Amy Schumer Puts Aggressive Fan on Blast on Instagram, Fan Responds
It may be difficult for some to realize in this age of celebrity emojis and lip kits, but famous people — no matter their level of accessibility and status of fame — are not commodities at our disposal. They are human beings deserving of respect and autonomy, and on Saturday morning (April 30), Amy Schumer was not feeling very respected thanks to a less than stellar fan interaction.
Posting a photo of a smiling dude on Instagram, Schumer claimed that the seemingly happy man was not some random fan after all, but one who had aggressively harassed her into taking a photo with him (without her permission and amidst repeated pleas for him to stop). In addition to take a selfie with the distressed star, the "fan" then allegedly proceeded to tell the actress-comedian that he deserved a photo because he had "paid for [her]." Scary.
According to Schumer, "This guy in front of his family just ran up next to me scared the s--- out of me. Put a camera in my face. I asked him to stop and he said 'no it’s America and we paid for you' this was in front of his daughter. I was saying stop and no. Great message to your kid. Yes legally you are allowed to take a picture of me. But I was asking you to stop and saying no. I will not take picture with people anymore and it’s because of this dude in Greenville."
While it's upsetting to think that the actress may have felt dehumanized or even unsafe during the interaction, the Greenville, SC fan — real name Leslie Brewer — has come forward to Fox Carolina, and is telling a different story.
Brewer told the news station that when he saw Schumer walking around his town, he "pulled out his camera to Instagram it, but stopped recording when she asked," and that the comedian cursed him out while his family watched:
Brewer said he was upset when Schumer brought his daughter into the conversation and the two had a disagreement about him recording the video. He said Schumer began walking away but then turned around and came back, telling him she was going to take his picture and share it with her four million followers.
"She was just so rude," he said."She cussed me out in front of my family."
Despite the differing accounts, the point remains: Fans do not own celebrities, and not everyone is stoked to take a selfie with someone at any given moment. It's important to remember that while we may purchase their products, we don't have a right to treat famous people less than human.
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