Gillian Anderson urged a fan at the stage door of her latest theatre show not to sit in the front row as it is ‘so distracting,’ sparking debate
The X-Files star is currently appearing as Martha in the stage adaptation of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Soho Place Theatre.
She stars alongside Billy Crudup in the production, which has received rave reviews from critics and fans alike.
The show has had people online talking for a different reason, however, sparking debate about parasocial fandom after a video clip was posted of Gillian confronting a fan.
She asked the woman, who cannot be seen in the clip, not to sit in the front row of the production as it is ‘so distracting,’ claiming she had attended the show ’20 times.’
In a video shared on Reddit, the actor is seen addressing a fan as she leaves the theatre, saying: ‘You guys cannot sit in the front row. I don’t care; you cannot sit in the front row. It’s so distracting. You can’t come 20 times and sit in the front row.’
The fan can be heard repeatedly saying ‘I know’ and ‘I’m sorry,’ with lots of fans defending Gillian and her response.
Sharing the video on X, Jemilymsr said: ‘Every week it’s a new video of Gillian having to tell y’all that going there EVERY day makes her uncomfortable but congrats parasocial GA stans hope you’re all happy you got your special moment bc at one point she’ll just stop coming out the stage door.’
Wencrashingout replied: ‘it’s also WAOVW is not really a play you see 20+ times… for an actress who wants to be seen for their art (Martha is an incredibly difficult role to play) and not because of crazy stans wanting to stage doors this must have been so weird and demoralising.’
OnyxSakura said: ‘It gets to a point that if you recognise someone repeatedly everywhere you go, it raises a red flag that’s impossible to ignore. You don’t know just how crazed the crazed fans can be. She’s setting a boundary that it makes her uncomfortable.’
Many said they would be ’embarrassed’ to be called out by a celebrity like this, while others point out that the behaviour was unfair on other audience members.
Mani Artist wrote: ‘How difficult it must have been for gillian to perform and stay in character while she is so uncomfortable due to someone’s presence…
‘It’s actively making it worse for the rest of the audience because everyone gets a poor show due to one person’s behaviour.’
Others disagreed that the fans meant any harm, with Slaydon arguing: ‘nah this is weird on Gillian’s part. they’re allowed to want to see her in a play & sit where they want.’
Renatusmaia agreed, writing: ‘100%, like imagine telling a fan they’re supporting you too much.’
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma star Gillian has frequently spoken about the intense fandom surrounding hit sci-fi series The X-Files and how that has followed her throughout her career.
Speaking to Grazia, she said: ‘There are some die-hard fans who have followed me from X-Files who will watch everything [I do]. And now it’s reaching an entirely new audience, as part of Gen Z’s throwback TV project, which sees them mainlining ’90s classics.’
She recalled: ‘At the BAFTAs I was talking to Samantha Morton’s daughter, who’s in her early twenties, and she just wanted to talk about The X-Files… [The fans span] late teens to octogenarians.’