Tag Archives: phobias

Matt Damon Hates Snakes, Plus 15 Other Strange Celeb Phobias

Julie GersteinDecember 14, 2011 //
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Matt Damon and I are pretty much not alike at all, but one thing we could bond over: we both hate snakes. Apparently Damon was so squeamish around the reptiles on the set of his new movie “We Bought a Zoo,” that his co-star Scarlett Johansson made fun of him.  “He was definitely sweating a bit, and maybe the sweat formed in the corner of his eye,” she told People. “I said, ‘Matt, these kids are practically juggling the snakes. Hold it together.’” Johansson recalled watching Damon “cry like a baby and rock back and forth when the snakes were spread all over the set.”

Hey, lay off him Scarlett! I’m right there with you, Matt. Snakes are just not right. Click through to check out some other notable — and notably strange — celeb phobias.

Girl Talk: My Paranoia Led Me Astray

Tiffanie DraytonNovember 21, 2011 //
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I was afraid of falling in love with a gay guy. My sister diagnosed me with “homophilaphobia,” derived from the Greek roots homo, phila (which means love), and phobia. Even though it is not a real word, I had been dealing with it for a while and with good reason. I dated a guy who I thought was the love of my life for two years. On my birthday he confessed to me that he was in love with his (male) best friend from childhood. At first I was angry, then disturbed, and eventually paranoid. Every man I tried to date after him started to show clear signs that he was either on the down low or ready to bust out of the closet singing Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” Keep reading »

16 Strange Celebrity Phobias

Ami AngelowiczAugust 4, 2011 //
16 Strange Celebrity Phobias

Matt Damon and I are pretty much not alike at all, but one thing we could bond over: we both hate snakes. Apparently Damon was so squeamish around the reptiles on the set of his new movie “We Bought a Zoo,” that his co-star Scarlett Johansson made fun of him.  “He was definitely sweating a bit, and maybe the sweat formed in the corner of his eye,” she told People. “I said, ‘Matt, these kids are practically juggling the snakes. Hold it together.’” Johansson recalled watching Damon “cry like a baby and rock back and forth when the snakes were spread all over the set.”

Hey, lay off him Scarlett! I’m right there with you, Matt. Snakes are just not right. Click through to check out some other notable — and notably strange — celeb phobias.

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This Woman Is A Balloon-O-Phobe

Ami AngelowiczApril 18, 2011 //

Poor Yvonne is deathly afraid of balloons, so much so that she was homebound for 10 months due to her phobia. She doesn’t trust the way they float, runs in fear at the sight of them, and believes that a balloon will lead her to untimely death. How? I’m not sure. What happened to her when she was a kid? But more importantly, what was Maury thinking when he decided it would be a good idea to ambush her with a bouquet of balloons. Sick bastard. Now can we hear more about the woman who is afraid of mustard and pickles? [Effington] Keep reading »

Are You A Makeup Agoraphobe?

Susannah BreslinJanuary 13, 2011 //

What’s makeup agoraphobia? Well, listen to this. A new study has concluded that one-third of all women refuse to leave the house without wearing makeup. In other words, they can’t go out without painting their face first. Which is kind of shocking. Not only that, but more than a third of the 3,000 women polled speculated that had they not been wearing makeup when they met, their significant other wouldn’t have gone for them. Sad truth: I’m a bit of a makeup agoraphobe myself. Unless the kitchen is on fire, I’m disinclined to go out without mascara, some cover-up, and blush. What about you? [Daily Mail] Keep reading »

Dear Wendy: “My Boyfriend Brought His Mom To Our First Date”

Wendy AtterberryDecember 30, 2010 //

I have been dating this 44-year-old guy — who still lives with his parents, I might add — since the middle of August. He is kind-hearted and has a good soul. On our first date he asked me to meet him at a mall I’d never been to, and it wasn’t even a halfway point between us. He brought his mother was with him because she needed to go to the mall for some things and she doesn’t drive. Anyway, in the four-and-a-half months I’ve been with this man, I’ve been doing all the driving down to his place because he claims he has a phobia about going to new places. Once I drive there, we go out and do things around where he lives at places he’s familiar with. He gives me gas money once in a while because I’m a single mom and can barely afford all the gas to drive the 20 miles each way to his place. I’ve told him that maybe he needs to speak to someone about his phobia. Also, once I’m at his parents’ place, he wants me to go up to his bedroom. I don’t know what to do other than to give him an ultimatum that I will not come down to his place until he decides to come to mine? — Designated Driver

Keep reading »

Sheer Genius: Virgin Atlantic’s “Flying Without Fear” iPhone App

Leonora EpsteinNovember 10, 2009 //

I’m a nervous flyer. We’re talking full-on panic attacks. The only way you can get me on a plane is with a dose of anti-anxiety meds, and maybe a few rounds at the airport bar. And I’m sorry, but all that “Don’t worry, you’re safer in the air than walking across the street” crap isn’t helping. Flying metal tubes, people! Suspended thousands of feet above the ground! It’s just not natural. Keep reading »

What’s Your Most Bizarre Fear?

Ami AngelowiczSeptember 22, 2009 //

Almost everyone suffers from some kind of phobia. The most common ones? Fear of spiders (Arachnophobia), heights (Acrophobia), enclosed spaces (Claustrophobia), even clowns (Coulrophobia). But have you ever heard of Genuphobia? Yeah, me neither. But 25-year-old-Brit Sarah Lister knows waaay too much about this condition—it’s a crippling fear of knees. When she experiences the merest sight or the gentlest touch of anyone’s kneecaps, Sarah goes from peaced out to passed out in five seconds. Kneecaps send her into a dizzying panic, leaving her flustered, angry and sweating profusely. This crazy fear makes the average day at the beach or summer night out to see her fiancé play football a total nightmare. She fears that her Genuphobia could ruin her upcoming wedding and she is determined to tame her kneecap nightmare with a strict regimen of hypnotherapy. [Daily Mail]

Now would probably be a good time to admit that I have my own really bizarro phobia … a fear of fireworks. Keep reading »

The Daily Squeeze: Men’s Fears, A Proposition For Spitzer, Porn Camp

Catherine StrawnMarch 28, 2008 //
  • In a survey of 2,000 people in the U.K., four out of 10 men were afraid of heights and spiders. One out of three men were afraid of bossy women. [Telegraph, U.K.]
  • Last week, Playgirl posted a message to Eliot Spitzer on their blog, saying that they would be willing to pay him handsomely to “strut his sexuality” in the pages of the magazine. The editor has yet to hear from him. [USMagazine.com]
  • Interesting things are happening in Tampa these days. This weekend, in an undisclosed location, a porn camp will teach prospective adult filmmakers how to make a porno, including the ins and outs of porn-star pay scales and set design. [St. Petersburg Times] Keep reading »