Mark Hamill sparks outrage after charging Star Wars fans 'sickening' amount for autographs
Star Wars legend Mark Hamill has shocked fans with the 'sickening' amount he is charging for his autograph.
The acclaimed actor, 73, who famously played Luke Skywalker in the classic George Lucas films alongside Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, is charging up to $700 a pop to scribble his signature on various items.
A photo shared on Reddit exposed the eye-watering fees for Hamill's signature, sparking controversy in the comments.
According to the snap, which was taken at a FanExpo event, the star is charging $400 to sign an 8x10 photo, while it costs $500 for a premium autograph.
Meanwhile, a 'bulky' autograph – on a action figure or other similar merchandise - will set fans back a hefty $700.
Outraged fans took to Reddit to complain about Hamill's prices, with one going as far as saying they've lost respect for him.
One said: 'I wouldn't pay $400 for a meet and greet with my favorite celebrity, much less an autograph.'
Agreeing, another said: 'I wouldn't pay $400 to sleep with my favorite celebrity.'
'Love Mark, but gotta say I've lost a little respect for him for this,' wrote a third. 'I know he's not the only one, and people have to make a living, but come on.'
A fourth blasted: 'This is sickening.'
'I'll never quite understand paying for an autograph,' another quipped. 'Looking at a framed Luke Skywalker, ah remember when I paid 500 bucks at some convention hall to sign this! What a fun memory!'
Others, however, defended Hamill and reasoned that his sky-high prices will deter crazed fans.
'I feel like this would just filter out the normal non-weird fans,' one pointed out.
Another said: 'Sometimes people set these high prices because they don't really want to do it. At his age, with his popularity, it might be a way to set the pace.'
But others were critical of this idea, with one slamming: 'Then don't do it? It's such a scummy practice.'
Outraged fans took to Reddit to complain about Hamill's prices, with one going as far as saying they've lost respect for him
Earlier this month, Hamill revealed his future in the iconic franchise after nearly 50 years playing Luke Skywalker.
In an interview with Willie Geist, he said he won't be back for the new Star Wars film starring Daisy Ridley but is adamant he did not quit.
He said: 'Well, let me say: they haven't asked me. It's not like they said, "Please come back."
'I don't want to make a big PR pronouncement like "This is my decision."'
'I'm just saying that it really felt like a conclusion. My character was given complete closure. I died, ironically by overdosing on the Force, I might point out.'
Hamill starred as Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy, which also included 1980's Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back and 1983's Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.
He then reprised the role again in 2015's the Force Awakens.
In the 2017 film The Last Jedi, Luke dies at the end, melding with The Force. He put on the mantel for what appeared to be the final time in 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, as Luke's spirit.
Hamill said completing the Skywalker trilogy allowed for other adventures under the Star Wars umbrella.
'It was a whole new era for them,' he explained.
'George [Lucas] gave them this amazing canvas, the entire galaxy. They can do westerns, mysteries, comedies, whodunits, anything within that realm of Star Wars,' he said.
'And they're doing so well,' he added. 'I love Rogue One, Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett.'
Hamill made brief appearances in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett as Luke with the help of de-aging and motion capture effects.
'I had my time,' he said of his tenure in the 'galaxy far, far away.'
'I'm really appreciative, but I'm really looking to the future for all these new projects.'
