Robbie Williams spoke of “discomfort” he feels when he is approached by fans for photos and autographs.
In an Instagram Candide post, the pop star said that he could “mask it well”, but in reality, he feels frightened by social interaction and the panics each time a foreigner approaches him.
The singer, 51, also revealed that he had refused several requests for photos on a recent flight.
But, in the long and nuanced post, he also said that he had “gratitude” for the people who told him that they were fans, adding: “It is not a complaint, it is the context.”
The first catch of this singer said that, during the inner flight across the United States, a fan gave her a “beautiful note” and then asked for a photo.
Williams says he then wrote a note.
“I explained that I have been standing since 04:30 am, I slept for two hours and that I traveled four children through the airport. I have bags under the eyes and I face anxiety,” he said on social networks.
“I explained that if they came and took a photo with me, my anxiety would increase – because then the whole cabin would start asking who I am.”
He said that another fan then asked for a photo, so he wrote a similar note to the back of his plane ticket.
“While I was writing that one, another passenger got up and simply asked for a photo,” he said. “I forced.”
Williams said he had seen him as “being in service” and that if it made someone happy, he would do his best to facilitate.
“Always … I think there must be a warning,” he added.
Williams said there was a “tacit law” that celebrities should be accessible 24/7 and that he should greet all foreigners “as if you were the mayor of the best city”.
“But this thought is extinct,” he said.
He continued by saying that he thought that more than 50% of the people who approached him could not appoint one of his albums. “These are fans of glory,” he said. “But not necessarily of me.”
He added that if people were really his fans, he wanted to hear him.
“It means a lot. I’m going to take time. I have gratitude for that,” he said.
But he then asked if there should be a limit on the number of people who can access celebrities in one day.
“Each interaction – with foreigners or even people I know well – fills me with discomfort,” he said.
“I mask it well. But the social interaction always scares me,” he added. “Each time a foreigner approaches – and they are foreigners – I panic.”
Williams reiterated that he did not complain about the attention that his celebrity paid him, writing: “I did not moan. It is a problem that I prefer not.”
He added: “I’m not saying not to ask. You can. What I say is: let people be people.”
Williams became famous as part of the group of boys, the early 1990s, before launching a successful solo career which saw him come out of hits such as Angels, Millennium and she is the only one.
He had a well -documented fight with depression and drug addiction in the thirties, and spoke in the past of his mental health problems.
Its rise, fall and resurgence have recently been told In the Biopic Best Manin which it is represented by a chimpanzee.
Williams described the film, which does not hesitate to manage the most difficult chapters of his life, like “the greatest successes of my trauma for the Tiktok generation”.
In the comments section under his Instagram publication, people welcomed Williams for his opening and his honesty.
“Everyone is entitled to their limits,” wrote a user.
“No human has access to another human, famous or not,” wrote another. “I think celebrities should start normalizing by saying no to fans.”
If you have been affected by one of the problems raised in this story, information and support may be found to the BBC action line.
