Some celebrities have rules about engaging with fans on the street, or in any kind of public situation. Some celebrities will never give autographs or photos to anyone who interrupts them at a restaurant or when that celebrity is with their children. I sort of get that – even if I was a celebrity’s biggest fan in the world, I still would feel completely icky about interrupting them out in public when they were with their kids. Then again, I don’t really care about autographs or getting photos with celebrities anyway. And what if it’s your kid who loves a celebrity and just wants a quick photo? I don’t know. Star Magazine claims that Maggie Gyllenhaal refused to take a photo with a young fan when she was approached on the street.
A young fan was left crushed and crying after an encounter with Maggie Gyllenhaal in NYC.
“My son flipped when he saw ‘Batman’s girlfriend’ and her daughter on the street talking to an older woman,” recalls a heartbroken mom. “He waited off the side until she had finished her conversation and then politely approached her saying, ‘Excuse me, I’m a huge fan of yours. I’ve seen ‘The Dark Knight’ about 20 times – can I please take a picture with you?’” Her icy reply? “I can’t, I’m too busy.”
The actress stalked away, leaving the tot in tears at her rude snub.
[From Star Magazine, print edition]
While I like Maggie as an actress, I do think she’s probably the kind of celebrity who would refuse to take photos with fans if they approach her on the street. I would be interested in knowing how young the fan was, given that the fan had seen The Dark Knight twenty times? Are we talking about a five year old or a 13-year-old? Then again, I guess it doesn’t matter that much, although the younger the fan, the worse the optics. Maggie Gyllenhaal makes children cry! Maggie Gyllenhaal doesn’t care about toddlers! Maggie Gyllenhaal dissed a sobbing baby who only wanted to meet Batman’s girlfriend!
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
If she didn’t want her picture taken, fine — that’s her right. But there are ways of refusing that aren’t flat-out rude.
Is it me, or has she always looked a good 15 years older than she really is?
Personally I think she looks way older and very hard for her age. I also do believe that she is not a nice person to her fans. Maybe it’s all that stress of being married to a womanizer that takes a toll on her appearance and attitude.
she is both talented and beautiful in a very unique way. I don’t see what you see. 🙁
IMO she looks like a smoker.
Peter’s a womanizer?! Never heard that before. Interesting. They always seemed like such a cool couple to me.
She definitely has a unique look to her to put it nicely. Her brother Jake is more conventionally good looking. Although, he does have some unique facial features that, luckily for him, blend well together. I have read that she has complained about not getting roles because she isn’t pretty enough. She isn’t ugly, but her problems with getting roles doesn’t surprise me. She and Jake had the doors to Hollywood open to them because of connections, but I have to admit that they have done well for themselves because of their talent. They are one of the few children who, despite benefitting from nepotism, have shown that they deserve to be leading actors. However, I think it would have been very difficult her to break into Hollywood at the beginning of her career without connections.
Alix, I don’t know about MG, but I once taught a little girl in kindergarten who had the oldest-looking face I’d ever seen on a child. There wasn’t anything wrong with her, she just had that “old lady” look about her. I watched her over the years until she went to high school, and in Year 6, she looked exactly the same as she had in kindy. Unlike other children, who gradually lose the babyish look as they grow into pre-teens, she didn’t. In 7 years, her body obviously changed, but her face just never did. Very strange.
But was she actually being rude though? We weren’t there of have no idea what her tone was. And apparently she said she was busy, which seems reasonable to me. Its not like she said “Get Lost or soemthing”.
Icy? or honest
My friend walked into her and almost knocked her down during the intermission of a play and he said she was very gracious. He also said he saw her signing a Playbill for a little girl telling her she was happy to do so even tho she wasn’t in the play. Something about this story seems off to me. Then again, maybe she was having a rough day 😕
So the mother runs and SELLS the story to Star Mag. Something is off here.
Right?
This story stinks like rancid cranberries i tell ya
We all have bad days, but I don’t think worse of an actor if they refuse a photo or an autograph.
Agree.
me either. why do fans feel entitled to autographs?
Plus it’s Star magazine, where most things are complete fiction.
The Dark Knight was out in 2008 so how old was this child? Seems off.
Is she know for being rude to fans, because honestly I am surprised anyone recognized her.
I work with teens and quite a few are into things that are not “trendy” or mainstream.
She’s totally entitled to refuse to sign an autograph in my opinion.
