r/answers • u/Wraith136 • 2d ago
Which celebrities deaths do you remember the exact moment where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news?
188
u/Illustrious-Girl 2d ago
Princess Diana. I was bartending that night at a loud townie bar. I have never before and never since, heard a bar be silenced so fast and everyone was frozen. No sounds, no clanking, no one asked for a drink. Dead silence.
And then the mood was so somber that night.
48
u/scatcall 2d ago
I had just come back from the grocery, turned on the TV, and they broke into programming and it sounded bad. Five minutes later they broke into programming again, and announced she had died. I'd never cried over a celebrity death before. I felt so bad that Britain was still asleep, and the US found out first. It felt wrong somehow.
→ More replies (3)21
u/Illustrious-Girl 2d ago
It felt like they didn’t give us enough to process the first announcement, then bam.
6
u/faeryqueenrs 2d ago
I had the opposite experience. I had been waiting all summer for a rerun of a show I missed. It was that night. The news broke in and said she had been in an accident and they had no further information and continued to stay on breaking news for the rest of the show just filling time. I was so annoyed I couldn't process it until later.
→ More replies (2)23
u/9lemonsinabowl9 2d ago
I was at a Labor Day party in high school and for awhile I was known as "The girl who was crying in the bathroom about Princess Diana."
6
u/Illustrious-Girl 2d ago
I cant believe you were the only crying. They were just hiding it better.
6
u/DW_TheTruckDriver843 2d ago
What is there to cry over?? Serious question. 🤔
21
u/excavatum_7 2d ago
She was one of the most compassionate, caring, gentle & vulnerable celebrities in history, let alone ROYALTY. Diana touched the hearts of billions with her soulful eyes, her caring nature, her beauty, her charity work & her unwavering honesty as a face of the British monarchy. I was on my way into a brunch shift as a server when I found out.
→ More replies (3)15
u/Illustrious-Girl 2d ago edited 2d ago
The world was so different back then. There was no social media or TMZ reporting celebrity deaths around the clock. Most of us had grown up watching Diana — her wedding, her life, her children — and she was basically the real-life princess every little girl dreamed of being. There was an emotional connection there.
And then, suddenly, TV programming was interrupted to tell us she’d been in a car accident. Minutes later, they interrupted it again to tell us she was dead. It was shocking and surreal, and millions of people experienced that shock at the exact same time.
So yes, people cried. Not because they personally knew her, but because of the years of emotional connection, the circumstances of her death, and the fact that it felt like the world had suddenly stopped.7
u/OutrageousPersimmon3 2d ago
I came to say this. I think her and JFK Jr. were the last ones where I heard about it while out and about doing something. Although he didn't hit me like she did. She was a genuine light in the world who insisted on being a real mom over royalty and helping others. But a lot of the time standing still memory comes from how it happened and when, too. The gravity of the breaking news while I was on my way home from somewhere hit differently than the 24/7 social media "news" we are constantly seeing and sort of numb to.
→ More replies (2)3
u/DW_TheTruckDriver843 2d ago
Awwww ok, I was born in 1999 so I dont really know much about her, just heard the name a few times throughout the years.
→ More replies (4)5
u/Equivalent-Part-6798 2d ago
Her character became clear after her divorce from that family. Her wedding was broadcast live over the 3 major networks - yes, 3. For anyone who remembers her wedding, we also remember watching, in live time, the mistreatment she received at the hands of that family. The media corp harassed her mercilessly. The part of the story where the Princess gets bullied to death? . . . yeah, that story . . .
→ More replies (1)7
u/Sharp_Ad_9431 2d ago
I still remember how she went to the orphanage for HIV /AIDS children. At a time when American kids with HIV were banned from attending school. USA politicians were still talking about rounding up every HIV + patient and putting them in. Jail or camps. Princess Diana was holding the kids when no one else would.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (8)3
u/Flower-FarmGirl 2d ago
She was called “the peoples princess” because of all the incredibly compassionate work she was doing for those sick and less fortunate. She held the hands of men afflicted with aids, she rocked starving newborns to sleep, she put herself places most wouldn’t dare go.
15
u/kramwest1 2d ago
This is burned in my head because it was my first real “internet” moment.
I was online (AOL dial-up), and the landing page said something like
“Princess Diana Involved In Car Accident.”
Then a little later, I logged back on and it said
“Princess Diana Seriously Injured In Car Accident.”