Hamill made headlines in late May when he told ComicBook.com 'I left my robes behind. And there's no way I'm gonna appear as a naked force ghost.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
32 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Less death, more social media: Formula One films decades apart reveal a changed world
'Let's try to get the season off to a good start, shall we? Drive the car. Don't try to stand it on its bloody ear.' Have you watched the movie? It's about a rule-breaking American Formula One driver, the kind who blows past blue flags and crashes into his own teammate. You must have heard of it. They shot it in real race cars, across some of the most prestigious circuits in the world. It even had contemporary world championship drivers making notable cameos on the track. If you've never watched 1966's Grand Prix, now is the time to do it. This summer's blockbuster slot may belong to F1; and its director, Joseph Kosinski, may have gone to extraordinary lengths to capture the visceral speed of the fastest class in motor sport. But John Frankenheimer got there first. The close parallels between the two films have gone largely unremarked in the reviews. Six decades ago, when the glamour of the sport was peaking, Frankenheimer set out to capture its thrill, daring and inescapable danger. He fixed cameras to the chassis of Formula Two cars – the same substitute Kosinski has used – that hared round Brands Hatch, Spa, Monaco. Like Kosinski, he spliced real race footage into his own. His American lead, James Garner, did his own driving, just like Brad Pitt. There are even occasional shots in Kosinski's film that seem to pay tribute, intentional or not, to its predecessor – the moment that recalls Frankenheimer's stylistic use of split-screen, or when Pitt jogs around the old Monza banking. F1 the Movie, to be clear, is a billion-dollar industry giving itself a full valet – shampooed squeaky clean and buffed to an impossible sheen. But it's also the kind of sports-washing I'm prepared to indulge for the sake of the pure adrenaline thrill. After watching Top Gun: Maverick at the cinema, I walked straight back in for the next screening and sat in the front row so I could pretend to be in the cockpit. At the Imax this week I was practically climbing into the screen. I was definitely the only woman my age leaning into the turns, and wishing they would stop cutting back to Pitt's face so that I got more track time. For a bit of perspective, I had gone with my father, a man with a decades-long following of motor sport and a habit of nitpicking at movie details. Ten minutes into F1's opening track sequence he leaned over, and I braced for a critique of the pit crew's refuelling technique. 'We can go home now,' he whispered. 'It's good enough already.' A movie that can impress my father with its motor racing action deserves all the hype it gets. But neither he nor I had anticipated just how much it would remind us of Grand Prix – or how well that 59-year-old work would stand up in comparison. The Silverstone marching band, paraded past the clubhouse by a moustachioed sergeant-major, has given way to night-race fireworks in Las Vegas, and the ruinous cost of running an F1 team has jumped from a few hundred thousand to £100m. The stomach-buzz as the asphalt whizzes beneath you remains the same. Putting the two stories side by side does, however, show you interesting ways the sport has changed. Grand Prix's opening lingers, fetishistically, over images of working pistons and twisting wrenches. Such lowly mechanical details are almost entirely absent in F1, where the team headquarters looks like a space station and every element of the engineering process is rendered in gleaming sci-fi. There's also a lot less death. Frankenheimer's crashes are genuinely shocking – not because the stunts are realistic (and they are) but because of the bluntness of their outcome. Drivers are catapulted from their seats to fall on whatever part of the landscape they meet first. Spectators aren't safe either. The fact that horrifying incidents are a part of the public's fascination with Formula One is a recurring theme. F1 still plays on the life-or-death stakes, but does it in a very different way, as you'd expect from a film licensed by the governing body as a big-screen advert for the sport. It's also pretty keen that everyone you meet on screen shows motor racing in a good light. Team principals are loving family men! Drivers' managers are cuddly BFFs! People cycle eco-consciously to work! Everyone is so empathic and good at giving advice! It was the latter that had me balking at the chutzpah. There's a point where our hero tells the rookie to stop thinking about his social media. The hype, the fan engagement – 'it's all just noise,' he says. This in a movie that was produced, at phenomenal cost, as a method of growing hype and fan engagement. The film's only baddy, meanwhile, is a corporate investor, who we know must be a bad 'un because he spends his time schmoozing The Money in hospitality. Here's a game for you when you're watching F1: try to go two minutes without seeing or hearing the name of a brand that's paid to be there. I left the auditorium still blinking the name of accountancy software. By contrast, Frankenheimer's film seems bracingly honest. In Grand Prix, the drivers may have moments of self-reflection but they're also uncompromisingly selfish in their pursuit. The philosophical Frenchman Jean-Pierre Sarti suggests they live in denial: 'To do something very dangerous requires a certain absence of imagination.' 'Why do we do it? Why not tennis, or golf?' It's the question at the centre of every motor-racing film. In Le Mans, Steve McQueen answered by stripping out everything but the sound and feel of the track. F1's hero describes the feeling when he's 'flying' (not for nothing does he arrive walking down the tarmac, carrying a duffel like a certain fighter pilot). Perhaps that's what makes motor racing ripe for big-screen treatment – it's the most literally escapist form of sport there is. If F1 gives it the glossy treatment, Grand Prix sees beneath the sheen.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs and son Justin accused of rape in new US lawsuit
