Some Claire Foy fans were left scratching their heads after The Crown star—very politely—rejected an autograph request because she won’t sign with a blue pen.
In a viral video recorded Friday, Foy appeared happy to sign the autograph as she walked into Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, but she quickly withdrew her hand once she spotted the pen’s color.
“I don’t do blue, sorry,” Foy can be heard saying in the video, which has blown up on TikTok.
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The man, clearly confused, responded, “What?”
Foy turned her head and repeated: “I don’t do blue.”
“Oh, come on,” the man groaned as the actress walked away, flanked by security who made a path into the building for the Golden Globe winner.
Seconds later, just before the clip ended, Foy signed an autograph on a plain sheet of paper for a fan using a black Sharpie, showing she wasn’t against signing autographs in general—just those with blue ink.
Foy was skewered by some fans who couldn’t understand why the color of a pen or marker would matter. Others came to the actress’ defense in the comment section of the clip, explaining that blue ink can actually be easier to forge, and some celebrities and athletes are instructed to avoid signing their name in the color.
Foy hasn’t addressed the ordeal herself to explain her reasoning, but her fans’ explanation appears to hold water.
NBA star Russell Westbrook was criticized in January for refusing to sign a jersey for a child who’d begged for one, holding out a blue marker. In October, fellow NBA player Patrick Beverly offered a possible explanation for Westbrook’s actions, saying he’d been told early in his career to avoid signing anything with a blue pen.
“I was taught, maybe after my third year that you’re not supposed to use a blue pen because they can use that signature and slap it on another jersey and sell that, but you can’t do that with a black pen or grey pen,” Beverly said on his podcast.
