Whenever a celebrity is at a public event or even just out in public, there are some people who find them. Sometimes, fans hear about their faves going somewhere and run there to try to meet them. But most of the time, those people are autograph hounds.
I have never had a good experience with an autograph hound. Before I was a journalist and was a young 20-something living in New York and wanting to meet my favorite actors, I would go to events and stand outside after to just try and tell the person in question thank you for their work. Which meant sometimes, I saw autograph hounds and their most annoying.
One time, at the Tribeca Film Festival, I waited to meet JJ Abrams after a talk back and the hounds were so bad that a little kid was getting pushed out of the way for their myriad of posters they wanted him to sign. I snapped at them and it resulted in a nice moment between me and Abrams after I defended the child but it was also one of the last times I ever subjected myself to that area. I’ve seen them waiting outside of hotels where junkets are and asked myself how they “know” where to go.
Most recently, I saw one waiting in the airport arrivals exit. But what brought this piece on was a video of Pedro Pascal in Paris. Pascal is handed a pen and one person has him sign no less than 3 separate pictures while never saying a word to Pascal. Meaning that the person in question is probably an autograph hound and going to turn around and sell all those pictures for money.
Stop signing these things please!
One of the coolest things I ever saw was Zachary Quinto realizing that the marker in question that someone wanted him to use was actually so that the person could sell it. He then said no and refused but had, originally, agreed. Meaning that if it was a fan, he’d do it. And I think that’s where the issue lies.
These hounds are not getting these autographs because they’re fans. They ask for pictures to authenticate that it is real and sell it. Currently, some of these photos sell for almost $100 and there is a Funko that is around $1,000 online. Meaning for these people, they spend whatever it costs to print a picture or they spent the $10 bucks on a Funko and then make a large profit over pretending to be someone’s fan.
I wouldn’t mind the autograph hound “job” if they didn’t consistently push fans out of the way to get what they want. They’re not there out of respect or love for something. They’re there because they want to make a buck and if that means forcing a fan to lose out on an opportunity, oh well.
So I wish we’d stop allowing this. One picture? Fine. Having someone get 5+ things signed in a row all to turn around and sell it is gross.
(featured image: Bryan Steffy/GC Images)
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