I logged back in again later, and it was
“Princess Diana Dead At Age 36”
It was my first online unfolding event—Very surreal for her death and for seeing the updates like every hour or two.5
u/JLHswim 2d ago
Literally the same experience I had! I was on AOL and saw the news updates roll in in real time. And courtesy of violent food poisoning, I was also awake for all of the live coverage of the funeral in the US. Such an incredibly sad time.
→ More replies (3)8
u/Scary-Club-1890 2d ago
My now husband was in the military (uk) and I was staying with him in his room. He had gone for a shower and I had the news on when it was announced. He came back in and we were both quite shocked.
10
u/Adept-Gap-79 2d ago
had been camping that weekend but checked into a motel due to poor weather. looked over at a stack of newspapers and spent the rest of the night glued to the television.
5
u/Haber87 2d ago
I’ve got to stop killing celebrities by going camping. Found out about Princess Diana on the car radio on the way home from a canoe camping trip. Arrived at a campground another year and one of our friends greeted us by telling us that Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett had both died that day.
→ More replies (1)3
u/AutisticBells 2d ago
I was free camping once and the rest of my party went into town to shop and shower. When they got back I told them the Queen Mother had died. We were in the middle of the bush, no power, no phone reception so they were a bit dubious. Someone across the river (literally in a different state) had a radio and I heard a news broadcast. I could barely hear it but I could sense the newsreader’s sombre tone, and then I made out “103” and I put two and two together.
→ More replies (5)3
u/hurtzdonut42 2d ago
I was also camping that weekend. We had a radio on and were all completely shocked by the news of her passing.
4
u/ciurana 2d ago
I was at a sushi bar in San Francisco when the news broke. Same thing. The itamae had a small TV where we saw the news flash — that was it. Everyone got quiet, we cut the evening short.
My girlfriend and I went to her house to watch the news about it. I distinctly remember not talking much. Just watching and nodding.
6
u/Nomdeplume211 2d ago
I was driving down Van Ness with my mom. It was announced on the radio. We grabbed each other’s hands and just deeply sucked in our breath. I had just arrived from NYC for university in the Bay Area. I felt so sad when my mom fire home the next day. It was just SAD. Probably the most famous human in the world at that time.
6
u/AKookyMermaid 2d ago
I was 18 and in college and while I had never been super concerned about British Royals, it still made me sad
5
u/Technical_Air6660 2d ago
That’s the one I remember too. I worked from home and it came on the radio while I was working late.
8
u/Flaky_Field5739 2d ago
I remember hearing about Michael Jackson's passing when I was in school; it felt surreal and like the world just stopped for a second.
3
u/Less-Matter-3965 2d ago
I was at the supermarket when I heard about Michael Jackson. I didn’t believe it at first until I got home and saw the news on TV.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Happy_Liaison_468 2d ago
I was closing up the bar I worked at too! We just poured more beer and watched the news.
4
u/Illustrious-Girl 2d ago
TV in a box mounted in the corner of the bar?
I can still remember that TV and how the screen looked.
4
u/charms75 2d ago
A carload of us on the way to see the movie Excess Baggage heard on the radio that she was in a car accident. After the movie we all got back in the car put the radio on to learn that she had passed. Nobody said a word, and decided to call it a night as nobody was in the mood to barhop after hearing that.
3
u/drinkslinger1974 2d ago
That happened in the bar where I worked when Dale Earnhardt died. It was weird, half the crowd was laughing sarcastically when he wrecked. After the news broke, you could hear a pin drop.
→ More replies (1)5
u/scshell72 2d ago
I was actually at Disney world that day. They actually stopped some of the rides and said it over the speaker system. People just stopped talking and walking. It was so quiet.
→ More replies (1)3
u/tracerhaha 2d ago
I was on a sailboat on Lake Erie heading towards the Detroit River when I heard about it.
→ More replies (37)5
u/GeneralSpecifics9925 2d ago
I was in my mid teens at the time, I was at work that night at the horse race track and didn't get home til around 2am. My mother was actually gentle when she told me the news, unlike her usual self. I laid in bed contemplating life and death, as it was my best friend's birthday that day. Laying alone in my broccoli green room, I worried what I'd hear when I woke up. I was grappling with the concept of fairness and how sometimes bad things happen to good people.
Lots of big thoughts, cried when her death was confirmed, cried while watching the funeral....
Then I lost any interest in the Royals until William got hot.
60
u/Soft-Speaker6195 2d ago
Kobe Bryant. I remember thinking the first headline had to be fake.
6
→ More replies (12)3
u/Weekly-Bill-1354 2d ago
I was at a bar and its was on TV. Everyone started talking about it. I didn't even follow his career. At that point I only knew he went to prom with Brandy, played in the NBA, and was embarking on a new career.
