Hilary Swank's Hilariously Awkward Autograph Request Goes Off The Rails After Fan Can't Remember Their Name

Some people will try to resell anything, especially in this economy, so a few celebrities are starting to discourage the reselling of their autographs. This led to an awkward situation recently for Million Dollar Baby's Hilary Swank.

TMZ was present when Swank walked out to a line of people waiting for her autograph, and while they talked to her about her pregnancy, current cravings, and encouraging women who might think it's too late to have a baby, the actress was busy with a fan who at first seemed too starstruck to speak to her.

When Swank approached the start of the line, the first person handed her a blue Sharpie. Instead of immediately autographing the photo, she wrote down the word "To" and asked the woman to whom she should address the autograph.

Autograph scalping is apparently on the rise, and people resell them on sites like eBay. Scalpers allegedly present blue and green Sharpies, which are supposedly easier to digitally manipulate, so they can reuse the autograph on other products and make more money.

Swank continued to ignore TMZ's questions while she waited. After a lot of back and forth, including Swank asking people around the woman if they knew her name, the woman eventually gave a name (indecipherable from the video). Swank sweetly said that was her niece's name before moving on to the next person in line—who also hesitated.

You can watch the video here:

Viewers immediately assumed that the first person, if not both people in the video, were autograph scalpers, eager to get Swank's autograph to resell.

Others agreed and thought Swank was smart for including a dedication and making it harder to resell.

It's unclear if the woman actually intended to resell Swank's autograph or if she was just that starstruck to see her in person, but it's a little fishy that it was so difficult for her to produce a first name.

That seems like all the more reason for celebrities like Swank to continue with this tactic. True fans will not mind volunteering a name.