The Meg Ryan face to face encounter in Chappaquiddick, Martha’s Vineyard I wish I never had
10 Comments
August 15, 2009 – 1:29 am
popping..We were vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard last week and we chanced upon Hollywood actress Meg Ryan at the barge ferry station in Chappaquiddick, around noonish of August 7th. She was sitting on her black Ford Explorer with sunglasses on and I came really close to her truck as we were passing by. We made an eye contact and I recognized her at once and smiled- her reaction was sort of funny, she ignored me and docked her head immediately!
Ok, not the reaction I expected but it gets worse for us. The barge-ferry took maybe 15 minutes to arrive and the whole time, Ms Ryan was on her truck. As the ferry was docking, she went out of the truck looking very relaxed and lovely (contrary to what people say and how tabloids picture her to be BUT she should never have messed up with that face!), did some stretching to kill time. This whole time we were star-struck and just kept observing her from a near distance and then we decided we would approach her and ask for a photo.
How naive of us to think that she of her “America’s sweetheart” stature would come down to speak to mere mortals like us!! She totally brushed us off and almost run back to her truck fearing for her life as though we were going to attack her or something- and all we said very quietly so as not to draw other people’s attention was: “hi, we recognized you and we’re sorry to bother you but is it all right for us to take a photo?” And she started going back to her truck and kept repeating “No.” She said: “Hi, bye but no. no picture.”
Lighten up, relax. We weren’t the paparazzi! We weren’t going to take photos of you to sell to magazines! (Heck the paparazzi’s are ruthless and heartless. They never ask permission to take photos. They just do and the uglier and uncompromising position you are in the better. What more, they make money out of the ‘stolen shots.’) You have to realize we were in an island off the south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts and probably the most secluded part in Martha’s Vineyard. People pay big bucks to vacation in the area and we were there! We weren’t stalkers. We were vacationers who happen to chance upon you. It was a huge deal for us, one of the highlights of our trip.
Less than a minute was all it took for that encounter which you Ms. Ryan would have forgotten by now and never really cared for to begin with but for us, it is a lifetime memory of you being oh so unfriendly. I wish I never met you in the flesh. I wish in my mind you remain this adorable, funny, charming, witty characters you play in your movies. Instead I now have this image of this unpleasant encounter with you and this is the story I am going to share with people…
Chappaquiddick Home, a 12-room cliff-top estate in Martha’s Vineyard, MA
We understand, you moved in your $7 million estate in the island to get away from the limelight of Hollywood. You’re tired of being looked at and followed around, but you will always be a celebrity and people will continue to recognize you. The least you could have done for us, your fans who pay to watch all your movies is be nice and pleasant to them. We put you to where you are but of course you don’t care about that BS. Most of all, you won’t care about one ranting from a disgruntled fan.
We left Meg Ryan alone and she was looking out in the small crowd of arriving passengers and we were getting on the barge-ferry ourselves. Turns out she was picking up her adopted Chinese daughter, Daisy True with 2 unnamed companions.
There you go, Ms Ryan. We never took a photo of your face. We left you alone. You gotta give us some credit for that! But maybe, maybe I’ll stop ‘idolizing’ you from hereon. You don’t have a minute for me, I don’t have two-hours to sit waste to watch your movies…
What is this flutter?
Why am I feeling this queasy feeling in my stomach?
I shouldn't feel this but I am feeling,
this crazy tremulous feeling.
Heart pounding, head racing.
It is exciting.
It is confusing.
Heck, it is ...
around this time
every year since you left
you get me in this pensive mode
it's not as painful as
when i think about you
around the time we met
yes see, i had to think about you
twice every year.
that's all ...
Honestly, I think you are the one who should lighten up. How hard is it to leave celebrities alone when they are clearly on vacation? You could have just greeted her and left it at that, or even said something nice. Instead, you decided to bother her. You asked her for something and she politely declined, mediashy as she may be. Just because she is famous and you watched some of her movies, does not mean she owes you anything.
@Emily: Wow, i can’t believe a meg ryan ally would come to her defense! Are you her media rep? first of all, did you read my entire post? it doesn’t look like you did. FYI: Meg Ryan now lives in Chappaquiddick- she has been since 2006. So she wasn’t CLEARLY vacationing. She lives there!
How can you say she was “polite” to us? You weren’t at the scene! My initial encounter, this I wrote:
She ignored me.
The second:
She practically feared and ran for her life and that’s what insults us! Does she think she owns Chappaquiddick and no one can go near her? So why go out at all? Why doesn’t she send her minions to pick her daughter up if she’s so freaked out when people recognize her? She didn’t want a picture. Fine. We understand that and never insisted. We left her alone. Would a paid photographer been nicer to her? No. They would have taken close up photos of her anyway. Have you seen the shots these paparrazzi’s take of stars??
Yes, Meg Ryan owes us that. I have all her movies in DVDs and watched her films in theaters! I adored her for years. And this is how she treats me?! We never insisted on that photo. All we wanted was her treating us like decent human beings, declining us nicely and pleasantly- NOT FEARING FOR HER LIFE… you have not seen the way she reacted to us so perhaps you lighten up.