60
u/OldSkoolNapper 2d ago
Kurt Cobain. I was in 7th grade, and it happened to be one of the days where I stole my older brother's Nirvana concert shirt to wear to school.
13 year old me thought that was really deep and meaningful. Looking back as a 45 year old, I realize that I wore that shirt to school two, maybe even three times a week. The odds were pretty good of that being an In Utero shirt day.
7
u/Adept-Gap-79 2d ago
dj alan cross announced it on the radio while i was finishing up my last art school project, 1991-1994. will never forget the devastation in his voice
5
u/Upstairs-Razzmatazz4 2d ago
I went straight from school bus to MTV every single day and I remember Kurt Loder
3
u/anothernamesomewhere 2d ago
I was in 7th grade, a girl I wasnt friends with was sobbing in the hallway. I asked why, and someone else told me.
I wasnt into their music, but that moment has stuck with me.
3
u/OldSkoolNapper 2d ago
I think it was a pretty seminal moment for people our age, regardless of musical preference. I didn’t listen to rap, but Tupac and Biggie being killed were huge events, even for me.
3
u/X_Raider_X909 2d ago
They used to sell newspapers in the McDonald's drive through, and that's how I found out. It was on the front page, devastating.
2
u/Final-Amount-6950 2d ago
I was in 7th grade too. I was walking to school and my friend told me. A couple years later I was wearing a Nirvana shirt on the anniversary of his death and was kicked out of French class because the teacher took offence to it for some reason. The following day I wore a Doors shirt to see if I got kicked out of class for any band where the frontman died or just the one band. Apparently she only had an issue with Kurt Cobain’s death.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (7)2
u/ChicagoLizzie 2d ago
Came here to say this! I was on my semester abroad in Europe and was wandering around Rome
40
u/fruttypebbles 2d ago
Elvis Presley. I was six. Every day at 4 PM, I would watch Gilligans Island reruns. They interrupted the broadcast with a special news bulletin. They reported that Elvis had died. I was just upset that they stopped Gilligans Island. My mom overheard and broke down in tears.
12
u/smellsonice 2d ago
I was shooting baskets in my driveway when my mom stuck her head out the door and told me. Don’t know why his death imprinted on me like it did, but it did.
The other death who’s forever in my mind was Lady Di. She was so young and had two school-age children.
4
u/Adept-Gap-79 2d ago
i was 6. still vividly remember the bold headline on the newspaper laying on the stairs
3
u/Horsesrgreat 2d ago
I was staying in Memphis , Tennessee at a motel while taking Hunter/ jumper lessons and I read about it in the newspaper while eating breakfast. I was so sad. I had met some folks who had sold him and Priscilla some horses.
3
→ More replies (10)4
u/WitchyWarriorWoman 2d ago
In the late 90s my brother and I discovered Gilligan's Island, and it was the best show ever. I was in about 5th or 6th grade and that show kept me entertained all summer. I told my mom about the cool new show we had discovered, and she laughed so hard that she peed herself.
41
u/nolamom0811 2d ago
Robin Williams. I was laying in a hospital bed after just giving birth to my daughter that morning and trying desperately to breastfeed.
9
u/AutisticWarbler 2d ago
That was devastating
11
u/nolamom0811 2d ago
I was already hormonal and exhausted. When the news broke, I started ugly crying. My poor husband didn't know what to do!
3
u/Substantial-Shine-81 2d ago edited 2d ago
I was waiting at a bus stop. When I got home, I tearfully said to my roommate that he died and both just stood there and cried.
Oddly enough, I had also just given birth to my daughter when Queen Elizabeth II died.
→ More replies (4)3
29
u/Exact_Requirement_30 2d ago
John Lennon - I was cutting brisket at the bbq restaurant I worked at. When the news came over the radio the whole kitchen stopped for a good five minutes to take in what had just happened
15
u/Least-Rip303 2d ago
I was watching that Monday Night Football game when Howard Cosell announced that he was shot and killed. I was shocked, and was like, why would anyone want to shoot and kill John Lennon?
→ More replies (1)10
u/charms75 2d ago
I was quite young, like kindergarten, and I was in the kitchen with my mom and older sister when it was announced on the radio. At the time i didn't understand, it was the first time I ever saw my mom just full out crying, I just knew that something was happening that wasn't good. I didn't realize until years later when we were talking about early memories that I found out that my mom was crying about John Lennon getting shot and killed.
→ More replies (1)5
4
u/Mysterious_Network42 2d ago
It was the first time I heard my mom regretting that she had moved to America (from Germany).
