Ted Williams was detained by police after an argument with his daughter.

Ted Williams hasn’t actually been arrested. The golden-voiced homeless hero was detained by police after a loud altercation with his daughter outside a Hollywood hotel. The two were yelling, and as Williams’ told Entertainment Tonight, “Fists started flying, none of them mine, none of them mine.”

Williams’ daughter claims she was angry because he’d been drinking. Williams’ says he wasn’t.

Let’s get this straight: a celebrity has an argument with his adult daughter outside a Hollywood hotel. The police are called, but no one is arrested. The two offer competing accounts of the argument, which may or may not have involved drinking.

This is so commonplace among celebrities that it wouldn’t even be news. Except that a week ago, Williams wasn’t famous. He was a homeless man with a surprising talent that has taken the country by storm. As John put it in his excellent post, “Ted Williams has gone from living on the streets to kicking it with Matt Lauer faster than I can realistically expect to receive intra-state mail.”

John sees this as evidence that Williams’ gift is also a curse. In a way he’s right: William’s is doing what any other famous person does. He’s continuing to live his life with all his struggles and strengths. Only now he’s doing it in a media fishbowl, with celebrity gossip hounds and even parenting bloggers like us reporting on his every move.

Should he set a better example as a father? Probably. None of us want our kids to see their heroes fall from grace. I’d love to think of Williams’ temper being as sweet as his voice. But the reality is that he has zero practice at being a celebrity. When you’re homeless, the police hassle you all the time. A few months ago I was sitting in the local square eating ice cream with my kids and a cop came along and hassled a homeless man to move along simply because he was talking politely to my daughter.

Families argue all the time, too. I’ve had screaming fights with my mother. They did not end in the police being called in. I’m willing to bet that is because I am neither homeless nor famous. Ted Williams’ has had the mixed fortune to be both. As a result, he’s getting more than his fair share of attention. From the police. From Matt Lauer. From us.

I hope the next time I write about Ted Williams I’ll be writing about his new career. In the meantime, this incident doesn’t tarnish my image of him. It just reminds me that even our heroes are human.

Photo: vectorportal

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