Viral Video Has Emma Thompson Saying She’s ‘Bored’ With Signing Harry Potter Merch, But Fans Are Sharing The Reason Why Her Take May Have Been So Blunt

There are some roles that are so big that an actor can never shake them, and that’s certainly the case for many stars of the Harry Potter movies — Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, to name a few. For others like Emma Thompson, who portrayed Professor Trelawney in three of the eight films, the franchise wasn’t as significant in their overall career. Still, some were shocked when Thompson claimed to be “bored” with signing Harry Potter merchandise, although it seems like she might have had a good reason.

A viral video circulating on social media shows Emma Thompson stopping to sign some autographs before getting into her car. When she sees the items being held toward her, she appears to bristle a little before telling the crowd:

Some people were taken aback by the comment, questioning if that meant she thought she was too good for Harry Potter or even possibly making a statement about J.K. Rowling’s controversial comments.

However, several people came to Emma Thompson’s defense, noting that she realized that it wasn’t fans asking for her autograph, but dealers who planned to sell the items she signed. Comments included:

• They are just trying to sell it on eBay, that's why she said the signatures were not for the real fans. – amandaappleblossom
• She said one each meaning probably a bunch of people showed up with like ten copies of Harry Potter stuff to clearly sell it on eBay and if you think about it from her perspective she'd just be signing free money away instead of signing for someone that would give it a sentimental meaning which is I think something she would much rather do – vicenteperdomo
• She was acturally very nice to these vultures – k_e_a_p
• They're doing it to sell on. – heathjmac

This seems to make sense, especially because you can see people handing her multiple items, including empty Funko boxes. Check out the video below:

Honestly, I love how she handled this. The fact that she clocked the people who could be autograph dealers and still agreed to sign items for them was a pretty classy move, and I like that she called them out for it.

Fans on TikTok were saying the same thing, saying her seemingly harsh words probably didn’t have anything to do with her opinion of Harry Potter fans or the franchise as a whole. They wrote:

• I think she means “not real” like not for sentimental reasons, they are to sell – northernfunnymummy
• Right! 100% not fans. The blue tape, the multi boxes all together. I guess the argument would be, they are trying to make a living. BUT it comes at the expense of genuine fans. These professional autograph hunters spoil it for the fans. – bonbond007
• Yes, she is talking about them being for people who sell them on! That’s why they use that pen too - it transfers the sig onto other things. – gr3019
• It’s cause they are just gonna sell it – highchemicalfidelity
• She’s bored of autograph dealers getting stuff signed – kellyma4884

I think it’s safe to say fans of Professor Trelawney need not worry about shade being thrown at the Wizarding World by the actress. In fact, her comments about being “bored” with the merch were probably more in service of real fans than anything.

If you want to relive all of the movie magic, the Harry Potter series is available to stream with either a Peacock subscription or an HBO Max subscription.