Have you ever cried over a celebrity or complete strangers death, why?

[sangriaferret@sh.itjust.works]

David Bowie. He was such a cultural touchstone that influenced so much artistry on top of being a brilliant artist himself. I lived in New York City when he died and the stoop of his apartment turned into a makeshift memorial with countless people contributing objects that held significance to their relationship with him. I was so overwhelmed to see it that I cried.

[alexisfr@jlai.lu]

Totalbiscuit / John Bain. He died twice, physically in 2018 then most of his legacy in the following years.

[ivanafterall@lemmy.world]

Robin Williams, Norm Macdonald, and if David Attenborough ever dies, that's pretty much all the light gone out of my life.

[tikiporch@lemmy.world]

Chester Bennington made me sad.

[sp00kyb00k@lemmy.world]

Grant Imahara. I don't have to explain myself with this one.
He made me childhood and his absolute inventiveness, curiousity and enthousiasm just was so terrific.

[venus_ziegenfalle@feddit.org]

Yeah the first time was in 2009 after the German goalie Robert Enke had committed suicide. That one hit me mostly because of his wife. She made a very emotional public statement right after.

Second time, also 2009 a month after the first, was Brittany Murphy. Just came out of nowhere and she was still so young.

Then again in 2021 when Sean Lock passed. Still not fully over it if I'm being honest. That man is irreplaceable.

Edit: I forgor but just remembered another one. Carrie Fisher in 2016. Idk why her in parcicular but it was untimely and I always liked her.

[t_berium@lemmy.world]

When Carrie Fisher died, I was very sad and for the next week I found myself rolling back a few tears every now and then.
I was a SW fan from a young age and she was always like the sister I never had.

[analognotdigital@lemmy.wtf]

Robin Williams.

That man was a staple of my childhood, and him passing felt like the final nail in the coffin to where my childhood ended.

[oceansoap@lemmy.world]

Robin Williams was my first big celebrity cry.

[howler@lemmy.zip]

I knew he was gone when I started reading his books, and still I wept for hours when the realisation fully hit me.

Through Discworld I really felt that he was, somehow, in a way, my friend. And then I finished all the books, remembered he was gone and I mourned him like a dear friend.

[rodgegrabthecat@sh.itjust.works]

Kevin Conroy died in 2022. I'm not over it.

[snowpix@lemmy.ca]

Oh, my, my, this here Anakin guy, may be Vader some day later, now he's just a small fry. He left his home and- shit, wrong song.

[amelia@feddit.org]

I'm not even really sure why but for some reason, Alan Rickman hit me pretty hard.

[philpo@feddit.org]

Yeah.
While I rarely work on the road these days I am a critical care paramedic by trade.

....and tbh, I did cry about some patients.
....the old nana who accidentally set herself ablaze a day before Christmas.
... The young lad who died a very gruesome death despite the efforts of over 50 rescuers.
... The 1 year old who died because the psychotic dad had stuffed his crib with blankets. (And dad was "clear" in the head when we arrived....imagine the pain he felt)
... And over the same dad when he hanged himself 6 months later.

There are a few more,worse ones, that I don't want to think back to

[abominablecosmonaut44@lemmy.world]

I was watching American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden the other day and the details about 9/11 really got me emotional. The suddenness and intensity of the attack, the efforts of first responders and government agencies, and the heroism of the passengers of flight 93 affected me very deeply.

I remember seeing another video once of firefighters hearing the sound of people jumping from the towers and crashing into the roof of the building they were in. Absolutely unimaginable how that day must have felt to the people that were there...

[skarabrae@lemmy.world]

Freddie Mercury.

Diana Spencer.

Robin Williams.

[randomname@sh.itjust.works]

That toddler that got shot in a road rage incident a while back. I broke down when I read that the child said "Mommy, my tummy hurts" before he died. I think it hit me so hard because I have a little brother who was around that age at the time.

[randomname@sh.itjust.works]

luckily a close friend of his has taken up the mantle, and they have a team of artists that miura trained to replicate his art style.

[fouloleron@lemmy.world]

GNU Terry Pratchett

[goodlucktofriends@lemmy.today]

Keeping my reply of emphatic no here to not clutter up the thread. The closest I ever came was raising a fictional toast when Brian Jacques passed. I downloaded a copy of the recipe book he had written and made some of the otter's hot soup.

I do find it interesting that no one in the thread who answered yes is really trying to explain why they cried. Sure, saying that you cared about their work means that you thought they were important, but how is that enough to cause you to cry? It seems like we'd have to drill down into the idea of parasocial relationships and examine how much these folks have built up the idea that the person they cried over was actually a part of their life.

::: spoiler spoiler
I'll acknowledge I'm probably the epitome of cold, uncaring bastard when it comes to death. My job involves handling society's recently dead, as well as those who may be getting close. I didn't cry when my family members died; I just don't see the point in crying or even being sad. It doesn't change anything. I'd rather go read a book, watch a movie, play a game, row my scull, ride the bike, or jump out of a plane with friends. Those are all fun, and seem a much better use of my time.
:::