Zendaya Discusses Not Knowing If She Is “Cut Out” For The Pressures Of Fame: “I Would Like To Be A Person”

During a screening event held in New York City for Dune: Part Two, Zendaya discussed the pressures of fame and not knowing if she “can handle all of that,” saying she would like to be seen as a “person” first and foremost.

The conversation, moderated by journalist Erik Davis, opened up to questions from the audience, including one which drew comparisons between the warnings of Messianic cult followings depicted in the epic sci-fi film and the state of celebrity fandoms in pop culture nowadays.

While the question initially left panelists filmmaker Denis Villeneuve and stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Austin Butler reeling with thoughts, chuckles and some slight overwhelm, Chalamet opted to respond first, saying in jest, “If I start answering, you guys need to answer too though.”

True to the spirit of her character Chani, Zendaya assured, “I’ll have your back, I gotcha.”

Though Chalamet took the answer in the direction of the cult leaders of eras past, Zendaya spoke to her experience dealing with the all-encompassing nature of being a celebrity.

“I feel like, often, I am not cut out for that part of it,” she began. “I do love my job, I’m so grateful. I love doing the work, I love being on set, I do love moments like this — don’t get me wrong — but I am terrified of that part of it, often.”

She continued, explaining her background as an introvert: “I was a shy kid, always have been, and so this part isn’t natural — that is a huge reason why fashion became important to me because it became like armor to pretend to go out and do the job.”

“So I don’t know if I, either, can fully relate, but I definitely understand what you’re saying, and I think that’s what’s terrifying to me,” she concluded. “I would like to be a person and for people to see me as that first. I don’t necessarily know if I want or can handle all of that or want [that] — some people that’s part of it, they enjoy the power that comes from it, and I don’t know if that’s for me.”

When his costars turned toward him for his answer, Butler said he had nothing to add to Zendaya’s words, eliciting light laughs from his colleagues.

This isn’t the first time Zendaya has been candid about her discomfort with fame, having talked about the “complicated feelings” she has toward child acting and stardom earlier this year. Her comments also come at a time of heightened discussion online about how audiences treat famous people, particularly women celebrities, as singer-songwriter Chappell Roan has recently made headlines for speaking out against the “abusive” nature of fame.

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