Being Kendra_ Cribs, Cocktails, and Getting My Sexy Back - Kendra Wilkinson [63]
Date nights don’t always go as smoothly as that. When we sneak off to a place like Vibrato, we know that’s our spot; it’s off the map and in a remote enough area that we aren’t going to run into TMZ and Paris Hilton. But sometimes we do want a little glitz and glam. Not to say we need to head off to the Fast and Furious premiere and pose for the cameras, but we like to check out shows and movies and concerts just like the rest of the world. As parents, we need our entertainment too. When all you’ve seen is a purple dinosaur talking on TV all day, a rap concert might be just what the doctor ordered.
Hank and I went to a club recently for a concert just looking to have a good time and it turned into the Kendra and Hank show. Usually when I go out people know who I am. It’s a fact, especially in L.A., a town obsessed with celebrity and media where everyone knows who is who. We went to the annual West Coast hip-hop show we go to every year to watch my friend Too $hort perform. I grew up on West Coast hip-hop; it’s in my blood. It’s a part of who I am. Anything to do with West Coast hip-hop, like Tha Dogg Pound, Westside Connection, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg. I’m obsessed. So I make sure I go to this every year. Too $hort had put us on the VIP list to hang out backstage, so I decided to invite my best friend, Brittany Binger, to come along. I don’t get enough time to be with Brittany and my husband, the two people I love so much in my life.
When we arrived at the club, I asked the bouncer for my stamp and my wristband. I always try to sit back backstage to enjoy the show in peace. I never sit in the crowd because we get heckled or asked to take photos or give autographs; that’s just the reality of being a celebrity.
But the bouncer recognized us and just let us straight in without giving us our stamps or wristbands. So we were backstage letting loose. Kurupt, one of my favorite artists, was rapping and Hank and I were just grooving and having a great time. After his performance we wanted to go over and hang out with him and a bunch of the other rappers. So we left our backstage area to say hello, but when we tried to go back, the guards that let us in before got on a power trip and wouldn’t let us in. We had been ushered in without wristbands, so when we left the VIP area and they asked us for wristbands, we didn’t have ours. So there we were, standing around surrounded by about a thousand people, and everyone started coming up to us to take our picture. “Oh shit, it’s Kendra!” When I hear that, I know it’s time to leave. All of a sudden we went from being just a few normal people watching a show to being “Hank and Kendra.” Everyone recognized us. I ended up taking pictures with people, signing autographs, and having to put on my happy face. I appreciate my fans but I was there to let loose and be myself, not greet fans.
It ended up being an appearance for me. It was supposed to be a night of fun with my husband and my best friend. It’s the same reason I got a dog walker in Philly; it’s just not worth it. There are certain freedoms that I just don’t have anymore. There are only a couple times in my life where I put my head down and I just want to be away from everyone and have fun for myself. You can call me selfish, but I’m not selfish 100 percent of the time. I didn’t want to take pictures with people, I wasn’t in the mood. A lot of celebrities will never tell you that, or they’ll have their publicist make up some lame excuse. But I have nothing to hide; I’m not always in the mood, plain and simple. It’s no different from letting a call go to voice mail because you aren’t in the mood to chat with someone at that very moment. We all feel that way sometimes. That’s the way it went on that night, so I ended up taking pictures with people and being miserable; I didn’t want to seem like an ungrateful bitch. It ended up not being a fun night for me. Ultimately,