To Friend Or Not To Friend ...

... a celebrity -- and no, I'm not talking about on Facebook.

Last night were the Oscars and, as far as I can see, no big-name New Yorkers won anything. But it piqued my interest in posting this lengthy article by famed New York gossip columnist -- and Mr NYC interviewee -- Michael Musto about the pitfalls of being friends with someone famous.

The idea of being friends with, or maybe even dating, a famous person might seem exciting and glamorous from distance. After all, how cool must it be to hang with someone that the whole world knows and loves? How cool must it be able to brag and say "Hey I was hanging with" so and so, or even boast "I dated" so and so.

Seems cool. But the reality, like so much in life, is worst. When you're friends with a celebrity, they call all the shots. The friendship completely revolves around them -- as does almost everyone and everything in their life. They except other people to be at their beck and call every moment. They are, for the most part, narcisists and impossible to deal with.

In many ways, this isn't their fault. They live in a very strange world, a very rarified existence. They are detached from oridinary human experience. The world caters to them, treats them like deities, and indulges their every whim. Basically, they're not normal, and being friends with them is not a normal. As someone who has been around a few (semi) famous people in the past, I can assure you this is true.

Comedian John Mulaney said it best in his stand up act. When asked, after he he had worked with Mick Jagger, if the Rolling Stones frontman was "nice", Mulaney gave the perfect answer: "No! He's not nice!"

Classic.