Actress Octavia Spencer poses with her new book at The Grove, before meeting fans who said the Oscar winner acted like "a diva". Photo/Getty
Actress Octavia Spencer poses with her new book at The Grove, before meeting fans who said the Oscar winner acted like "a diva". Photo/Getty
Octavia Spencer shocked and angered hundreds of fans at a recent book signing, acting like an "ungrateful b****," say eyewitnesses who were so incensed with the actress's behavior they stormed out and demanded refunds.
The 44-year-old Academy Award winner, who won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Minnie Jackson, a maid, in The Help, and is currently starring in the TV show Insurgent, was at Barnes & Noble bookstore at The Grove in Los Angeles last week to autograph copies of her children's book Randi Rhodes Ninja Detective - The Sweetest Heist in History.
But before the night was over people were dragging their kids out of line, demanding refunds on the books and storming out of the store in disgust.
"Octavia was mean, rude and horrible to everyone," former fan Angel Guzman explained.
"Initially, there was a Q&A but Octavia acted like she was forced to be there and she took her anger out on all of us, including the kids.
"Octavia's answers were short and blunt and there were times she rolled her eyes to the back of her head like she couldn't believe someone could ask such a stupid question. It quickly became a very uncomfortable situation for all of us," says Guzman.
"It was clear they just needed to proceed to the autographs because Octavia was not responding well at all to the questions."
Spencer was scheduled to autograph her books from 7-9pm but she complained about the space they put her in and the "tiny glass of water" she was given. She said her feet were hurting so she took a long bathroom break, leaving everyone to wonder if she left or not.
"Octavia was acting like a diva. She was mad because the event coordinator gave her a small glass of water but she wanted a large litre of 'good water' and demanded to know why she was being treated this way," Guzman continued.
"All of this happened in front of everyone who has been standing there for at least an hour, with their restless kids, waiting for her to show up. Octavia didn't acknowledge the crowd in any way; she just showed up and started to complain.
"But when the she finally started to sign the books, (that's) when things went from bad to worse."
Normally, celebrities allow their fans to take a picture with them. But Spencer said no touching, no coming around the table to take a picture with her and she also refused to engage in small talk.
She didn't even want to ask customers their name. They had to tell her assistant their name, who wrote it on a sticky pad and handed it to Spencer, who then signed the book and slid it over to the edge of the table for pickup, like it was a fast food window.
After watching Spencer being abrupt and rude to several people one woman grabbed her eight-year-old and stormed off yelling, "This woman is an ungrateful, nasty b****! I'm getting a refund on this stupid book. If she talked to me or my child like that it would get really ugly in here so it's best we get our money back and go home before something jumps off."
"After several more encounters with her audience, a man approached with a photo of Spencer for her to sign but she said: "I'm NOT doing that."
"The guy was devastated, saying he bought it specifically for that day, that he was a big fan and he promised he would not post it on any social media outlets but she didn't care - she said, 'Absolutely, not'.
Octavia Spencer signs her new book The Sweetest Heist In History at Barnes & Noble bookstore at The Grove in Los Angeles. Photo/Getty
"But she did sign the book he just bought and slid it across the table to the guy - who was absolutely dumbfounded," Guzman explained.
"And boy, that was it. The crowd started to leave in droves and went directly to the counter to get refunds for the books."
Another eyewitness said they agreed that Spencer was horrible and didn't care that she was being a **** in front of children.
"I just left, who does she think she is anyway - Elizabeth Taylor?" the eyewitness exclaimed.
"I could not believe how rude she was to all of those people who were there to support her.
"When someone approached the table, Octavia demanded to see the receipt to prove they purchased the book before she would sign an autograph. It was outrageous - and insulting."
A call to Spencer's representative for comment was not returned.
