an event you are attending. If I got just a head nod while you walked through the crowd i would squee to everyone’s embarrassment. And I would high-five Anne if she would let me. We played some tough rounds at WWF.
BTW, you guys make cards against humanity seem a ton of fun – bought it for the husband for father’s day and we are pretty excited to crack it open… soon!
-Just a fan
Wil is not a dick. Some people confuse “not catering to my every whim and doing everything that I want you to do” with “being a dick.” Those confused people are actually being a dick.
My little experience meeting Wil was nothing but positive. He kindly did not comment on my idiotic reply of “me” when asked to whom he should autograph my photo, while deftly asking to see my badge so he could spell my name right and otherwise responding kindly and professionally to my word vomit in response to meeting him. A class act all around. The Q&A at Origins, by the way, was quite funny and his attitude toward himself was, if anything, self deprecatingly humorous.
It sucks things went down the way they did, but this post [http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2008/04/what-scalzi-sai.html%5D made a while back referring to this Scalzi article [http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/04/03/reader-request-week-2008-10-meeting-authors-and-me/%5D covers meeting people at cons quite nicely.
Trying to remember that celebrities are people too will not always sooth bruised feelings when you really REALLY wanted something from them (like a photo), but hopefully it will help to gain some perspective why people can’t be “on” all the time.
When I worked as a massage therapist, I really hated that people would ask me for massage outside of my office hours. Instead I would work 8-10 hours and come home to friends and family asking me to work on their trouble spots. Now apply the same concepts to being a celebrity, and you start to get a picture of why celebs really don’t like being bothered outside of their “hours”.
I don’t think Wil did anything really wrong here, you just took it personal when it wasn’t meant to be.
My two cents.
Wil was that a Borderlands t-shirt you wore during 2nd watch? IF so Awesome! Also, nice job with 2nd Watch. Are all episodes going to involve so much cast (I assume not). I felt like you had some good follow-ups u couldn’t ask for the sake of getting to the next person
I agree with Toothpick 2005, and most everyone that has posted here, I think you handled that criticism as well as you were able. It would have been very easy to get defensive and abusive in that situation, I certainly would have gotten a little snotty or snide. (I’m still working on not being a dick. 😉 )
To add my own personal experience, I was at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Symphony of Legends that you hosted here in Australia. I was among the many who lined up for the chance to grab a brief chat and a signature. I got to the queue from my seat as quickly as I was able, but missed out as the line was cut off about 15 people in front of me.
Your rep/PR person (sorry, not sure if she was a member of your “team”), attempted to console us that we could see you at the convention on the weekend. That wasn’t an option for me, I had rearranged my work roster to fly to Melbourne that day, and was leaving on a red eye to Adelaide the next morning to be back in time for work.
Was I disappointed? You bet I was. So were the other 150 odd people who missed out. Was I mad at you? Not at all, as I get that you are human, you get tired, and you didn’t have to make yourself available for face time with fans, yet you still did.
Don’t let the critics get to you. I believe you are doing the best you can to try and keep “most” of us happy. 🙂
Simon.
I seriously have to weigh in on this. I am a cancer patient in Seattle. And for the past 2 years, Wil has made time to meet me and take photos with me – in 2011 as I sat in a wheelchair after I almost died from complications from chemo and this year he totally let me attack him for a fun photo at ECCC… Both times he treated me with dignity, kindness and just his standard awesomeness. Not because I am a cancer patient, an overzealous fangirl or even a Con fanatic. Because I just don’t think he’s capable of being a dick. So there.
I like this blog and I like Will, even though I am not interested in everything on this blog I really enjoy visiting it sometimes. Having haters is kind of a normal thing, especially for somebody famous, people have different perceptions and sometimes people see things so negatively that no matter what actually is going on – it is gonna get distorted in their mind. I don’t even like this expression about a dick, because Dick is actually a name and when this nonsence started with this word I don’t know, but Will is a nice guy, and yes, I do wish there would be one more TNG Star Trek movie with Wesley/Will!
