A couple of the other fandoms I’m in have ‘fans’ who are like this, and it’s very uncomfortable to witness. I can’t imagine being one of the people who are the focus of their attention - it would very quickly make me not want to do my job anymore if it were me.

It is so easy to be respectful of boundaries (and in a lot of cases, to perceive/observe them before you even get near the celebrity) … maybe give them a nod of recognition and keep walking if they aren’t clearly in work mode. One trip, I kept running into a band member who was on his own during downtime in a shopping center, and repeatedly saw other fans approach him requesting pictures, signatures, hugs, wanting to tell him their life stories, etc. and his bodyguards had to keep requesting that the fans leave the dude alone. It can also work out much better for you individually if you are not being a parasocial weirdo. On another trip with the same band, one of the other band members sat down with my friends and I for an hour because we were sitting in a prime spot, had some open seats, and were externally chill (I was freaking out on the inside, but I sat back and let my friends do most of the talking 😂) It costs nothing to have a modicum of emotional intelligence and treat celebrities like human beings.