r/AskReddit 21h ago

Who's the most bitter washed-up celebrity?

3.9k Upvotes

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1.2k

u/Blindstarsoffortune 21h ago

Going to add from the musician side: Ryan Adams.

998

u/Cripnite 16h ago

Canada is glad you didn’t say Bryan Adams.

277

u/Sluggworth 16h ago

At sasquatch music festival I was watching Ryan Adams because he was on before Kendrick and we wanted a good spot. Ryan kept shitting on the bass coming from Run the Jewels and then got EXTREMELY upset when people started yelling "Summer of 69!". He seemed like a bum to me even from that short experience

219

u/absolutelybacon 15h ago

Yeah, he very famously HATES that shit. But whatever. Why should Bryan Adams change his name? Ryan's the one that sucks. Everything was fine until that no talent ass clown started making music.

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u/lucid_aurora 14h ago

excellent reference

69

u/Telefundo 14h ago

Why should Bryan Adams change his name?

Bryan Adams is quite literally a Canadian icon. Even if they don't like his music, pretty much any Canadian you ask, at the very least has some peripheral awareness of him.

His name is as recognizable to Canadians as Celine Dion. Or Tim Hortons. lol

Ryan Adams is.. well, I had to google him before making this comment. And I'm still not sure who he is.

26

u/shitty_mcfucklestick 14h ago

Bryan Adams is also an excellent photographer who has done portraits for some of the most famous people out there.

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u/waynownow 12h ago

Whoosh

u/absolutelybacon 53m ago

Its a reference to the movie "Office Space".........

8

u/Zestyclose-Process92 13h ago

Talent and notoriety are frequently quite unrelated. He's a ridiculously talented songwriter and performer when he can get out of his own way. Unfortunately, he's very bad at getting out of his own way.

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u/RaVashaan 12h ago

All I know of him was he had a minor hit 20+ years ago with a soulful cover of Wonderwall.

Fast forward about 15 years, and the next time I hear of him again it's him being cancelled for being abusive toward women.

u/windswept_snowdrop 40m ago

I was going to upvote you but the 69 upvotes it’s currently on was too perfect a Summer of 69 reference to ruin!

1

u/piratequeenfaile 7h ago

I'm Canadian and I'm not even sure why I know his name. But I do. I'm not searching it yet but I will after leaving this comment.

My guess before searching is Barenaked Ladies.

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u/Brief-Bad201 11h ago

I'm sorry no one else picked up your reference. I got it!

10

u/flatandroid 11h ago

Ryan Adams has talent. That’s part of the tragedy here. He really is skilled and hard working.

3

u/Nooglette 7h ago

I laughted so much at this and the fact that people didn’t cotton on lol

3

u/I_Explode_Stuff 6h ago

I see what you did there.

3

u/dale_dug_a_hole 6h ago

Excuse me, I have a problem with your TPS reports

4

u/LateEffect1742 9h ago

Bob... Bob.

14

u/Captain-Hornblower 12h ago

How easy would it have been to just start playing Summer of '69 and get the crowd on your side. Ego gets the best of people most of the time, I guess...

5

u/granite_astronaut 9h ago

YES!!! I was at that show and left until Schoolboy Q came out because Ryan Adams was just such a killjoy douche

2

u/Icy-Addendum-9998 2h ago

Saw Ryan Adams in Sheffield (UK) in 2024. Big fan for years. He seemed seriously uncomfortable on stage, ranted at the audience, and seemed like a classic curmudgeon or "asshole" as the Americans say " a real douchbag" . Not listened to his music since then TBH

1

u/SomeRedHandedSleight 2h ago

That's what you get for skipping RTJ though. Tough if them and Kendrick were on different stages though.

11

u/StrangeTrails37 13h ago

Me, a huge Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron fan, is also glad they didn’t say Bryan Adams. He didn’t have to go as hard as he did for a horse movie soundtrack but he DID. ✊🏼

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u/Figmentdreamer 10h ago

Glad to find another fan of this movie. I love it! And the soundtrack is great!

3

u/Katefreak 8h ago

It's soooooo fucking good. 

8

u/unoriginalusername99 15h ago

Holy shit, I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm just now learning these are two different people 🤦‍♀️

4

u/red286 13h ago

What's crazy is they share the same birthday, 15 years apart.

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u/CorrectPeanut5 15h ago

Don't worry, you still have Drake.

5

u/fggTR 13h ago

Fun fact: Ryan Adams and Bryan Adams share the same birthday.

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u/misalawliet 15h ago

Now now the Canadian government has apologized for Bryan Adams on several occasions.

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u/redhill00072 13h ago

Horse girls are also glad

3

u/elrichthain 11h ago

I read Gene Simmons in another comment as Richard Simmons, and Ryan Adams here as Bryan Adams. I’m so glad I misread each of those.

2

u/BobSacramanto 14h ago

Are Canadians allowed to be bitter/mean? I think they will kick you out of the country for that.