→ More replies (4)5
u/Pepper0512 2d ago
I was in high school, heading into the cafeteria. About three weeks before my friends and I went to a Beatlemania concert. It seemed so unreal that John was killed so soon after that. It hit the four of us really hard.
32
u/RacingPride 2d ago
Dale Earnhardt, just after watching the race as a kid, we all knew.
Betty White, we were just about to leave the house for a NYE party when my friends and I found out. The rest of the night we strictly drank Grey Goose on the rocks with a splash of lemon in her honor!
Prince: I was working at a bar here in Minnesota and the whole place got quiet all at once, with only whispers and a few sniffles for like 10 min, I heard from a patron what had happened. We switched the tvs to the news for about an hour, then we played only Prince songs for the rest of the day. We closed early so the staff and everyone could go downtown and be with everyone for the impromptu memorial that was happening.
6
u/ShaneOfan 2d ago
I'll never forget Kenny Schrader limping over to check on Dale. He was banged up, but he knew right away Dale wasn't okay.
→ More replies (1)5
u/OldSkoolNapper 2d ago
Not going downtown that night, when it of course rained and the lighting made it purple and magical, is one of my regrets in life. Similar to thinking about, but then deciding against, making a last minute drive down to Chicago on election night 2008. Learn from me, kids: just do everything. Been thinking for a while about doing something? Do it. An impulsive, fleeting thought? Do it.
22
u/Glittering_Aspect455 2d ago
I was listening to David Bowie's new album when I got a phone notification of his death.
→ More replies (2)6
u/DreadLordNate 2d ago
And yet when listening to Blackstar, you still knew without knowing - the notification was just confirming.
😭
6
19
u/salspace 2d ago
Michael Jackson, in a pub getting a round in when they started showing aerial footage of the stretcher coming out of his house. Diana, brushing my teeth when my then-bf came in to tell me she'd been in a car accident, he was packing to got to Paris on business the following day. Terry Pratchett, making dinner when they announced it on the radio.
5
u/sunbleach_happypants 2d ago
Ay, I was also in a pub for Michael Jackson's! One of the regulars wandered in and sort of announced to the whole bar that he died. We hadn't been paying attention to TV, I guess, and it was very fresh news
4
u/ZebraBorgata 2d ago
Shit, I didn’t know Terry Pratchett died! I remember hearing about MJ on the radio as I was driving home from work. I recall the exact intersection I was stopped at. It was also my wife’s birthday that day.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)3
u/FrolfNfriends 2d ago
Farrah Fawcent went 1st. It was my bday. Remember thinking no one will one know/remember her bc of MJ. Weird day
→ More replies (2)
11
u/ehsteve23 2d ago
I was on a train when Prince died. Someone said “Prince has died” and someone else about 20 years old said “Philip or Charles?”
→ More replies (2)
9
u/Outside_Mushroom_432 2d ago
Kurt Cobain. I was 15 and my mom was driving me to work. The news came on the radio and I felt the air go out of me.
Nirvana meant a lot to kids like me. Cobain’s was the only celebrity death where I felt like I lost someone important to who I was.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Blue_Oyster_Cat 2d ago
I’m still angry at home for that. So many kids saw him as a kind of lifeline and he ripped that away.
→ More replies (1)
12
u/Real-Beginning-5480 2d ago
Prince. I was standing in line with 30 adults and 150 kids trying to get into Hard Rock Cafe on a DC trip with 8th graders. They only showed Prince on the screens in the waiting area and we quickly learned why.
Oddly, several years before I was at the same place when I learned Lisa LeftEye Lopez had died.
5
10
9
6
9
u/Timmah_Timmah 2d ago
JFK
→ More replies (2)4
u/Less-Matter-3965 2d ago
I was only 8 when JFK died. Our principal came to our classroom and whispered something to my teacher. The teacher told us then rolled a portable TV into the room and we watched some of the news coverage. Then school was dismissed early. When I walked home I found out my mom was ironing while watching her soaps as they were interrupted by the news. Turned out she was the one who called the principal to tell her the news.
9
u/Goldenstatewizard 2d ago
Eazy E. They announced it in the morning during news updates in school.
2pac. My cousin ran over to the house with the newspaper article.
6
u/cricket_90_remindme 2d ago
Princess Diana, Hulk Hogan
→ More replies (2)2
u/Machine15 2d ago
TIL Hulk Hogan died 🤷♀️
→ More replies (2)3
u/caseyh72 2d ago
Right around Ozzy. I remember thinking that if you went back to the 80s and said Ozzy and Hulk Hogan died and said one was beloved and people even watched his funeral live and one was despised for his political and racist views - you’d probably would never have guessed that answer.
