There's a misconception that every famous person lavishes in the limelight, especially because they've chosen a career path that exists off of celebrity status. Yet, not every influential figure handles the spotlight well, including rapper Wale who has frequently spoken about his struggles with social anxiety.
In a recent tweet, the rapper joked that he's working on some new music. "My new single called 'I’m not really good at social events cuz everybody hates me in my mind and that is the root of anxiety so imagine having to live in your head n ppl ask you for pics and you tryna love yourself more but it’s hard because you dealin wit shyt' drops in 4 weeks."
Back in 2015 before he released The Album About Nothing, Wale sat down with MTV and said he's not a fan of fame. "I love making music and I love my fans, but I don't like being famous," he said. "I don't like the responsibility of having to acknowledge every person the way they want to be acknowledged." Wale continued, "I get anxiety because somebody always feels like you didn't give them the proper greeting, and that stuff has been a hindrance to me, because some people would come back and say 'Wale was rude.' Your every move, your every mannerism is being watched. And to think about it, it makes me sweat and my heart beats fast. I'm under a microscope all the time."
He also told The Washington Post, "Out there doing press right now, I get anxiety. Not to sound crazy or nothing, but there’s mad white folks grabbing me. I just start getting uncomfortable. I try to hide it...When I was talking with the program director, I felt like it went well, but in the back of my mind I was like, 'I don’t think he likes me.'"