Before you buy into the 'clickbait' headlines posted by TMZ and Loudwire, read this first-hand account of what really went down in Detroit.
I just want to add, I saw similar bullshit behavior from autograph hounds and eBay flippers in Portland. Two immediately ran up to Joshua as he approached the backstage door before the show; the whole time before his arrival, I heard them talking about how they had camped out in front of the bands’ hotel and gotten “a lot” of autographed photos to be put on eBay.
Y’know, how fucking rude is that?
Anyway, both shoved copies of PPD at him and said “sign my copy!”, which he did. One even had the audacity to shove another copy at him and say “sign this copy, too!”, which he did with reluctance. I saw him literally pause and look at the woman but he did sign it.
There was a lull and I, who literally had nothing for him to sign, asked if he would just take a photo with me. He paused a second before he said “sure” and after the photo, some actual fans who had approached after the initial crush got to chat with him and have him sign an album and take a photo before he disappeared. The guy who got a photo was fucking excited, high fiving his friend.
I know A LOT of the flippers and autograph hounds were after Iggy Pop. It was very apparent when I turned around and saw how much of the gathered crowd hadn’t even moved when Joshua, Troy, Sweeney, and Dean had come up. (The other three had disappeared into the building, leaving Joshua behind.) Several had paper bags with 3 or more copies of albums, mostly Iggy Pop stuff, but some with QOTSA stuff, in their hands. It was CLEAR AND OBVIOUS what they were there for.
The previous time I met Joshua, he actually said he did not have time to sign things for me and I said that was fine, I just wanted a photo with him. Which he totally obliged me. In a way, telling everyone he would only take photos is A MUCH BETTER IDEA, because who the fuck is going to make money off a photo? No one. But to a real fan, it’s a priceless object, a moment in time when you meet someone who has had real impact on your life.
If you scroll through eBay, you see tons of listings for autographed vinyls and CDs and whatnot. All with “certificates of authenticity” and price tags of $200+. Sure, it’s great if you get your copies signed. Not everyone will have a chance to do that, let alone meet a musician. I never thought I would. So I get why some people *do* pay for autographs on eBay. But, really, the whole thing has gotten totally out of hand.
And fuck the so called “media” outlets that are making Joshua out to be the bad guy in this situation! The clip on TMZ shows only the worst of it, but not the before or after. I seriously don’t blame him for going off on that asshole, who certainly got his five minutes of fame and played the sympathy card to get it.
ellievsbear
gracieabrams
origamiaround
gummygunk
germansingergirl
theartofmadeline