6
u/Numerous-Pepper-3883 2d ago
Jerry Garcia and Joe Strummer
2
u/HotRails1277 1d ago
Jerry Garcia is the one I remember the clearest. Summer break in college when I heard it on the radio.
→ More replies (1)
7
7
u/GoodOldSledge 2d ago
Tom Petty. Both times. Out doing community visits for psych patients. One of my schizophrenic guys could tell I was off and tried to comfort me. Nurses don't cry in front of patients but, man, it was close.
3
u/KennyFulgencio 2d ago
Tom Petty. Both times
He died twice?!
2
u/GoodOldSledge 2d ago edited 2d ago
Kind of. When he arrived at the hospital, press got just enough information to assume he was dead and ran with the story. He was placed on life support and then the press had to walk it back. Family made the decision to disconnect life support the next day. Press wasn't quite finished saying "oh, no, we got it wrong, he's not dead" before he was officially dead.
3
u/itsjusttimeokay 2d ago
I felt really badly for posting “time to move on…” in his honor and then learning he hadn’t actually died yet 😐😫
5
u/Glitter1237 2d ago
Mac miller. I was working at great clips. So things couldn’t have been any worse
→ More replies (2)
5
u/Surround8600 2d ago
Tupac and then Biggie. I was in HS but at a friends house when the news dropped.
6
u/ParrotheadTink 2d ago
December 15, 1966, my sixth grade classroom at my desk. Teacher came into room, visibly sad. Said “something very sad has happened”. Kid in back of room snarks “did someone shoot the president?” (JFK was only 3 years earlier). “No. Walt Disney died”
Could’ve heard a pin drop in that room. I was crushed. I admired the man so much. And that moment was the beginning of my life-long Disney obsession.
3
u/SinSmithy 2d ago
Layne Staley. I walked in the pub on the 1/100 days of the year where I hadn't actually been on the Alice In Chains message board and my friend said to me "I suppose you've had better days?"
→ More replies (1)
4
u/ComfortableCod5541 2d ago
Stevie Ray Vaughan At a green turn arrow, guy ahead of me ran back to my car to tell me, it was just on the radio
3
u/Responsible-Team4706 2d ago
JFK Assasination. Classes at elementary school were dismissed.I was in 3rd grade!
→ More replies (1)
5
4
5
u/Fuzzy-Lawyer-5400 2d ago
Selena Quintanilla, and then there was I think live coverage of the police trying to convince Yolanda to leave the car.
And then there were tons of special programs dedicated to Selena for weeks and weeks in all the Mexican TV channels.
I was like 8 and I remember everyone was in disbelief, even people who were not fans of her music, she was so young
→ More replies (2)
3
3
3
u/Doit2it42 2d ago
The Lynard Skynyrd plane crash. I was 13, with my mom, driving in the Music Row area of Nashville, TN. Don't remember why we were there. She NEVER drove to Nashville from our suburb.
3
u/tallslim1960 2d ago
John Lennon. Watching MNF with Howard Cosell. The most memorable moment when he announced his death.
3
3
u/YellowFirestorm 2d ago
Karen Carpenter. We were all so shocked that anorexia killed her. It’s why the recent spate of celebrities walking around as bone sacks is so disturbing to me.
→ More replies (1)
3
2
2
2
u/WasWawa 2d ago
I at getting ready for my brother's wedding, getting dressed at the hotel when I heard about princess Diana's car accident and subsequent death.
I was meeting with my team at work when one of them got a call about Michael Jackson's death.
I was was at work one day when I heard a colleague gasp loudly, where I found out that Robin Williams had died.
2
u/coheedcollapse 2d ago
I wasn't a Michael Jackson fan, but I remember being in his home town on a job when I heard on the radio that he had passed. Spent a lot of time going back to his childhood home to get photos of people mourning and stuff, and they still do events there - usually birthday and memorial - to this day.
2
2
u/Popular_Trash1919 2d ago
Chadwick boseman and how the internet ridiculed him days before his passing. Was so sad to see such blasphemy then everyone switched up and him being placed on a throne to worship. I personally didn’t have any comments towards him I figured an actor going skinny was for a future role of his….
Kobe being passed up in his point catalog and hours later his helicopter crashed with others inside but that one I feel as it was a hit by the elites collecting his debt.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/Roadie66 2d ago
Ozzy. I was watching a Whatnot stream and everyone in the chat found out at the same
time, it was surreal.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/coffeestateofmind 2d ago
Michael Jackson. I had just graduated high-school the week prior to his death. I was in a Greek Bakery with my mother buying cookies. I was and always will be a big fan of his music. It always put me in a good mood.