To me, it’s not an excuse if a celebrity is with their kids, on the streets or in a restaurant, as long as the fan/person asks POLITLY for a picture or an autograph, it’s part of their job to do it. I think it’s better this way, than someone trying to secretly take pictures of them (and most celebrities say this drive them nuts!). If they don’t like being approached by strange people, then stay at home!
Jeez, take 30 secs to sign a piece of paper or take a damn selfie with a fan! If I’d meet someone I admire and have been following their career for years and they’d refuse to take a selfie with me, I’d do a hell of a scene!
I hate to break it to you, but you are not actually entitled to a celebrity’s time when they’re not at work/on professional duty.
You followed their career? Good for you, you got your money’s worth through the entertainment you paid to watch/hear. But they’d be perfectly within their rights to tell you where to put your “hell of a scene” (so much for “POLITLY”) for refusing to take a selfie on their private time.
Amen, Teacakes! This idea that actors/musicians/anyone famous owes anyone their time is bizarre to me. If someone’s paid to act, and you pay to see the movie, great. Job done. Transaction over. They don’t owe the public anything else.
Why don’t we make these demands of other professions? “You’re a baker, you want the public to come buy your cakes, don’t you? Then I want a free eclair if I see you on the street. And take a selfie with my kid, or I’ll call TMZ and tell ’em what a floury bitch you are.”
100% agree with @teacakes and @Londerland. People can be so entitled sometimes. Celebrities aren’t robots just waiting there with nothing to do that fulfill the public’s demands. They can be busy or just don’t give a shit to do it at that moment, just like the rest of us.
I’m sorry you feel that way.
I disagree that a celebrity is on 24/7. They have a right to a personal life. It’s not as if Maggie was at red carpet event. You wouldn’t ask a doctor for an exam if you saw them walking down the street.
“It’s not an excuse?!” They’re human beings, not zoo animals. They owe you nothing. Their children are the only ones entitled to their attention.
No, actually. You are not entitled to a selfie with a celebrity. They are not public property.
How would you feel knowing that you couldn’t even take a trip to the corner store without being inundated with work related questions by strangers?
It actually is not part of their job. Get off your entitlement soap box.
Where in the description of ‘actor’ does it say that signing autographs is a job requirement? It isn’t. Its a requirement we’ve forced onto celebs as a trapping of fame. Celebs don’t owe you anything.
Jake is quite nice, I’ve hardly heard any good stories about Maggie though
I have read good and bad things about Jake, Maggie, and their parents. I have taken these accounts with a grain of salt. What I have gathered is that they really value their privacy, maybe more than the average celebrity, meaning that they don’t really care about being covered regularly by gossip sites and celebrity magazines. Jake is regularly seen walking in NYC and taking the subway, and oftentimes he tries to be super incognito with a beard, hat, sunglasses, or a heavy coat. I guess part of his appeal – and I admit to being a big fan of his acting – is that he is a bit of a mystery. There are still rumors about his sexuality (I personally think he is straight), his showmances, and other aspects of his personal life. I don’t think there is a lot of intrigue about Maggie though. She just lives a rich hipster’s life in Brooklyn with her family. I have read some accounts of Jake and his parents being kind of rude to fans. As a fan that is a bit of a disappointment to hear, but it also seemed as if the family was having a hard time dealing with the siblings’ newfound fame at the time.
a classmate of mine from law school went to high school with both siblings in southern california. she said jake was a little bit of a jerk. but maggie was a total sweetheart.
Yeah, I can confirm this too – my first cousin went to Harvard-Westlake for HS too and JG was in his class – I remember he showed me his yearbook and JG’s page had a ridiculous shirtless picture of him – super try hard. My cousin said he was kind of a douche in person
I don’t see anything wrong, and “heartbroken mom” sounds like a chancer tbqh. It’s not like Maggie said ‘f%^# off’, she just refused to give the kid what he wanted and a slightly brusque excuse.
Her son saw the movie 20 times and still referred to her only as ‘Batmans girlfriend’. Or the mom did. Not gonna lie, if I was serious about my profession and someone referred to me as anyone more famous’ girlfriend, id be pissed.
‘The Tot’. Please. Unless he was 4, like you say, I think the details are in the conversation she was having. She was out with her own kid, in the middle of a conversation. Who knows what it was about, what her day was like.
I met John Malkovich yesterday in Florence!
He stopped me to ask for a cigarette ( Wtf??) and I realised it was him after he left!
