Celebrity3 min(s) read
Published 11:37 26 May 2026 GMT
Gladiator star Russell Crowe has been slammed online after a video of him shouting at fans waiting for autographs outside a hotel in Paris went viral.
The Hollywood A-lister, 62, was swarmed by fans as he exited his hotel during his trip to France to attend the 2026 French Open at Roland Garros Stadium.
Since it was revealed in August last year that a third Gladiator movie will be made, many fans of the original movie, released in 2000, have speculated whether Crowe will appear in it and have hounded him in public to ask.
However, the heroic image they have of the actor may have been shattered after he unleashed a tirade on them in Paris this weekend.
In the video obtained by TMZ, which has since gone viral, the star is seen approaching the crowd of fans that had gathered outside his hotel, raising his arms in frustration as he approaches them and warns the group to watch their behaviour.
He can be heard abruptly saying: “Guys. Are you listening?”
“Stay where you are. Don’t f**king push in on me, I’ll come to you. Just give everybody space, and as soon as somebody’s a d**k, I’m gone. You got me? Clear?”
Begrudgingly, he began signing autographs for fans, but when one person asked him to sign as his character from the original Gladiator, Maximus, he brusquely replied “no”, then immediately moved on to the next fan.
After the footage went viral, Crowe's fans and critics flocked to the comments to share their disappointment in the actor’s behaviour, with many agreeing that he should express more gratitude towards the people who helped make him famous.
One person wrote on X: “Without the fans, he just a guy most likely working @ Ace Hardware.”
Another X user said: “Jeesh, talk about ‘Never meet your heroes.’”
A third person quipped “Why would you want an autograph of someone who is such a d**k to his fans?”
This is not the first time that Crowe has been at the centre of widely publicized altercations. Over the years, he has had several scraps with fans, directors, and producers.
In 2005, he was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon in New York after struggling to make an international call from his hotel room.
Although the 62-year-old star has a somewhat brutish reputation for being rude to fans and colleagues, supporters rushed to defend Crowe’s latest scandal.
One X user said: “Support what? He did nothing wrong. They were coming at him. He said he would come to them and he did.”
Another chimed in with: “I don’t think he is wrong for giving the rules and behavior he expects before doing something he doesn’t have to do.”