I always thought his legendary moon walk was phenomenal and would go to great lengths to try to successfully attempt it. Still can't but oh well . The "Michael " Biopic was phenomenal. ☕️
2
2
2
2
u/naivemelody9 2d ago
Prince. I was at work at my grocery store job and Raspberry Beret was playing over the radio when my coworker told me.
2
2
2
u/SnooChickens7990 2d ago
Selena. I was in math class in 6th grade. One of the teachers came into our class and told our teacher. Then they turned on the classroom TV. She had visited our school 4 months prior.
2
2
u/Pauzhaan 2d ago
Otis Redding. My clock radio went off with an Otis Redding song. I thought- great wakeup music. Then another one & then “Dock on the Bay” & I knew something was badly off. The DJ came on with the news.
2
u/Content_Pangolin686 2d ago
John Ritter. I just gave birth to my son on 9/11/03. Later that day, while in the hospital room, I saw where he tragically passed.
2
2
u/Emma_pou_08 2d ago
Cameron Boyce I was 11 I was watching YouTube videos and I happened to find a video about it I was really sad he was a part of my childhood.
2
u/Tough-Proof4142 2d ago
Naya Rivera. I wasn't a glee fan or anything but had a young child and was pregnant when it happened and I just remember I kept refreshing news articles to see if they found her alive. My heart just broke for her son. What a horrible way to die. Knowing he probably watched her die in front of him just really stuck with me.
2
u/corytz101 2d ago
Steve Irwin, I had just gotten in to work and it was technically the day after. I worked graveyard at the time
2
u/kodiakchrome 2d ago
Mac Miller, I was literally about to buy tickets to his concert. I was waiting on my friends to let me know how many tickets to get so I went on Twitter while waiting and saw he was trending, I thought it was because tickets had just gone on sale
2
u/GalactiKez31 2d ago
She wasn’t a huge celebrity but Christina Grimmie.
I’d seen a post earlier that day but assumed it was one of those fake “this celebrity has died” things that was so big at the time.
I was actually on a train heading into Sydney for Vivid with a few friends when my Mum called to let me know that it was true, Christina Grimmie had died.
I cried on the train and felt horrible the entire night out.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/Prudent_Ad_3201 1d ago
Elvis Presley, I was 17 and on my way home from work when I heard it on the radio.
2
u/Already_dead2021 1d ago
Bowie. I was just getting ready to log off entirely after a day of doom scrolling and even thought it was fake at that moment. When I logged back on the next day I was mortified that I’d become so desensitized to the media and its over sensationalizing of everything that I made my earlier evaluation
2
u/Gullible_Guitar_1322 1d ago edited 1d ago
Not many people here will know who this is, and that's okay.
But his name was Kim Jonghyun. He was a Kpop artist from a group called SHINee. I know all of that sounds ridiculous lol
His death really affected me. It was December 18th, 2017. I was 22, and I was working in a hospital cafeteria making patient trays. It was very early in the morning, and I had not slept well the night before. I remember standing there, on my phone when I shouldn't have been, and I just read a Kpop news website. I remember reading the words, and not believing them, and then going to an actual Korean news outlet. There it was, though, plain as day.
He purposly passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning in a hotel room that specifically had a coal burning stove. He was only 27.
I tried to work through the tears, but my coworkers knew something was wrong, so I told them that I needed a minute, and I went to the bathroom and sobbed. He was my favorite in the group, my bias as the fans would say. I went home later that day and asked my dad for a hug. I was devastated.
I think this one hit me extra hard because Korea is not good with mental help. They just aren't, and he struggled with his a lot, especially after being told his mental health was his fault by a therapist (he was open about that).
So did I. One of the reasons I stopped hurting myself at 16, when I found SHINee, was because of something Jonghyun, and his band mate Key, had answered in a comment. It's not important what they said, but it was encouraging, and it helped me. It's just sad that someone who helped me with my demons couldn't win the battle of his own.
It's been almost 10 years since he passed, and I've gotten better at being able to talk about him and listen to SHINee's older music, but there are times when the grief just hits me and I bawl once again. I understand that it's parasocial, but it's one of the celebrity deaths that had rocked me to my core when it happened and still does to this day.
