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Sorry if that was unclear. It wasn’t a failure of organizers to forego an autograph session. Perhaps you are correct and they didn’t want to have one.

If so, then it is a failure of event organizers to not make that clear, or at least not to step in after the first person crossed the line.

I am extremely grateful at how gracious Yvonne was with all of her fans. She came across as a genuinely nice person who cared about her fans.

I agree Josh Schwartz was getting annoyed; but I saw no indication that Yvonne was.

Like I said, I can understand why people got annoyed in retrospect. And I do apologize for my part in that.

I run a fansite for Yvonne; I’m a big fan. I enjoyed the experience that I got to have by giving her that bear.

But the repercussions weren’t all roses. I regret that it pissed people off; and I would especially regret if it creeped Yvonne out. I honestly don’t think it bothered her.

I gave her the bear and was in my seat within 40 seconds. That’s fast. I tried to be fast and respectful of both her space and peoples’ time. I intentionally did not ask or try to approach her.

Clearly, there is a contingent of fans who feel that the Q&A got out of hand and was disrespectful to the panelists. I question whether that contingent was really the majority as stated above, but I recognize that the contingent exists.

I can’t speak for Polish Parade Guy, ‘Date me in NYC’ guy or the kids with nothing to sign, but I can speak for me.

And I am sorry that my actions ruffled feathers. To me it was more than just a plug for the site, but also a way to let her know that I was a big fan of her work and I supported her.

Clearly, I should have expressed that differently.

The sob-stories/sucking up really got to me as well. At the height of cold/flu season, is it unreasonable to not want people touching or getting up close to you? I know that I felt like I should have had a can of Lysol on one hip and a bottle of Purell on the other while I was there yesterday.

Those complaining should be grateful Yvonne was as gracious as she was. Not everyone who attends a Con is required to spend hours autographing, taking pictures and making meaningless small talk.

I debated giving her the bear; I would have preferred to give it directly to her in an autograph session or something.

I do accept responsibility for my actions, and I do apologize for making people mad or uncomfortable. I don’t go to a lot of conventions, so I don’t have a lot of experience with what is or what is not kosher.

In this case, I also feel that the moderator/comic con organizers should have done a better job setting expectations and rules if that was necessary.

There was no autograph session with the Chuck panelists, so it was an inevitable eventuality that people would ask for autographs in the Q&A. That was, at least in some small part, a failure of the organizers imo.

Perhaps the panelist are just really good actors, but I’ve rewatched video of me giving the bear to Yvonne and none of them looked upset, angry, or creeped out in my opinion. Perhaps fans who find the act self-indulgent are projecting those feelings onto the panelists?

After having seen how it all went down, I wouldn’t do it again. I’m glad I got her the bear, and it was a fun experience for me. But it seems to have created a non-fun experience for other people. I didn’t wish or foresee that.

As for the traffic bump, I was actually disappointed. Our numbers were no higher than an episode of Chuck.

Lykaon
Webmaster, Strahotski.com

My apologies for the error, it has been amended in the recap above. But for the record, as a veteran comic con attendee, I do stand by my belief that giving actors/creators gifts and/or asking for autographs/hugs is self indulgent and something that annoys the majority of the fans (myself included) in the audience. It’s a Q&A, not an opportunity to plug your own web site. Although, kudos on the plug, you undoubtedly are getting a nice bump in traffic from it!