Simu Liu is speaking out after what he called a “not great altercation” with autograph seekers.
In the early morning of June 8, the Shang-Chi star tweeted that he planned to file a police report against multiple professional autograph sellers who allegedly harassed him while at the Perelman Theater in Philadelphia for a June 7 book signing event.
Alongside his tweet, the We Were Dreamers author shared a slightly blurred image of what appears to be two people in the front and passenger seat of a black vehicle.
“Best photo that I could get but these professional autograph sellers followed us out of the Philly event and then threw soda on our window,” he wrote on the photo. “They then ran to their car to remove the front license plate so we couldn’t ID them.”
The Marvel actor explained that he hopes to identify the individuals as “we had someone at the event venue documenting” and press charges against them. Still, it was a very disturbing experience. He added, “Obviously everyone is fine but we’re just a bit in shock that this could happen.”
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Simu also offered a word of warning to other autograph sellers who are thinking about attending any of his future events.
“Autographing for people who will just resell it on eBay is a personal choice. Sometimes we do it, but I don’t personally like to reward certain types of behaviour,” Simu wrote on his Instagram Story, per BuzzFeed. “Especially when the people get aggressive and invasive and make my real fans and supporters uncomfortable.”
He continued, “I’ve had a couple of bad experiences in a row where my personal space has been badly violated. Just know that if you cross that line for me or for my fans, there isn’t a chance in hell I’m ever gonna sign for you.”
Shortly after posting, fans flooded Simu’s social media channels with support. One fan tweeted, “Can’t believe people would do that. Scary. So glad you are safe.”
While another added, “I hope that it is understood that this kind of behavior is wrong and should NOT be a co-product of fame.”
In a reply to journalist Sydney McIntyre, Simu wrote, “At the end of the day it was just a couple bottles of soda but it’s indicative of a really toxic culture of autograph seekers (not all, some) that are willing to cross personal boundaries just to make a buck.”
He concluded, “I’m not rewarding that behavior.”