As closing arguments got under way in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs this week, the music mogul and his son Justin Combs were hit with a new lawsuit, accusing them of a 'brutal gang-rape' in 2017. In the suit filed in a Los Angeles court on Monday, a woman alleges that Justin Combs used his father's celebrity status to 'lure [the] plaintiff, a young female, from Louisiana to Los Angeles where she was literally held prisoner for a weekend and repeatedly raped' by the pair and two other masked men, according to the complaint. The lawsuit comes amid the final phase of the seven-week trial for Combs, and on the day the mogul's son Christian, who raps as King Combs, released a seven-song album – including one called Diddy Free – on streaming services. The album, Never Stop, credits King Combs, 27, as the lyricist, and Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, as a producer. Prosecutors have accused Sean Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, of running a criminal enterprise that engaged in sex trafficking, drug distribution, kidnapping, forced labor, arson and bribery, and coercing women, including his former partner singer Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, into participating in drug-fueled sex marathons. Combs's legal troubles kicked off in late 2023 when Ventura filed a lawsuit accusing him of rape and severe physical abuse over the course of a decade, and said he used his power and status to keep her trapped in the relationship. The lawsuit was settled the following day for $20m, but Combs soon faced dozens of lawsuits from others accusing him of sexual and physical abuse. This week's lawsuit claims that in 2017 Justin Combs, 31, lured the alleged victim, an 'accomplished, degreed professional', to Los Angeles with the possibility of a job, promising to use his father's connections. She was, the suit alleges, flown to Los Angeles and taken to a high-end Beverly Hills property where she was eventually drugged and repeatedly raped by Justin Combs and his father and two 'unknown, masked' men over the course of a weekend. Justin Combs allegedly held the potential job 'over [the] plaintiff's head' as well as 'risque' photos she had sent him. The suit accuses Sean Combs of a 'pervasive history of sexual assault and violence'. 'The conduct described herein is strikingly similar to how [the] defendant Sean Combs and his entourage conducted themselves for many years, and it appears that Combs's penchant for sexual violence is shared by his son,' the suit states. The woman is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the assault, which, according to the suit, left her with 'severe emotional distress, emotional anguish, fear, anxiety, humiliation, embarrassment, physical injury, emotional injury and trauma'. In a statement to media, Combs's legal team denied the allegations, stating that 'anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason'. The statement said: 'No matter how many lawsuits are filed it won't change the fact that Mr Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone – man or woman, adult or minor.'
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Justin Bieber hasn't been to church in 3 months as pastor Judah Smith hints at drama in rambling sermon
JUSTIN Bieber hasn't been to his long-time church for at least three months amid drama with his pastor and accusations of a cult-like atmosphere at the institution, insiders have claimed. The pop star, 31, had previously been pictured attending Churchome, a nondenominational church in Beverly Hills, with his wife, Hailey Bieber, but he's been missing in action since March. 7 7 He is said to be close to Smith, 46, who has been his spiritual advisor for years. However, their relationship has reportedly caused a rift between Bieber and his best friend, Ryan Good. Sources previously told TMZ that Bieber hasn't spoken to Good, who was the best man at his wedding, for a year amid the fallout. Good, who co-founded the star's fashion brand Drew House in 2018, left the church due to its supposed "cult-like culture" and has been worried about Bieber, according to the outlet. He has not returned calls for comment on the situation. The tension is also said to have escalated when the star added Smith to the Drew House board, despite Good's reported concerns and the pastor's lack of business experience. Bieber has now distanced himself from the brand, telling fans not to buy clothing from Drew House. The U.S. Sun can reveal the singer has not been seen at Churchome's monthly in-person services for three months, while Smith hinted at the troubles in a rambling sermon this week. He has left fans worried with his bizarre behavior and comments about Hailey, including when she featured on the cover of Vogue, admitting in an Instagram post he told he she'd never be on the front of the fashion bible during an argument. Bieber was also filmed having a public meltdown ranting to paparazzi while at the beach with his family. Solemn Hailey Bieber seen WITHOUT her wedding ring on separate outings in NYC amid Justin divorce rumors His rep has also denied allegations of drug abuse, while followers on social media have been concerned with his weed smoking after becoming a new dad to his son, Jack Blues. EMOTIONAL SERMON On Wednesday evening, around 250 people shuffled into the iconic Saban Theater for the so-called Christhome Experience, and Smith apologized as he was late to the stage. While Bieber was nowhere to be seen, Smith name-dropped his close friend, former E! News host Jason Kennedy, who was sitting in the audience, and admitted pals had been worried about him. "Recently, I've had a lot of people ask me if I'm okay," Smith admitted. "Which, [at] face value, that is a wonderful thing to do, right? A text, 'Hey, you good?' 