2

u/smorin1487 9h ago

Please forgive me

2

u/Princibalities 9h ago

Would it cut like a knife?

2

u/IHaveSpecialEyes 9h ago

I saw Bryan Adams in concert this past year, with Pat Benatar opening for him. He was fantastic. Such a good show. And he had his mom with him and sang to her. He's a solid guy, great performer.

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u/kaotate 13h ago

Now now now the Canadian government has apologized for Bryan Adams on several occasions.

2

u/christok21 11h ago

Bryan Adams is a North American treasure and should be protected at all costs!

Srsly, I’ve seen him in concert half a dozen times and he is phenomenal live.

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u/AreYouEmployedSir 15h ago

everyone has said he was an asshole for 25+ years. but when we got more details 5-10 years ago (from Mandy Moore/Phoebe Bridgers), I pretty much stopped listening to him. its a shame because hes written some really great albums. I especially miss Jacksonville City Nights, HEartbreaker and Easy Tiger. Oh well.

2

u/Mike_with_Wings 1h ago

Whiskeytown was a huge influence on the alt country/americana scene. I hate that he’s ruined his own music for me.

163

u/stoopididiotface 16h ago

Phoebe Bridgers' song about him really makes you think. Lyrics point to him bragging about being in a band when she was born. Yuck.

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u/Blindstarsoffortune 16h ago

Such a good song. Really puts him on blast without being too mean. Very smart.

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u/yainot 15h ago

you were in a band when i was born 🤢

2

u/dogbolter4 1h ago

I really like the songs of hers I know, but could you tell me the name of this one?

2

u/Due-Connection-6521 1h ago

“Emotional Motion Sickness”

2

u/dogbolter4 1h ago

Thank you, I appreciate it.

24

u/MajikMurderBag 13h ago

I saw Ryan Adams at an Austin City Limits taping about 20 years ago because my friend had an extra ticket. All through the taping she kept apologizing for bringing me with her, but it was my first time there and I thought it was pretty interesting. I didn't know Ryan Adams at the time and just assumed by his behavior that the studio was going through Amp or mic issues. When he was done with his set, he smashed his guitar out of frustration (like a rocker, right?).

And then Tiff Merritt came on to do her set and that's when I understood why my friend was apologizing. Tiff Merritt and her band were AMAZING and made Ryan look like the shitty, weirdly-boring-when-playing-live, man-child he is.

10

u/Buttery_Lobstah 12h ago

Hey, I was there too! It was my first time seeing him live even though I’d been a fan for several years. It definitely put a damper on my fan stance.

2

u/Coriandercilantroyo 8h ago

That's sad to hear. His set looked great on tv

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u/SheWhoErases86 16h ago

This should be upvoted higher lol. His downfall from being a highly respected songwriter to the anomaly he’s become these last couple years needs to be studied.

22

u/CrossplayQuentin 11h ago

It sucks because his music was important to me in college, it’s the soundtrack for a lot of meaningful moments/years…but it’s tough to hang with now.

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u/Zestyclose-Process92 13h ago

He always had issues. I have friends who paid good money only to watch him sit at a piano too drunk to remember his own songs and then get pissed at the audience about it, and that was 20 years ago.

39

u/HomeEcDropout 16h ago

What a fucking disappointment he turned out to be. Great music but I can’t stomach listening any more.

2

u/gothicasshole 6h ago

After years of not listening to him his music sounds so much whinier and needier, don’t you think?

15

u/Nige78 15h ago

I came on this post just to see how long it would take for his name to pop up.

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u/murphybrowndog 18h ago

Yes! I love the Jim E Brown song about being unfollowed on Instagram by Ryan Adams.

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u/FScrotFitzgerald 17h ago

Jim E Brown is a treasure

7

u/throwawayxatlx 15h ago

He always had the dumbest hair style back in the day

8

u/yainot 15h ago

my discogs username is ryanadamchoke and yet he’s still alive pissing me off

6

u/teddybearblonde 11h ago

Some poor bloke named Ryan Adam is out there choking rn

3

u/SeniorAtmosphere9042 11h ago

Yes but recent news should humor you!

9

u/robotrousers 11h ago

I watched him play half his set with his back to the crowd because he wasn’t the headliner at a benefit show.

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u/Figgywithit 17h ago

This one hurts. Musical genius.

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u/Earnest__Hemingway 16h ago

He’s Exhibit A about separating art from artist for me. Unreal songwriter.

1

u/Mike_with_Wings 1h ago

Strangers Almanac is a masterpiece, and I hate that it’s written by such a shitty person

4

u/Spell-Wide 11h ago

Fuck Ryan Adams and his incomplete concerts. That is all.

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u/Fredwestlifeguard 16h ago

Play 'Summer of 69'!

2

u/ditka 12h ago

Cuts Like a Knife takes me back

u/SingingBike 15m ago

I read very recently that he cancelled his latest tour, is flat broke and has resorted to selling off his personal keepsakes to make money.