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21 May 2007

Mindless Monday question So, among well known people who are considered likeable and non-offensive by most reasonable people, who do you nevertheless dislike?
post by: Claudia_SF at: 10:49 | 58 comments
Someone asked this question at work and I thought it was a great question. For me -- Anderson Cooper; Gwen Ifel; Sanja Gupta. Hmm, that's a boring list. Jordin Sparks. Most country singers.
posted by Claudia_SF 21 May | 10:54
Keira Knightley
Brian Williams
Dennis Kucinich
posted by psmealey 21 May | 10:55
I can't think of too many people who are broadly considered likeable and non-offensive. Am I too harsh a judge, or is this just, y'know, a symptom of the times?
posted by box 21 May | 10:57
Robert Downey Jr. Johnny Depp. Morrissey. Craig Kilborn.
posted by jonmc 21 May | 10:57
Will Farrell.

I hate him with a corrosive passion.
posted by danf 21 May | 10:59
Laura Bush
posted by psmealey 21 May | 11:00
My boss?

Oh, well-known. Conan O'Brian kind of annoys me, but it's probably because my friends in high school were obsessed with his damned show.
posted by backseatpilot 21 May | 11:03
Mary Steenburgen, Will Farrell, Holly Hunter.
posted by arse_hat 21 May | 11:04
Liv Tyler
Drew Barrymore
posted by mike9322 21 May | 11:04
danf, I have a similar feeling about Michael Ian Black, especially since his annoying presence almost ruined Ed for me despite the presence of the scintillating Lesley Boone.
posted by jonmc 21 May | 11:05
Steve Claiborn. He thinks he's such hot stuff - captain of the football team, really popular, and going out with Tiffany Sparks, the hottest girl in school. I honestly don't see what people see in him. The guy's a total prick, right? What's he got that I don't??
posted by Hellbient 21 May | 11:05
Keira Knightly and Katie Holmes. I dislike both of them immensely for no known reason.
posted by LunaticFringe 21 May | 11:07
Bonnie Raitt
Tom Cruise
Emeril
That disgusting red haired guy that used to be on hill st blues and is not on CSI
Paul Sr on AMerican Chopper
posted by chewatadistance 21 May | 11:13
uh, 'now', not 'not' on CSI
posted by chewatadistance 21 May | 11:14
chewie, I can understand hatin' on the latter-day easy-listening Bonnie, but her 70's output is actually pretty cool. and she's got that sexy red hair.

posted by jonmc 21 May | 11:15
Winona Ryder
Dustin Hoffman
Tom Hanks

Their mere presence on screen irritates me like boils on the psyche, completely ruining every movie they're in for me. Hell, I have trouble watching ads for movies they're appearing in.
posted by elizard 21 May | 11:19
Oh yeah, Tom Hanks. Can't stand him.
posted by gaspode 21 May | 11:25
This thread makes my tummy hurt. I like most of the people you people hate.

Okay. Let me think. Go to my dark places...
posted by ColdChef 21 May | 12:14
See, I keep getting hung up on "likeable and non-offensive by most reasonable people"...

I mean, the only person I can think of who I hate that much is Bobby Flay, but everybody hates him, right?
posted by ColdChef 21 May | 12:18
Oh, WAIT! I've got one. Lance Armstrong, for reasons I can't go into. Fucking hate that guy.
posted by ColdChef 21 May | 12:19
Bruce Willis
Robin Williams
Will Farrell

Also, I don't think most people like Laura Bush. The most common comment I hear about her is "crazy eyes."
posted by kellydamnit 21 May | 12:26
Demi Moore, John Malkovich, Kirstie Alley, Eddie Murphy, Melanie Griffith, Robin Williams, Al Pacino, Mel Gibson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Richard Gere, all the Baldwins ... That's off the top of my head. Michelle Pfeiffer also gets on my nerves. As does Kristin Scott Thomas.

