Claire Foy has turned down a fan’s request for an autograph for one simple reason: “I don’t do blue.”
In a recent video posted to TikTok, the 39-year-old British actor was seen being escorted into Rockefeller Center in New York City. As several fans stood outside the building hoping to get an autograph from The Crown star, one man held out a blue ink Sharpie pen.
“I don’t do blue, sorry,” Foy responded to the man. He seemed taken aback by her answer when he asked: “What?”
The Women Talking actor reiterated her response, saying: “I don’t do blue.”
The man could be heard audibly groaning as he uttered: “Oh, come on.” Before making her way into the building, however, she did sign one fan’s autograph with a black ink Sharpie.
In the comments section, several TikTok users were equally as puzzled by Foy’s surprising reason for denying the fan’s autograph.
“I need to know why she doesn’t do blue?!?” one fan commented.
“That is the weirdest thing! No blue, wonder what the reason is?” another person asked.
As it turned out, the All of Us Strangers star wasn’t being rude when she turned down the autograph request. Many people pointed out that actors, athletes, and fellow celebrities are often advised not to sign their name in blue ink because it’s reportedly easier to forge than black ink.
“Most celebrities and athletes are taught not to do blue ink because you can scan and forge the signature on other things and sell them,” one TikTok user noted. Another person claimed that famous figures are told not to use blue ink “for computer scanning recognition it’s used to forge”.
“Apparently, blue ink allows people to transfer signatures easily to other items which is why they only sign with black ink,” a third user wrote, while someone else chimed in: “I was today years old when I learned that you shouldn’t sign in blue because it’s easy to forge.”
Foy has taken extra measures to protect her safety and security after an American man was sentenced to 22 months in jail for one count of stalking and two counts of breaching an interim stalking order. In December 2022, US citizen Jason Penrose pleaded guilty to stalking Foy between August 2021 and February 2022. He was given a stalking protection order in July 2023 after sending Foy thousands of emails, and turned up at her home in December 2022.
In a letter sent to the court, Foy described feeling “terrified and helpless” in her own home. “I have had to have numerous meetings with my daughter’s school, neighbours, family members and work colleagues who had all been affected by Mr Penrose’s stalking and harassment and all have legitimate fears and concerns regarding his behaviours,” she wrote. “I will again be scared to leave my front door, pick my daughter up from school and return home at night. I will have to follow police guidelines of having my phone on at all times, remaining alert and fearful.
“I feel like the freedoms I enjoyed before Mr Penrose contacted me have now gone and I view the world in a much more fearful way as a direct result of his actions.”
Foy, who received critical acclaim for her portrayal of a young Queen Elizabeth II in seasons one and two of Netflix’s The Crown, recently reprised her role in the series finale of the historical drama. In the final episode of The Crown season six, all three actresses who played the Queen came face to face, including Olivia Colman and Imelda Staunton.
