‘Shang-Chi’ Star Simu Liu Was ‘Shook’ After An Altercation With ‘Toxic’ Autograph Seekers

Simu Liu used to appear in textbooks; now he’s written his own book. The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star called his memoir, We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story, “one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life,” but there was a moment in Philadelphia on Tuesday night that left him “shook.”

“Had a not great altercation at the end of my book event in Philly,” Liu tweeted. “Look, I’m trying to have a real moment with my audience. If you come to my events and harass me or make me or my fans uncomfortable, there’s no chance in hell I’m going to sign for you. Don’t cross that line.” The Barbie actor described the incident further:

“Best photo that I could get but these professional autograph seekers followed us out of the Philly event and then threw soda on our window. They then ran to their car to remove the front license plate so we couldn’t ID them. Thankfully we had someone at the event venue documenting so we will get them and file a report with authorities. Obviously everyone is fine but we’re just a bit shook that this could happen.”

Liu later added, “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. I’m not rewarding that behaviour.”

I’ve seen professional autograph seekers at most red carpet events I’ve covered for work, and they’re usually a) carrying an obscene amount of posters or DVDs or headshots, and b) obnoxious and pushy. They’re no better than adults who steal foul balls; in fact, they’re worse, because they’re selling a Renée Zellweger-signed copy of Shark Tale, or whatever, on eBay. Good on Liu for calling these bottom feeders out.