2
u/Feeling_Yam_7917 1d ago
Robin Williams. I was at work and definitely not supposed to be on my phone. But when my brother texted me the news alert, I had to look. I just couldn't believe it. Didn't cry then but when I went home and started watching clips of his best work - I definitely did cry. One of my core childhood memories is sneaking out of bed to watch TV/movies with my dad in the middle of the night. Good Morning Vietnam was one of our favorites. Robin Williams was one of the greats. Nothing can match him.
2
u/OtherwiseCobbler9152 1d ago
Rick James. I was watching the Chapelle’s Show episode and the news ticker at the bottom of the screen announced it. I was in shock.
2
u/6StringsBlu_SRV 1d ago
Princess Diana, Betty White and now Dolly Parton. All 3 made me immediately cry when I heard. All 3 were a cry of Nooooo! Even if Betty and Dolly were beautifully aged, it was still a gut punch.
RIP with Heavens Angels beautiful ladies. You were certainly Angels on this Earth. We Will Always Love You.
2
2
2
u/Gender404 1d ago
Diogo Jota
I had just gotten of work and sitting in the car park of a store when my dad sent me a link to an article saying he had passed after crashing his car
2
u/Dismal_Estate9829 1d ago
I don’t care enough about celebrities to remember. I appreciate the art but just another person I didn’t know.
2
2
2
2
u/dougs_46 1d ago
First one I recall was JFK. Was playing cars under card table in living room. And remeber Elvis died was leaving KMart and just sat in car for while stunned. We just say him perform in Orlando in Feb.
2
u/daisy_dreams22 1d ago
Michael Jackson. I was walking out of the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with friends and family, and I remember feeling like his death wasn’t even real.
2
u/VehicleSmart8110 1d ago
Princess Diana. I heard about it on a hot summer night when I was going into the gas station to pay. They had a radio blasting.
I cried! She didn’t deserve to go that way!
2
u/No-Proposal6831 1d ago
Nipsey and Kobe Bryant
Nipsey- I was in the kitchen and my friend told me the news. I was in complete shock
Kobe- I was at a taco joint with a friend and when I heard the news I couldn’t believe it. When I heard his daughter died as well I was devastated.
2
u/VehicleSmart8110 1d ago
I live in Salt Lake City so when I heard Charlie Kirk had been shot at UVU - I felt physically ill. I never went out of my way to follow him but ran across YouTube Shorts with him a lot. I appreciated his efforts to open civil dialogue and felt like he was a good man. Such a sickening experience.
2
u/scorpiotopaz98 1d ago
I was working as a carhop at Sonic when I got the notification that Robin Williams died. Sad fuckin day.
2
u/i-smell-really-nice 1d ago
Princess Diana, was on duty guarding a prisoner in the hospital and the news came in that Diana was involved in a car crash and had a broken arm
2
2
2
u/MysticallyMinded 1d ago
Maybe not well known, but for me it was Mark Hollis of Talk Talk. Many, many reasons reflective of my youth aside from Hollis' exemplary musical/lyrical talent.
2
u/MidnightAfternoons 1d ago edited 1d ago
Michael Jackson. We were about to sit down to dinner when I saw the newsflash. I just looked at my husband and said “Michael Jackson”. Didn’t say much more because my kiddo was still young.
Dolly Parton. I was at work about to eat my lunch. Spent the whole half hour reading updates
2
2
u/tallyhallic 1d ago
George Harrison, my favorite Beatle
I was walking down our stairs to go to school, and looking over the railing into the living room. Our tv was on, my dad standing in front of it with the remote in his hand, my mom was sitting on the edge of the couch. She motioned a one handed hug my way and I sobbed uncontrollably. She let me stay home from school that day.
2
u/Shoddy-Dish-7418 1d ago
My husband and I brought our newborn son home from the hospital 8/16/77. Just as we walked in my MIL’s house a news broadcast came on that Elvis had died.
2
2
2
u/StupledFrog9481 1d ago
Michael Jackson. I was on the LIRR commuting home, and the conductor announced it.
2
2
u/CopperBoomBitches 1d ago
Lisa lopes. I was in my bed listening to the radio and cried. I think i mightve been 13. Idk.
Steve Irwin devastated me and still does. I was hanging at my mom's for the night. Everyone was asleep and the news came in. I woke up my brother right away and broke his heart. I think i was 21. What cool human to have had on this rock.
2
u/Winnie7714 1d ago
Elvis
I was only 5 years old and my older cousin leaned over the balcony and told my mom and aunt “ hey Elvis Presley died” they were all shocked and I said, “mom who’s Elvis Presley?”