Sure I am just one person- but all those years, time and money wasted on some Hollywood actress, I sure feel “betrayed” for lack of a better word. She clearly does not give a damn about her fans, so why should I? and the better question is why should you? I WISH I never had that encounter, is the point of this post- then my impression of her would remain all beautiful and ideal and I would still be a Meg Ryan fan…
Thank you for seeing it differently, Emily but I beg to disagree of your ‘analysis’ of our experience. In the end, it’s all good. I appreciate your comment.
Meg Ryan is an aging, cosmetically altered b-movie actress who clicked on romantic comedies for a while until it eventually got old… Her recent movies were box office flops. She moves to the Vineyard to become a ‘hermit’– she should at least pretend to care about her fans, when people recognize her like most actors do. She’s in a safe haven in Chappaquiddick, no one would harm her so yeah, she could have been more friendly and not appear fearful..
This is a catch 22 here. Some people may look at your post the same way as Emily, saying celebrities should be left alone. On the other, some may agree that it is in fact a once in a lifetime opportunity and the likelihood of one meeting another celebrity twice is rare so grab the chance and there’s no harm in trying!
My mom always says it can’t hurt to ask. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Sometimes celebrities are very obliging and accommodating especially in a more private area like it’s just one person approaching not inviting a whole crowd. I didn’t see anything wrong in your polite approach and was surprised Meg Ryan reacted that way. She was in a relaxed environment and seem relaxed herself as you wrote but when apporached felt all tensed and threatened… I would have done the same… and would have been so bummed myself.
I think when you wrote this, you were upset because it is overly(?) emotional!
However, to heck with respecting celebrities’ private lives!! They’re not normal people with day jobs who struggle everyday scared if they can pay next month’s bills or if they have a job tomorrow! They’re entertainers whose only worry is how to look good in front of the camera or planning their next holiday vacation. Boohoo, poor celebrities- people are invading their privacies…such a hard life for them, in their multi-million dollar homes, multi-million dollar vacation estates, hundreds of thousand worth of jewelries, cars and whatever else…oh pity them with their millions and people who want their photos and autographs are such nuisance in their existence…!!
They owe it to the fans. Without people paying to watch them they are nothing. They become multi-milionaires because of people like you and me. They are laughing their way all the way to the bank! F—k celebrities!
you are absolutely right. I love meg too and i think she has brought me so much pleasure and now the only thing i wish for her is her happiness.
Oh please people stop defending meg ryan or celebrities for that matter!! they’re all egotistical and paranoid breed of people who believe they are above the very people who put them to where they are.
Seriously, there is a difference between a star-struck fan who just happen to ran in with a famous person and are excited about the meeting and yeah may ask for an autograph or a photo AND a stalker-ish fan who follows the stars around disturbing their peace.
this writer clearly was just vacationing as well and they saw meg ryan- of course the initial reaction would be to TRY to approach the star. don’t be all self righteous so as to say you will not do such a thing. people react differently i give you that but respect the writer’s opinion when she felt slighted that this star weren’t very friendly with them!
celebrities OWE IT TO THEIR FANS! Don’t you watch the Oscars or the Emmy’s or any other freakin’ award shows?! Celebrities THANK people and fans all the time for putting them to where they are… saying they’d be nothing without the fans..blah, blah… of course that’s all bulls**t because when and where it counts- when these celebrities actually meet ordinary people like you and me- they treat us like crap! in the end, that makes them two-faced!!
And so to you Emily and Eronne, YES “just because she is famous and we watched some of her movies, DOES mean she (Meg Ryan and other celebs) owe/s us!” There are no fans without stars and there are no stars without fans- they co-exist. celebrities should acknowledge and live with that detail in their famous status.
Meg Ryan is one of those celebrities who do not remember where they came from. It is a shame because IMHO, any celebrity, whether they are an actor, actress, singer, or sports star should make a point of acknowledging their fans. Dmeemai was polite and if Meg didn’t want to have a picture taken or give an autograph, she should have been considerate. She could have said something like, “I don’t have the time to pose for a picture or give an autograph, but I thank you for being a fan and enjoying my movies”. Even a smile and a wave would have been nice. Most actors and actresses go into show business to be loved and admired for their talent. If you don’t want to be besieged by fans, then don’t act anymore and become a recluse.
I am a big fan of her ex husband Dennis Quaid, and he is just the opposite when it comes to his fans. I have met him 3 times, and he posed with me and gave me an autograph. I saw him and his band the Sharks at B. B. King’s in NYC in 2002 and he stayed after to take pictures and talk to all of his fans. He made sure everyone who stayed got some kind of acknowledgement. From what I have read about other encounters with Dennis Quaid, he understands that if he is rude to his fans, they won’t come to see his movies or his concerts.
Happily, there are more actors and actresses who care about their fans, than those that don’t. I hope Dmeemai meets some of the good ones.
I just saw Meg in Edgartown @ the Seafood Shanty. She was with 2 guys and a gal and obviously celebrating something. Is she pregnant?! Both guys were in their 30s and looked “Euro” with hairstyles/clothes. Maybe she is dating one of them, can’t be sure. I think she ordered the crab cakes with her martini. There was talk about going boating and a summertime clam bake. More later (if there is more). Sincerely, Kristof