On Monday, a college student ran into Rami Malek in Manhattan before he was on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

She approached him already filming, and when asked if he would record a message for friends, Malek declined. Instead, he offered to pose for a photo. And then, this happened:

THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST EMBARRASSING THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO ME pic.twitter.com/qIesyA3eWQ

— xan 🌾 (@enemyfiIm) October 30, 2018

some fans thought he was rude

pic.twitter.com/ToGgfUsQq5

— Bryant Jackson (@BryantJ238) October 31, 2018

but others have come to his defense

Still at the end of the day fans don’t treat him normal like an human being, which btw he is. She should have asked before she started recording regardless, then she wouldn’t have been embarrassed by her actions.

— Laista (@Larvith) October 31, 2018

And Rami is ok with it either way.  He later told Vanity Fair that she was “really funny about it,” adding that when he finally brought himself to watch it, he thought: “Oh, that’s not that bad. I don’t find myself offensive.” He continued:

For any fans still hoping to approach Malek in the wild, the actor clarified his approach: “I am happy to take photos with anyone. I just want to be aware of what people are doing in the moment. When someone films you automatically, it’s a bit intrusive.”