Martin Scorsese's security team was forced to intervene when a fan approached the legendary director without permission. The 83-year-old was greeting wellwishers in Brooklyn on Tuesday, October 6, when the incident occurred.
What happened
What should have been a friendly interaction between Scorsese and his fans quickly soured when someone got too close to the filmmaker for comfort. In video footage, the Goodfellas director could be seen approaching a gathering of people as he left the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) with his bodyguard.
As he joked with the crowd about the cold, he started signing photos held by fans. Unbeknownst to the filmmaker and his security team, a fan wearing a blue coat approached from behind with a phone in his hand.
Security steps in
Thankfully, Scorsese's bodyguard quickly spotted the man standing next to the director and intervened. 'Do you remember our conversation?' the man shouted at Scorsese as he was pressed up against the wall.
As someone in the crowd shouted 'Yo, what are you doing?' at the man in the blue coat, Scorsese was escorted away, bringing the autograph signing to an end. With the director gone, the angry crowd – who'd hoped to get Scorsese's signature – started yelling while the blue-coated fan looked sheepish. Eventually he started walking around apologising to people, explaining to the disappointed fans: 'My bad'.
Reaction online
On Reddit, the man's behaviour has not gone down well at all. 'This is absolutely awful,' said Nole1998. 'Scorsese and his daughter have spoken at length about how terrified he is of going out in public- specifically because of instances like this.'
'People really forget that admiration of a public figure doesn't override basic boundaries,' wrote Stefan988. 'One person's inconsiderate behaviour had to ruin it for all smh.' Bnjl1989 agreed, adding: 'Imagine bum rushing an elderly person, celebrity or not, then playing dumb and playing victim about it when that old person rightfully quickly runs away for safety.'
Meanwhile, to_j probably had the most succinct summation of Reddit's thoughts about the guy's behaviour, writing: 'The guy's an idiot and lucky he didn't get beat.' Some in the comments also accused the man in the blue jacket of being well-known in New York for crashing celebrity events.