You’re the biggest dick I’ve ever seen Lilith. Consider a moment the fact that wil actually ANSWERED you. Most so called “entitled celebrities” wouldn’t give your comment a second look, let alone comment and personally apologize and try to explain the circumstances. Wil Wheaton is the most not-dickish person I’ve ever met. And. Um. If you were up on stage, wouldn’t you want your family to be able to see you? Your FAMILY. Your BEST FRIENDS. They deserve to be front row, free ticket. No, try telling your mother “sorry Mom. If you want to see me perform, or graduate, or wow a crowd, you gotta stand outside wait just like all those random strangers.” Guess what. Wil Wheaton is a NORMAL HUMAN BEING. Just. Like. You. He has friends, he has family, he has feelings, and he has limits. He does NOT exist JUST FOR YOU and your pitiful ENTOURAGE of self-entitled friends.
Technically speaking, Wil’s given first name is Richard (Wil is his middle name) – so, really, he is a Dick. xP But that’s the only kind of dick he is.
I really like Wil Wheaton. I think he is a great entertainer, actor and writer. I have heard him speak on several occasions; and like many of the above, I think he is awesome. But, I am sorry, the above comments are ridiculous. Just because we like Wil doesn’t mean that he wasn’t a dick to “Lilith” or in front of Lilith. (Clearly this wasn’t just about a refusal to give an impromptu picture, as Lilith mentioned several other things that apparently offended her.) I am sure Brittany Spears, Lindsay Lohan and other moron celebrities have people around them telling them that they are amazing and to ignore the bad things people are saying about them. Isn’t that the problem with being a celebrity — no one will tell you when you are wrong?
I know that it is a really exaggerated comparison (obviously Wil is not like those freak celebrities), but I think the point is valid. Obviously Lilith was offended. Just because we all think Wil is awesome doesn’t mean that he acted awesome. And it certainly doesn’t mean that he is perfect. Maybe he had an off day and was, indeed, a dick. If he was, then he should apologize, and none of us should be telling him that he shouldn’t. Clearly none of us were there. So how would we know what happened?
These anecdotes of our encounters with Wil or with another celebrity are irrelevant to whether he was a dick at the Phoenix Comicon or not. The above posts sound like lemmings who would tell their favorite celebrity whatever they want to hear. I am sorry, I am not trying to be rude. I can definitely hear Wil saying something similar to what I just wrote about a celebrity who acted like a jerk and just didn’t offer a sincere apology (instead of rationalizations). I mean give me a break. If we are to believe this Lilith chick, she saw Wil being rude to people. The world spins on. Apologize or don’t. Change your behavior next time or don’t. But why listen to a bunch of people who weren’t there and don’t know you? Anyone (including celebrities and normal people) should apologize when someone tells them that they have been offended. I hope that Wil believes the same.
And now, I am sure many of the above will respond with comments attacking me. But, seriously guys, just because someone is a celebrity doesn’t mean that they don’t make mistakes. I sincerely like Wil Wheaton and, although I don’t know him personally (as I am sure none of you do as well), I am sure he is a great guy. Anyways, there is my rant for the month.
True, but Wil doesn’t use the name Richard with his fans, so he is not a Dick to his fans!
I could agree with your lemming theory if it were not for a few points.
First, Wil personally and repeatedly communicated with Lilith about the incident. He could have just as easily have ignore the comment, or even could have deleted it and pretended it didn’t happen.
He didn’t. He tried to explain his side of the story, on an open channel where others could read and comment on it. By now, he knows that is flame bait, but he did it anyway.
Second, from personal experience I will vouch that:
1. He emails/responds to fans he doesn’t know and that he has nothing to gain from.
2. He is very nice about it.
Also, I would like to point out I am not a lemming. The truth be told, at first I didn’t much care for the actor Wil Wheaton because of some poor writing on a major TV show. However when I stumbled across his blog one day, I discovered – Wow, this guy is a big a nerd as me and my friends are. I started reading his posts, and after a while I started posting comments. Much to my surprise, he commented back a few times. I am sure Wil doesn’t know me from any of the thousands of other people who get on his blog or post message there, but he took the time to write me personally. So yea, I kinda think of him as not being a dick, but it is from personal experience.