Also agreeing with Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes (even before TC), Mary Steenburgen, Will Ferrell.
posted by taz 21 May | 12:31
Oh, god. How could I leave out Steven Segal? Or Stephen Seagal. Or however the hell he spells his name. Revolting poser.
posted by taz 21 May | 12:32
Wait... there are people who DON'T hate Steven Segal?
I should update my list!
posted by kellydamnit 21 May | 12:36
Is Julia Roberts likeable? I don't think she is but I don't know what others think.
posted by Doohickie 21 May | 12:37
Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell are like two competing black holes, each trying to outdo the other in sucking the funny out of a 3 Parsec radius around them.

I kinda don't like them.
posted by Triode 21 May | 12:40
I'm kinda scared of Julia Roberts.
I don't know why.
posted by kellydamnit 21 May | 12:43
Meryl Streep.

Robin Williams.
posted by Hugh Janus 21 May | 12:44
Jennifer Aniston.
Sheryl Crow.
Sarah MacLachlan.
Brad Pitt.
posted by small_ruminant 21 May | 12:52
yes, yes, yes on Gwyneth Paltrow. I just know she was Heather #1 in high school.
posted by lalex 21 May | 12:52
I can't stand Katie Couric. Or James Lipton. Or Dave Chappelle. And lately, Bill Maher has been getting on my last good nerve.

But I used to feel this way about Martin Scorsese, Martin Mull, Roseanne Barr, Pauly Shore, Steve and Eydie, Don Rickles, Chevy Chase, Julia Sweeney as Pat, and a host of other people whose principal irritating quality was, I finally figured out, simple over exposure of a certain whining note in their personas.

And I am encouraged that simple mortality and my good luck in the birth date lottery are solving my issues with long term irritants like Jerry Falwell. Go Grim Reaper, you marvelous bastard!
posted by paulsc 21 May | 13:05
Tori Amos, Rachael Ray, Scarlett Johansson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Jennifer Love Hewitt
posted by sisterhavana 21 May | 13:09
I hate Mother Theresa and I wish people would stop pretending that she was someone worth admiring.
posted by cmonkey 21 May | 13:10
I forgot David Spade, Scott Stapp, and Amy Lee.
posted by sisterhavana 21 May | 13:15
And Trishelle from the Real World Las Vegas. John Mayer. Jessica and Ashlee Simpson.

Wow, I'm just full of hate. : )
posted by sisterhavana 21 May | 13:30
I forgot Hugh Janus. He's a big asshole.
posted by Hugh Janus 21 May | 13:30
I also hate Lance Armstrong. I know I'm not supposed to 'cause he's mister big courageous champion and whatnot, but I can't stand him

I've always liked Dustin Hoffman. Recently, I saw an interview with one of his co-stars in something (can't remember what) and they were talking about how gracious he was with his fans--never getting annoyed, always happy to say hi or give an autograph. Finally, she asked him why he was always so nice. Didn't he ever get sick of being "Dustin Hoffman"? And he said, "No! If I'm not Dustin Hoffman, I'm just some old jew!"

It's nice to hear about a celeb with a sense of humor and some self-awareness.
posted by jrossi4r 21 May | 13:48
Coldchef, you got me curious, now.

posted by bunnyfire 21 May | 14:04
Yeh, Lance Armstrong is prickyus supremeyus.

jonmc, Bonnie Raitt would be ok if she never sang and I didn't have to look at her. Seems like she sings the same song 1000 ways. I dunno. I just don't like her.
posted by chewatadistance 21 May | 14:08
I'm surprised no one has said "Oprah." Her brand of pop psychology "empowerment" has caused a lot of obnoxiousness and her encouragement to "live your dream" has lead countless women to dump all their savings into ill-conceived businesses because they want to follow their passion. (Come on..I KNOW you know at least one lady who has done something nasty in the name of "standing up for herself" or eschewed steady employment to open an over-priced scrapbooking supply shop.)
posted by jrossi4r 21 May | 14:17
Ugh, Oprah is an agent of pure, unmitigated evil. I can't think of single more corrosive influence in our culture in terms of facilitating the wholesale replacement of genuine emotion with sick voyeuristic sentimentality.

