Earlier this year, Amy Schumer asked me to text her. Well, me, and you, and the close to 10 million people who follow her on Instagram.
So did Hustler's co-star Jennifer Lopez and her fiancé Alex Rodriguez. And Diddy. And John Legend. And Ellen DeGeneres, Ava DuVernay, Kerry Washington. And the list goes on.
That's quite the celebrity rolodex to have in your phone. So you may be asking yourself, Why are all these celebrities really giving out their number? Should I text them, what do they want to talk about and who's really responding?
Here's what's actually happening when you text your favorite celebrities.
Is it their personal cell phone number?
Unfortunately, the short answer is no. As far as we know, Chrissy Teigen isn't texting John Legend's public phone number to scold him for inviting over dinner guests without telling her. J.Lo and ARod aren't exchanging sweet nothings using their public phone numbers. MTV isn't texting Diddy to plan the reboot of Making the Band using the phone number he tweeted out. Amy Schumer didn't plan her 2020 Vision Tour appearance with Oprah using the number she posted in her Instagram bio.
Those numbers that celebrities are sharing publicly are largely set up through a company called Community. Originally started as Shimmur, it rebranded as Community in 2018, attracting funding from Ashton Kutcher and his investment partner Guy Oseary. The company's website describes it as "a first-of-its-kind conversation platform—enabling direct, meaningful and instant communication at a massive scale, all through text messaging."
Since its launch, many celebrities have dabbled with the platform and have set up "Community" numbers—although it remains unclear exactly who and how many famous folk actually use their number on a consistent basis.
If I text a celebrity, will they text back?
Yes, and no. They don't totally ghost you, but don't expect a personal response either. We texted several celebrities who have shared phone numbers, and here's what we heard back.
They all respond with an auto-reply link to sign up with Community and a short message asking you to "add yourself" to their contacts list, complete with an emoji thrown in. If you click the link, it takes you to a Community sign-up page for the specific celebrity where your phone number and basic information can be "added" to their contacts list.
Despite the friendly response and encouragement to text, most likely you're not going to become BFF's with Jenny from the Block. For the most part, you'll find that the communication is pretty one-sided. However, if you're lucky and text at the right time, you might just catch Diddy on the other side.
Why are celebrities giving out phone numbers in the first place?
For Diddy, it's about feeling more in touch with his fans. "I’m sitting here and I’m thinking, I’m about to go into this next era of my life and I’m going to be doing a lot of positive things, a lot of disruptive things, a lot of things I really don’t want everybody, like everybody to know about,” the rap mogul explained in an October 2019 IGTV video, according to the New York Times. "When I’m in your city, I’ll be able to hit you directly. I will be answering people, accepting résumés, giving information for parties."
Kerry Washington tweeted a video explaining why she was sharing her number. "Social media is amazing but sometimes it's hard to sift through and really connect with the people who matter to me most. So I'm giving you my number," said the executive producer and co-star of Hulu's upcoming TV series Little Fires Everywhere. "I really want you to text me. I want you to ask me questions. I'm going to send links, like special sneak peeks. You guys are going to be the people I'm closest to in terms of sharing information."
And for J.Lo, she shared her Community number after she reached 100 million followers on Instagram and tied it to promotion of her movie Hustlers.
Is my phone number and privacy protected?
According to Community's FAQ page, if you sign up to text with a certain celebrity, your texts will go straight to that celebrity's inbox. The platform says it "does not send you advertisements or sell your personal information" and that "all data is securely stored." It's also fairly easy to opt out, just text STOP to their number and you will immediately be removed from their contacts. If you choose to unsubscribe, "your information is no longer visible" to the celebrity, but note that in order to completely delete your information off the platform you need to make a request by emailing privacy@community.com.
As with all new social media applications and platforms, it's wise to exercise caution with your personal information. You can find their full privacy policy on their website.
Want to text some of your favorites?
Regardless of whether you get a response or not, there's something special about seeing J.Lo, John Legend, Diddy and Amy Schumer all saved in your contacts. Plus, aside from your cell phone plan's standard messaging rates, Community doesn't charge money to text. So, are you dying to "chat?" Here are some of the numbers we've seen so far:
Amy Schumer: 917-970-9333
Kerry Washington: 718-400-7118
Jennifer Lopez: 305-690-0379
Alex Rodriguez: 305-690-0485
John Legend: 310-300-1971
Ava DuVernay: 310 299 9118
Diddy: 917-746-1444
Ellen DeGeneres: 310-455-8858
Ashton Kutcher: 319-519-0576
For more ways to live your best life plus all things Oprah, sign up for our newsletter!
![ina garten and jeffrey](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/jeffrey-garten-and-ina-garten-attend-the-barefoot-under-the-news-photo-1713807458.jpg?crop=1.00xw:0.668xh;0,0&resize=360:* "2011 "Barefoot Under The Stars" Benefit")