In conclusion
Yea, Wil may have had an off day, or Lilith may have caught him at a bad time. I don’t deny that. We all have times when we would rather be somewhere else. However her accusation does not ring true to what I have learned about Wil over the years.
Thank you for proving my point. You posted in an earlier comment that you have never met Wil Wheaton. Therefore, YOU DON’T KNOW HIM! Stop acting like you do. That is the point. You are (as we all are) a fan of his work; nothing more.
By the way, your above post and your prior posts are a tad creepy. You sound like you already have the drawings ready to make a skin suit of Wil Wheaton. Run Wil. Run; especially if you see a man asking for your help to put furniture in a van. 😉
Seriously buddy, you missed the point of my comment. Your “experiences” with Wil are irrelevant. (As a side note, your comments imply that you are best friends with Wil. For example, your previous comment was about what Wil’s wife’s reaction would be to his dice collection. Creepy. You don’t know either of them. Comment on his work. Not his relationship with his wife. Creepy.) The point of my post was about “celebrity” and crazed fans who claim to know the celebrity (but don’t) and are willing to tell the celebrity that they are perfect and always right. I am sorry, but you appear to fit in that category.
Not that it matters at this point, but I put my family and friends in the back at Storytime With Wil specifically so people who waited and paid ten bucks would have the best seats in the house. It was the con's decision to put them in better seats for the panels in the huge room.
And thank you for your understanding and support, it means a lot to me.
By your logic (which I am sure means nothing to you), you have never met me, therefore “YOU DON’T KNOW (ME)!” Yet, you are assuming you know the type of person I and others on this blog are from our comments. Therefore, you in your own words are claiming you can know a person by the posts they make. You sir, are being hypocritical.
If you claim to know what kind of person I and others are from the the posts we make, why can’t the OTHER people on this blog know what type of person Wil is from his posts? Either you are right and we don’t know what kind of person Wil is, but then you cannot know what kind of people we are and thus have no right to judge anybody. Or you are wrong, and you can tell what kind of person a poster is in which case you original statements about judging us to be lemmings from our comments is incorrect. You can’t have it both ways, but I am sure you will claim such is the case.
My guess? You are hypocritical, judging people from their comments, but assuming others cannot do the same.
Furthermore, have you ever met Babe Ruth, Bill Clinton, Jerry Sandusky, or Tim Tebow? Are you their friend? Yet I am sure you have an opinion on the type of people they are. If you do, again you are being hypocritical.
You are correct. Your logic has confounded me. Or you completely missed the point, once again. Go ahead and assume the former.
Will–please oh please post something new on your blog so that MarkSchneider will have something to comment on. 😉
OK, let me put it is small words so you can understand.
Either
1. You can correctly judge people from their posts on this blog.
This means you can know that we are lemmings, but at the same time we can know what type of person Wil is.
or
2. You cannot correctly judge people from their posts on this blog
We don’t know what type of person Wil is, but on the same hand, you cannot know we are “lemmings” because you cannot accurately know us from our posts.
Which is it? 1 or 2?
It does not get simpler than that.
hey i didn’t know you lived on an airfield
Thank you Wil for the new post: “The Eternal Struggle.” You, sir, are a gentlemen and a scholar. MarkSchneider’s attention is now distracted.
The downside is that you have only strengthened MarkSchneider’s perceived relationship with you by providing the names and pictures of your pets. 🙂
If MarkSchneider was on the Holodeck, I could hear him say, “Computer, make me some friends.”
I just wanted to say a few things as a response to this video:
1) I am so happy that Anne pronounced my last name correctly!
2) I think your answer to my question was totally legit. I think it’s great that your career as a father is more important than your acting career. I actually predicted that’s what you would say.
Look, you made your point. Don't be a dick, John.
Wil, I just wanted you to know that my wife and I were at your Storytime event at Phoenix Comicon, and we had a blast. At no point did we think you were anything other than gracious and cool. My wife linked to your Tumblr post, which is how I found out about this jihad (as you described it)… and I have to say, I found the whole tirade against you cringeworthy.
