Emma Thompson has gone on the record to say that she detests selfies, stating that they represent people’s narcissism taken to “unspeakable extremes.”
But the Oscar winner would prefer that a London waiter not be fired for asking if he could have a selfie with her, the Sunday Times reported.
In fact, Thompson, 60, reportedly was “horrified” when she learned that her waiter at the upscale restaurant where she dined over the weekend had been suspended without further notice.
His offense? The waiter at Brown’s, a five-star restaurant in London’s posh Mayfair neighborhood, had approached Thompson’s table, where she was dining with a group of friends. The starstruck waiter asked one of Thompson’s friends if he could take a picture of him with the actress.
Thompson declined the waiter’s request, saying she did not want to impose on her guests.
It was subsequently learned that the waiter, a senior member of the restaurant’s staff, had paid dearly for his desire for a celebrity photo.
The Times reported that he was suspended until further notice. The restaurant’s owner told the Times it had “a strict policy of respecting guests’ privacy which applies to all staff members.”
When the Times reached out to Thompson for a comment, the outlet said she was so horrified that she called the hotel and urged the restaurant not to suspend the waiter.
The restaurant would not say whether it had heeded Thompson’s request. In a statement, the restaurant said, “Caring a great deal for the privacy and well being of both team members and guests, we are unable to make further comment on this matter.”
The Times reported that many celebrities are willing to pose for selfies with fans when they are at promotional events or walking the red carpet. But they have begun to push back when fans attempt to intrude on their day-to-day lives.
Thompson, who starred in “Howards End,” “Love Actually” and the upcoming “Last Christmas,” has long expressed her aversion to selfies, apparently in any setting. She told the Belfast Telegraph in 2014: “I wouldn’t dream of taking a selfie with anyone. God almighty. That’s to take narcissism to its unspeakable extremes. No, get a life everyone.”