I though he was someone I knew.. like a distant uncle or someone I don’t know but that I see often! And then *pang* it hit me.
John friggin’ Malkovich!
lol. Did you give him a cigarette?
no.. I don’t even smoke!
Didn’t that voice give it away??
Maybe he was hitting on you?
no his voice didn’t give it away.. it happened so quick that i didn’t have time to realize!
hitting on me? that’s what all my friends say (why would he ask for a cigarette otherwise?) but i highly doubt it.
He sounds about 9. The world is mean and celebrities are shallow, kid.
I feel like any kid old enough to have watched The Dark Knight once, never mind 20 times, is old enough to handle the selfie rejection.
And? So the kid asked for a picture and the actress said no, is mommy gonna take her to the international human rights court now? I’d take the opportunity to teach my kid some values – people are entitled to their personal time and space and a choice to not hang out with you, nothing to cry about
This is surprising if true. To begin with, she’s not that big of a star in my view. She’s a good actress, but fame wise is kind of B-list. It is fully in her right to refuse to take photos and sign autographs, but to me it is still inconsiderate and rude. I’ve taken photographs with celebrities. For the most part they agree as long as you are gracious in asking them or their assistants. If Maggie was busy, she could have been polite about it, i.e., I’m rushing my daughter to her dental appointment, I’m really sorry but I can’t. There is no excuse to be rude to an adoring fan. These celebrities get paid millions and dealing with (non-crazy) fans is just part of the job of being an overpaid actor. That said, isn’t the mother going a bit far herself by telling this story to Star?
Telling a lie to justify not doing something you do not want to do is passive aggressive female training and not something we should encourage our daughters to do nor demand from grown women.
Maggie does not need to make an excuse to anyone (of any age) about why she won’t take a picture with them. It was enough that she said she was busy. All she absolutely needed to say was No- which conveys the bare minimum response to the request that was made of her. She certainly, as an adult woman, does not owe an explanation to a child. Fan or not.
This has nothing to do with “passive aggressive female training”. Give me a break. I’m equally as pissed off and offended when a man is rude to me. I was taught to be tactful when I have to turn someone down. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. When someone is nasty to another, doesn’t matter if he or she is a celebrity or non-celebrity, that reflects poorly on that person. If I were a celebrity I would be cautious of having a bad reputation even if it is in everyone’s right to be nasty and rude. Doesn’t mean other people don’t notice or won’t tell other people.
Actors that are well paid are paid this way because they bring a lot of money to producers and filmmakers who hires them since people enjoy their acting. The fact that they earn money and/or that you have paid a movie ticket to see something they worked on doesn’t entitle you to disturbe their spare time. You are not their employer; they have already given you what you wanted through the enjoyment of the movie. They owe you nothing and should be able to live their lives without being disturbed for pictures/autograph while running errands.
She may not owe anything to anyone but how about just being nice to a kid because he’s a human being? Geez!! All this talk about her rights is just a bunch of blah blah.
She refused a freaking autograph, get over it. The kid is not entitled to one on her spare time, he didn’t get it. Boo hoo.
And she’s a human being too, last I checked.
Everyone has a bad day. I went to the grocery store at 7am this morning with my slept in make up from Thanksgiving. If I were trying to go unnoticed as a celebrity on an off day then I wouldn’t take the pic either. She is always judged on her looks so maybe she’s hyper aware of that.
If I am famous, and you appreciate my work on the screen or stage, great. Thanks for being a fan!
But if I had to spend every waking moment off set recognizing and paying attention to my fans, I’d have time for nothing else.
I want to be able to walk down the street without being interrupted. It’s awkward enough having people recognize you everywhere you go. Now I have to stop my day to make you happy? Sorry, but I was under the impression that you were happy with my acting skills, and that is why you paid to see my performance.
So a Kid heard the word NO. Not really news worthy.
I think there is something super embarrassing about going up to a celebrity. I would never dream of doing it. My husband, on the other hand, travels tons for business and often sees celebs in hotel bars, on a number of occasions he ends up having drinks with them.
Eh, just because you saw a movie 20 times doesn’t mean you are entitled to a photo and or autograph. Frankly, a person can respond to another person any way they feel. One is not entitled to anything.
Well, I have a bias against people bothering others on the street, so Maggie’s reaction is fine by me. It’s inconsiderate to bother people going about their day, and your favorite celebrity doesn’t owe you anything just because you’re a huge fan. And it’s good to learn manners when you’re young, is my curmudgeonly opinion.