'Hey, you okay?' "The problem is when they add up, I start to wonder … maybe this has happened to you, wait, am I okay? "So Jason and I went to Miami this past weekend. It was a great time. And I ran into so many old friends I hadn't seen in a while. "And I was kind of taken aback because one person said, 'Hey, are you good? You okay?' And I was like, 'Yeah, yeah, no, I'm good.' I'm kind of like, what have you heard? "Then another person, 'Hey man, are you good? Are you okay?' Should I not be? Yeah, I'm still married to Chelsea. We're having sex pretty regularly. My kids are 20, 18, 16, I don't, uh, yeah. 'And then another person, 'Hey, you good? You've been on my mind.' Um, thank you. You ever had that? Someone's like, 'You've been on my mind.' You're like, 'I haven't thought about them in years.' You don't say that, of course. You're like, yeah, me too. I mean, it's good to see you. He went on: "Now part of that is like, wow, what a thrill, what an honor, what a privilege. Now, some of you right now, already, I've missed you with this message because you're like, 'I wish to God somebody would ask me if I'm okay', but have you ever been asked so many times if you're okay, that you started to wonder if you're okay? "And I'll admit in Miami recently seeing old friends, I started to say, 'no, I'm great'. And then I could hear through my own tone that my response was me also telling them, but also telling me that I'm great." He proceeded to reference Bible scripture and stumbled through the sermon as many of his jokes failed to land with the churchgoers. After an hour, Smith's speech took an emotional turn as he began tearing up and said, "It's [life] always been about people, but we made it about popularity and we made it about appearances." 7 7 Smith was unavailable for comment on his relationship with Bieber after the service, and Churchome did not respond to comment calls. Bieber's rep also failed to respond when asked for clarification about whether he is still a member of the church. CULT ACCUSATIONS During a previous sermon, Smith recounted how paparazzi had asked him to confirm or deny if Churchome is a cult after he stepped out of his car. "If we're a cult, we are the worst cult in the history of all cults," he joked. "We meet once a month, guys. I stopped doing this every Wednesday. We've got to get better at this." Bieber and his wife are still following Smith on Instagram despite not showing up to services. Smith officiated their 2019 wedding and baptized the couple together in 2020. He has also provided the pair with counseling sessions and featured in the 2020 YouTube documentary series Justin Bieber: Next Chapter. The U.S. Sun spoke to churchgoers leaving the service on Wednesday, with one admitting it's had its issues but insisted it's not a cult. He said, "I've been coming to this church for five years. I've grown so much lot spiritually. "Things aren't always perfect but I know pastor Judah comes from a good place. He has a good heart, he's the real deal. "Haters are gonna hate but I think he has the right intentions. "At the end of the day, pastors are also human, they do make mistakes, but it's up to us to help pray for them and uplift them. "I haven't had negative experiences with Judah but I used to be in the prayer group and that didn't work out. I'll leave it at that. But that didn't discourage me [from coming]. "Every church has its issues, there's mental illness with the people that go there. No church is perfect." On Bieber being missing from services, he said, "He's a big celebrity, he's got a busy schedule. And not to mention the health issues he's going through, everyone here is supportive. "He's participated here, given words here, so we all love him," he added, saying they would always welcome him. BIEBER'S CHURCH TROUBLES It's not the first time Bieber's association with spiritual advisors has caused issues in his personal life. He previously had to distance himself from Hillsong and disgraced pastor Carl Lentz, who was fired in November 2020 due to "leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures." It was later revealed that these "moral failures" included affairs that rocked his marriage. Hillsong also found itself the subject of a damning documentary that detailed historical accusations of sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s by late church leader Frank Houston. The churchgoer who spoke to The U.S. Sun revealed he also previously attended Hillsong services but said the two organizations were "two different worlds," adding, "Carl Lentz is a completely different character." A third churchgoer insisted, "There's no pressuring [people] or anything. I've seen Bieber here, they help him get in and out without being [mobbed], but we haven't seen him recently." JUSTIN'S TURMOIL Meanwhile, the star has left fans worried in recent months with his public rants and emotional Instagram posts amid alleged turmoil in his marriage with Hailey. He also announced in April that he no longer supports Drew House and instead is focused on his clothing brand, Skylrk, although the launch has been delayed. In a now-deleted Instagram post, he wrote, "I, Justin Bieber, am no longer involved in this brand," over a screenshot of the fashion house's Instagram account. "Drew House doesn't represent me or my family or life. If your [sic] rocking with me the human Justin Bieber don't waste ur money on Drew House." Justin also posted cryptic messages and private leaked texts with an unknown friend on Instagram this month. In one worrying post, the Sorry singer shared a blurry black-and-white selfie where he looked solemn. He wrote, "Tired of transactional relationships. If I have to do something to be loved that's not love." 7 7
