Superstar Hangups

Imagine your favorite movie star or musician. Imagine they call you on the phone. Don't get all caught up in why they're calling you or what in your life has suddenly led up to being called by Madonna or Johnny Depp or whomever, just trust that someone you totally worship is calling you at home, you pick up and you start chatting like two high schoolers.

The phone conversation starts mildly enough.

There's a sale at Linens 'N Things... No, not the one in the valley, the one on Rodeo Drive... I didn't know Rodeo Drive had a Linens 'N Things either but they do, and there's a sale... What's your schedule like tomorrow?

Stuff like that.

Suddenly, your mega-ultra supercool celebrity starts taking the conversation to an uncomfortable place. The conversation gets naughty, kinda odd and depending on who your celebrity crush is, somewhat surprising; I mean can you imagine Bryant Gumbel suddenly discussing masturbation frequency with you? Probably not.

The conversation keeps going in this awkward direction. If this were your boss, an acquaintance or some prank caller, assuming you have any self-esteem, you'd most certainly barf up a few expletives and hang up the phone.

I doubt any of us would do the same while talking to our most treasured celebrity. We might try to laugh it off, attempt to redirect the conversation or politely communicate our discomfort, but we wouldn't hang up.

But why wouldn't we?