The article calls the kid a “tot”. Isn’t that like a toddler or just a little older? Either way, it matters not. MG doesn’t owe anyone an autograph. And I agree with those side-eyeing the mom running to the tabs.
I’m inclined to believe this. I had a colleague who was an extra in ‘an honourable woman’ with Maggie the lead. According to her Maggie wouldn’t speak to the other actors and was extremely dismissive when approached.
Actors have to be in a very specific frame of mind, and that show is INTENSE, so that’s probably why. Be a little empathetic.
Nothing rude about Maggie’s behavior. Some kid she didn’t know asked her for something, and she declined to give it to him. Random people are not entitled to selfies with celebrities, or autographs or anything else besides common courtesy; it doesn’t matter if it was a child or a 95 year old.
So the kid was told “no”. So what? It’s not like she kicked him or called him names. And what kind of message was the parent sending to the kid, by whining to the papers when some actor didn’t automatically give her special snowflake what he wanted? smh
Also, it’s the Star, so who knows if any of this is even true.
This just seems like a completely over-sold BS story from an entitled woman looking to cash in. There is probably a nugget of truth there, because why pick Maggie as the celeb otherwise since she’s not such a huge name, but it’s definitely been embellished to be much harsher. Team Maggie.
once i saw MG in a restaurant and when she was done, she just got up to leave. they ran after her with the check and she said, “oh i just assumed it was comped.” this was no fancy place used to celebrities. she did pay when asked, but if you want to be treated like a celeb when it is convenient for you, you should expect it at all times. neighbors have told me this isnt an isolated occurrence with her.
other celebs in the same neighborhood like steve buscemi, really do act like normal people and dont expect anything free.
That’s disgusting! She is rich by any measure. Who does she think she is, especially since others who were or are here like John Turturro or Jennifer Connelly/Paul Bettany never had stories like that out?
I’ve seen MG in the neighborhood (she and Buscemi and I live in the same one), and I’ve seen her push past a woman carrying a baby, and was told when I bought an item at a local boutique that MG had already purchased one, and the saleswoman added as an aside that MG was nastily rude to her. I’m calling absolute BS on all of the upthread defenses. MG did not owe the child an autograph but perhaps the kid’s mom was extra-motivated to sell a story because MG was rude because a lot of people in her area find her extra and very rude.
Yep. This is why I said signing autographs and taking photographs with fans really is part of the job of being an overpaid celebrity. If these people don’t like being noticed, they can just quit Hollywood and stick to stage acting and other low-paid acting gigs. Most of these celebrities love the perks – free goodie bags, free swag, meals, etc. – when they all have more than enough money to pay for themselves and everyone else in a bar or restaurant at any given time. If MG expects everyone in her neighborhood to recognize her as a celebrity, she should also be down with taking photographs with those in the neighborhood. If this mother who went to Star lives in your neighborhood, MG’s consistent rudeness may have been a motivating factor to report her to the tabloids. Like I said above, every person has the right to be rude and nasty, but you better expect others to talk about you and give you a bad reputation.
“Yep. This is why I said signing autographs and taking photographs with fans really is part of the job of being an overpaid celebrity. If these people don’t like being noticed, they can just quit Hollywood and stick to stage acting and other low-paid acting gigs.”
Nope, sorry. Just because someone has a job/profession that puts them in the public eye, it does not mean they owe the public access and attention anytime it is asked (demanded) of them. They work, they do their job (the acting, interviews, appearances etc as required by their contracts), they get paid for that work. That’s it. Maybe if they are at a work event such as a premiere, or at a convention, then signing autographs or taking photographs could be considered as a necessary part of their job. But just walking down the street? No, they do not owe attention to any stranger, any more than a normal person walking down the street would.
If MG is truly rude or acts entitled (expecting comped meals, etc) or always treats other people as “less than”, that’s a different issue. But it has nothing do do with whether people are entitled to demand things of her when she is just living her life, going about her business with her family. It’s like when people try to claim that actors have to give up all their privacy and share every moment and detail with the public, simply because they chose to be actors. Nope.
I dont think she did anything wrong. Not only is she entitled to not take photos or sign autographs with anyone, but she said she was busy. Its not like she told him to get lost. If she made an exception , then whose to say more people wouldnt have come up?
who is she ? Is she famous ???