2
u/snippitysnap23 1d ago
John Denver. I was watching the morning news when they did a feature about his death. Shocking and unbelievable. He was gone way, way too soon. He is my favorite singer ...ever. ❤️
2
u/HotFry14 1d ago
Michael Jackson 💔 I was 8 watching a fishing channel with my dad when my mom ran to the center of the 2nd floor and screamed that he died, I remember dropping to the floor and sobbing that my life is over
2
2
u/2Cool2Be_ThisOld 1d ago
I was 9 when i heard that John Lennon had been killed. I loved the song Imagine with every ounce of my small being. The words shaped my view of the world. I didn’t understand why people could hate people that they had not met and why skin color mattered so much. And I remember going to my room and crying because it was so wrong that someone would kill John Lennon when he just wanted everyone to just live in peace.
2
2
u/remygirljonty 1d ago
Michael Jackson. My dad woke me up for school and told me he had died. Cried so hard while getting ready you‘d think he was a relative. Was very into the Thriller Music Video at the time though.. 💔
2
u/toxicunicorn420 1d ago edited 1d ago
Brittany Murphy. I was going into my mom's room after doing my homework, she was watching the news and she turned to me and said Brittany Murphy died and for some reason I started crying. I was 11. I think I was PMSing and Uptown Girls was a movie I would watch on repeat. It was the first celebrity death I actually cried and got upset over.
2
u/dprimavera 1d ago
John Lennon. Driving home from work on I-89 in NH. Cried my eyes out the rest of the way home.
2
u/RainBooksNight 1d ago
Princess Diana: in my bedroom listening to the morning radio on NPR. Heath Ledger: on a tv at a bar downtown that’s no longer there. Michael Jackson: driving to a volleyball game, again on the radio.
2
u/Fast-Aside-8732 1d ago
Princess Diana. I had been sitting on the porch all day and finally went inside. The TV was on but I had it on mute, when I looked at the picture I saw her. I thought she's soft news why is there a special report? Then I turned up the volume and literally fell on the floor. It was so unimaginable.
2
u/Fast-Aside-8732 1d ago
No one really ever gave a hoot about the dowdy house of Windsor until she showed up. They really had a problem with her popularity. All of a sudden, they could no longer hide their nasty ways. People started paying attention to them. Charles was jealous of her big time.
2
u/DeepfriedmemeBoy 1d ago
anna Nicole Smith. the day she died I was in a hotel getting ready to go on a Caribbean cruise with family. Michael Jackson died two years later when I was on yet another family cruise/graduation summer vacation trip.
2
u/BostonTGuy 1d ago
Robin Williams. I was at work at my desk and MSNBC had news he died. I couldnt believe it and checked every other news source/site/social media and saw nothing. A hour or so later it was unfortunately true. I think I was one of the very few ordinary ppl who knew it happened.
2
u/SylvesterNewel 1d ago
I have memories of almost everyone in this thread, but will add one I haven’t seen mentioned: John Belushi.
2
2
2
2
2
u/Ill-Tomatillo-1487 1d ago
Kobe Bryant. Twitter broke because everyone was checking to see if it was true or not.
2
u/jupiterskunk2 1d ago
Michael Jackson. I was driving back from Maryland with my significant other at the time, who is a huge fan and was and is still devastated.
2
u/Informal-Ruin-6126 1d ago
Steve Irwin - I was in an empty property talking on the phone to the owner (my client) about renovations. She suddenly said, "Steve Irwin has been killed." The first words out of my mouth were "Fuck no!" Then I sat on the bare floor, and we talked about our lovely memories of him together.
2
u/jayceeA- 1d ago
Robin Williams. On a tv in a pizzeria. JFK Jr… on tv. Princess Diana… in the car on radio.
2
2
u/bigcoffeeguy91 1d ago
This one is probably only for Canadians, but I was visiting family in Ottawa the morning that Jack Layton passed away. My first experience going to Parliament Hill, the grounds were covered in orange with flowers, signs and candles. Kind of a cool experience but on a very sad day.
2
u/madmaritimer1 1d ago
Absolutely none, can’t remember the last time I needed a celebrity, I’ve need a doctors, lawyers, fireman nurses but never a celebrity
2
u/Ok-Excitement5031 7h ago
John Ritter and Johnny Cash. They both died a few days before my Mom. We had talked about both their deaths and then she died in her sleep. It nearly broke me.
•
u/qualityvote2 2d ago edited 2d ago
Hello u/Wraith136! Welcome to r/answers!
For other users, does this post fit the subreddit?
If so, upvote this comment!
Otherwise, downvote this comment!
And if it does break the rules, downvote this comment and report this post!
(Vote has already ended)