What's Wrong With People, # 4586 in a series

We like Amy Schumer here in Baltimore; she came down from Long Island to attend Towson University here in our northern leafy suburb, and she has done herself quite proud in the comedy field.  She has succeeded in television, standup, and her movie "Trainwreck" was a big deal last year.  Her persona is in tune with a lot of young people today - confident yet willing to flaunt some flaws.  (We all have 'em!)

And the stories of her being warm to fans and generous with service personnel are all over, which is why it was sad to see that she got steamed at an overbearing fan and declared herself to be a photo-free zone.  

On Saturday, Amy wrote that she will no longer pose for photos with fans, all because of the actions of a man fan from South Carolina.  She Instagrammed that a man (pictured below, in the post) had “just run up” to her on the street in Greenville and “scared the s—” out of her. The comedian performed in the city Saturday night.

“Put a camera in my face. I asked him to stop and he said ‘No it’s America and we paid for you,’” Schumer wrote in her caption, adding that the man was with his daughter.

“I was saying stop and no. Great message to your kid. Yes legally you are allowed to take a picture of me. But I was asking you to stop and saying no,” Schumer wrote.

“I will not take [pictures] with people anymore and it’s because of this dude in Greenville,” she wrote.

Later, Schumer revisited the topic, writing on Twitter that she still will take photos “with nice people when I choose to if it’s a good time for that.

“But I don’t owe you anything,” she continued. “So don’t take if I say no.”

Schumer also said in a statement that she was grateful for her fans:

“I am grateful to people who like my work and support me but not the ones who think that behavior is ok.”

If I may add to her words...athletes, singers, actors...people who make their living entertaining us...make their living by doing so, and it's usually a pretty good living. BUT I think that all they owe us is our money's worth, so when we pay to see a baseball game we don't expect to see half-hearted efforts and when we go to a movie we shouldn't have to see poor acting or cheesy fake scenery, and when we purchase a CD, there should be a decent amount of tuneage on there, and none of them should be by U2. 

Manny Machado might sign a ball for you on his way out of the ballpark parking area, and if you run into Bradley Cooper on the street somewhere, he might give you his autograph, even pose for a picture, and if you meet Eric Carmen outside a Raspberries concert, he might even let you join him in the refrain of "Let's Pretend." But remember, this is still America, and you didn't pay for anyone.  These people owe you a performance you pay for and not a thing more.