Claire Foy made an appearance—albeit far, far too brief—in part two of season six, the final season, of Netflix’s The Crown. Foy was the original Queen Elizabeth in the series and was followed by Olivia Colman and Imelda Staunton; trying not to give too much away here, but all three women are included in the show as the series takes its final bow.
So, when you run into Foy on the street and want her autograph, let us give you a pro tip: don’t approach her with a blue pen, okay? On Sunday, writer Evan Ross Katz posted a video of the actress entering a building as a group of fans asked for her autograph.
“I don’t do blue,” Foy responded after a man in the crowd requested her signature. He asked, incredulously, “What?” and seemed to be taken aback by her reply, People reports. Foy then repeated her statement for the gentleman.
A few steps down, she was approached by another fan with a black Sharpie—and Foy stopped for that person and signed an autograph. Alright then!
In the comment section of the Instagram video, users shut down claims of Foy being rude, wisely saying her refusal to sign in blue ink had more to do with her likely not wanting her autograph to be sold. “They use blue Sharpies to mass copy the signatures and sell fakes,” one person wrote. “For some reason, blue photocopies better than black.” Another added, “Colored ink autographs get sold for far more money on eBay etc. Some celebs don’t want to support a secondary market/exploitation of their brand.” Fair enough.
Foy left The Crown in 2017 and remarked to People on the show’s recent ending “I’ve got a lot of love for the people who are still doing the show, but for my own sanity, I ended the show when I ended it,” she said at the L.A. premiere of All of Us Strangers earlier this month. “I let it go and I moved on and I think that’s quite healthy.”
As to whether she feels like people will always see her as the late Queen, “I don’t feel like I’m defined by playing Queen Elizabeth,” she said. “It’s a huge honor that people liked that character and therefore see me as that character. So, I’m not trying to actively go against that.” Though she has “moved on” from The Crown, Foy did say she felt “really, really proud” of the work she did while on the show.
Oh, and while we’re at it, don’t ask Foy for her autograph in blue ink and don’t call women “strong female characters,” alright? In an interview with Empire, Foy explained: “I viscerally hate ‘strong female characters,’” she said. “It says what? All other female characters are weak? You don’t separate men like that. They’re allowed to be unlikeable, likable, strong, weak, scary, cuddly…all sorts of different things.”
