Sheila Sim disbanded own fanclub to avoid feeling ‘obligated to stay around’

Fan clubs for celebrities are common and usually even welcomed by the stars themselves.

But we don’t usually hear of one disbanding their own fan club.

In an episode of Jade Seah’s YouTube series The Catch Up uploaded yesterday (Sept 20), local actress Sheila Sim talked about her past modelling career and the woes of being in the limelight.

Bringing up how she once survived on one green apple a day for two weeks at the age of 16, Sheila, now 39 and a mother of two young daughters, said: “Luckily I fainted because otherwise I would have gone on [with the diet] for a long time, I think”.

Jade, 40, agreed, adding that they could do a full episode on the “dark side of modelling”.

They continued to talk about the tough times they faced in the past, and Sheila recalled how she used to have an official fanclub.

The fanclub had an account on Instagram with the username “Sheila Simplicity Fanpage” with over 400 followers and posts.

While some celebrities might feel motivated in their career having dedicated fans, Sheila saw the situation in a different light and chose to disband the fanclub.

“I felt obligated to have to stay around to take care of them and to spend time with them, so I disbanded it,” she recalled.

“I can’t believe you disbanded your fanclub because of that. How do you disband a fanclub? How does one disband a fanclub?” asked Jade.

Sheila laughed: “I just said, ‘I want to disband’, being as straightforward as I am.”

When Jade asked if the person who started the fanclub was sad, Sheila responded: “She was… but I feel like long-term pain is worse than short-term pain.”

She added that she would rather tell her supporter “one time” so that she could “go and focus on other celebrities”.

“Like, every time you have to wait around for me. Like damn cham (pitiful), right?” she continued.

Jade then remarked: “Sheila, you’re such a non-celebrity,” to which the latter agreed.

The reason Sheila pursued acting in Singapore

Speaking about her past modelling career in Hong Kong, Sheila mentioned how there was a time where she was “doing quite well”.

The reason why she eventually chose to become an actress in Singapore?

“I can wear flip flops and I can have a relationship. The paparazzi [in Hong Kong] were just too crazy,” she explained.

She then recounted the time when one of her clients back then called her agency to ask why she was seen walking down Orchard Road in flip flops.

“Flip flops also cannot?” asked Jade in disbelief.

When Sheila questioned who the client was and if she was endorsing their brand, her agency said that “it wasn’t even a fashion client”.

“Then I was like, ‘That’s none of their business!’ Seriously, why can’t I walk down Orchard Road in flip flops?” quipped Sheila.

She concluded: “That was very, very annoying for me.”