Seconded on Bill Maher. He pretends to speak truth to power and dresses himself up like a beacon of integrity, but he's basically a schmuck: a mediocre has-been comic with a phony intellectual framework, and a cheap shot artist out for a buck.

To flip the coin over, and admit to liking some folks that are generally loathed, I submit the following:

Nancy Pelosi
Martha Stewart
Henry Rollins
Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon
posted by psmealey 21 May | 14:38
I still go back and forth on Sean Penn, whom I believe has a good and decent heart, but during his appearance on Real Time a couple of weeks he came across as an empty, sloganeering hack. Even if I agree with his politics, the full of shit factor trumped a bit of the empathy I have for him based on his agenda.
posted by psmealey 21 May | 14:42
Could I just make a list of the celebrities I actually do like? I promise it'll be orders of magnitude shorter.
posted by ikkyu2 21 May | 14:50
I'd for one would love to punch that Lucky Charms fucker.
posted by Hellbient 21 May | 14:53
Susan is excused because she's..well, because she's hot, but aside from his performance as Ebby LaLoosh, I never could stomach him either.
posted by jonmc 21 May | 15:06
I'd for one would love to punch that Lucky Charms fucker.

That would not be wise, hellbient. I heard he used to wrestle professionally under the name Magic Lee D. Vicious before suffering a severe head injury in a steel cage match. He's one bad mofo.
posted by jrossi4r 21 May | 15:15
oh man, thanks jrossi. I'll keep the physical part out of it then, and continue on with my seething, calculating hatred of him and simply transfer it to strangers on the street, my co-workers and my wife. Cheers!
posted by Hellbient 21 May | 15:28
Mr. Rogers
posted by brujita 21 May | 16:11
good call, Mr. Rogers was a real diva, so I'm told.
posted by Hellbient 21 May | 16:51
Nicole Kidman
Ben Stiller
Julianna Moore
Russell Crowe
Kirsten Dunst
Juliette Lewis
Jack Nicholson
Viggo Mortensen
quite often, Ethan Hawke

this thread made me laugh heartily, much to the amusement of my coworkers.
posted by theora55 21 May | 19:03
I completely agree with Ben Stiller. Oh, and Scarlett Johansson also. Good call!

I don't know if Oprah fits because I think lots of people hate her. Same with Steven Segal. (Though that's the mindlessness of the question, see, it all depends upon what we, like, think most other people thin... oh, never mind.)

Eddie Murphy & Melanie Griffith -- yeah, I can't stand them. But maybe most people hate them already ...

I like the "admit to liking some folks that are generally loathed" game ... I'll have to think about that one. (I agree with Nancy Pelosi, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, but here in SF that's not admitting much ...
posted by Claudia_SF 21 May | 19:24
Renee Zellweger
Lindsay Lohan (the BF loves her)
posted by youngergirl44 21 May | 20:13
Renee Zellweger

I have a friend who hates her -- calls her Squinty.
posted by Claudia_SF 21 May | 20:37
That's exactly it! Her eyes freak me out and her lips are all squished.
posted by youngergirl44 21 May | 20:45
Ok I need to add the entire cast of Friends except for Phoebe. Hate 'em all, never understood what was so great about the show anyway. I think this thread might be making me crabby.
posted by chewatadistance 21 May | 20:53
I hate rachel ray with a flaming passion. My sister does, too. SO maybe it's hereditary.


Also, psmealey, I was unaware of a cult of hate about Rollins. I like him.[1]

[1]By which I mean I think he is insanely, distractingly, unbelievably hot and for that I will tolerate what a bigmouth blowhard he is.
posted by kellydamnit 21 May | 23:31
I finally thought of one. Garrison Kiellor (sp, but I don't care).
posted by rainbaby 22 May | 11:50
Okay, I know I posted an answer here! Where did it go?

Lance Armstrong
Rachel Ray
Denise Richards
Jerry O'Connell
Paula Abdul
David Spade
posted by redvixen 22 May | 17:54
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