My worry is that this incident might reflect badly on the fandom in Arizona and Phoenix in particular. To think that one of “our own” might have actually deterred you from attending future conventions really upsets us.
Oh, almost forgot… this kind of reminds me (in a very limited way) of something Harlan Ellison wrote about in the early 90s in a novella-length essay he published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine (which is now just Asimov’s Science Fiction). It’s a bit trenchant, and even though Ellison acknowledges up front that the bad apples make up only a small percentage of fandom (he claims 10% I think), the laundry list of horrible fan behavior just makes you feel dirty by the end. He doesn’t just write in generalities, either; he has anecdotes culled from some of the best and most recognized names in SF and fantasy.
Wil,
It is so nice to hear a fellow game enthusiast say they dislike Scabble. I can never quite explain why I dislike Scrabble, but I think it has something to do with the pseudo-intellectual clout that the game is given.
Can you articulate why it is you dislike Scrabble?
Best,
Matt
First, it is ironic (and arrogant) that you are calling one of your own fans a “dick” when the above comments are about whether you were a dick at the Phoenix Comicon.
Second, interesting that you proved “John’s” (who I thought was you until you called him a dick) above point by going to your Tumblr followers to tell you that I am a mean meanie who is on a “Jihad” against you, merely because I provided several examples of how you were rude, insensitive to others or acted like a spoiled celebrity. Does it tear your world apart to have someone criticize you? Did you really have to run to your fans to feel better? Is it being a dick to use the word “jihad” pejoratively?
I honestly hope that you don’t stop going to conventions. I just hope that you treat people as you would want to be treated. At your “Story Time with Wil” you mentioned a couple of different times when you met someone who is a celebrity to you or your wife; what if they had treated you the way you treated the people in Phoenix? What would your response be Wil?
In short, I think you should expand the “don’t be a dick” mantra to “don’t be a spoiled celebrity.” By running to Tumblr you acknowledged that you didn’t even consider that your actions at the Phoenix Comicon weren’t appropriate or how those actions could have offended me and others. You proved “John’s” point, who, ironically, is one of your fans.
By the way, as you know, this is not about not taking a picture (and it wasn’t for me, I just observed your response), it is about how you treated people while in Phoenix. I realize you could have had a bad day. Then say that. Your response blaming others and not taking responsibility was silly and childish. You could have said no to your entourage when they requested the group picture and started taking props from your fans at the Geek Prom. You could have said no to the Phoenix Comicon about the special weird seating arrangement for your entourage in the main hall. You could have been kinder when asked about being on the Walking Dead. You could have been nice when that guy asked you for a picture and you responded with a snarky “that doesn’t work for me.” Those were your decisions. Don’t be a dick and blame others (especially your wife).
At the next con you attend, look around at some of the other celebrities. For example, I watched Jamie Bamber interact with his fans. He was genuinely kind and appreciative of his fans. You could see it in his eyes. You have this look of superiority and disdain. Maybe that is why you keep getting cast in the “dick guy” role.
As a second by the way (and no not to reignite flames), it was humorous that you said that your wife, son and friends from high school weren’t your entourage. Have you seen the HBO show “Entourage.” His family and friends from high school are his entourage. And the definition of “entourage” is “a group of people attending or surrounding an important person. “ Ask yourself, why does that “important person” need people surrounding him? Again, no response is needed.
I think it's how slowly it moves, and how it requires the players to memorize tons of wordlists to be competitive.
Of course, Anne doesn't have to do any of that; she's just a Scrabble savant.
So I suspected that “John” and “Lillith” may be the same person. A little searching and internet sleuthing later, my suspicions are confirmed.
I won’t tolerate sockpuppets, and I won’t tolerate trolling, so both accounts have been banned.
Whoever this person is can go play somewhere else.
Dang. I missed all the fun with “Lilith.”
I was going to point out that “she” sounded like Sheldon, just with more vitriol, over your missing the con.
You should’ve used your small rock to kill “her” enchanted bunny. :>)
I hate games that I always loose to my spouse too 😉