Ahead of the release of the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, lead actor Rami Malek is quickly becoming a major star in Hollywood. Previously, Malek had won an Emmy for his lead role in the USA series Mr. Robot, solidifying him as a bonafide celebrity with a bright acting career in front of him. With his new film just days away from its premiere, Malek is dealing with more and more fans approaching him when they see him on the streets. While the actor seems to be accommodating with requests to take selfies, one fan found herself embarrassed by taking it a step too far when asking for a shout-out to her friends.

On Monday, 19-year-old film major Xan Black attended a Q&A for Bohemian Rhapsody with Malek speaking about his role in the flick. Afterward, Black approached Malek outside, opening her cell phone's camera and setting it to record video. The ensuing footage manages to capture most of the interaction, with Malek assuming Black is merely asking for a selfie. When the fan asks for Malek to say hello to her friends, the actor interrupts her, saying, "No, but we can take a picture, is that alright?" Malek then notices the camera is already on, so he personally stops the video from recording any further.

For his part, Malek was polite about the situation. He's clearly uncomfortable with giving shout-outs to strangers, but remained more than willing to pose for a selfie with Black. It's important to note that Malek wasn't rude to the fan, and for Black, the situation was more awkward than anything else. It seems this is an example of why they say people should never meet their heroes, because the interactions don't always seem to go as well as one might hope for. Malek obviously don't mind meeting fans, but it looks like he just wants to draw the line somewhere, and doing a shout-out video for one person will only have countless others expecting the same.

While seemingly such a minute interaction between Black and Malek, it wasn't long before the video went viral. After just an hour on Twitter, the clip had amassed over 100,000 views, only climbing even higher from there. The internet responded accordingly by turning the embarrassing moment into a meme, with some drawing comparisons to notorious selfie-avoiders like Jake Gyllenhaal and Ian Somerhalder. Despite the awkwardness, however, Black remains a big fan of Malek's, and feels the limited interaction with him was mostly because he seemed to be in a rush.

Of course, celebrities are under no obligation to take selfies, sign autographs, or give shout-outs for their fans. When approaching someone you don't know with a request for a picture or video, you need to accept the possibility that they might refuse. Even those who normally don't mind going through this with fans can still be caught on a bad day. However, on the other side of the coin, celebrities will now need to keep an eye on the cameras to see when they're rolling, because you never know what kind of miniscule, seemingly-inconsequential moment is going to wind up blowing up the internet. It will likely get even worse for Malek after Bohemian Rhapsody premieres in American theaters on Nov. 2. This story comes to us from The Cut, and you can take a look at the tweeted video below.