‘World’s top autograph seeker’ apologises to Harry Styles after viral run-in on the street

A man self-proclaimed as the “world’s top autograph seeker” has apologised to Harry Styles after footage of him having a run-in with the singer went viral.

• READ MORE: Harry Styles live in Amsterdam: a hopeful celebration of community and connection

The incident took place last Wednesday (October 21) when the ‘As It Was’ singer was walking around the streets of New York City – where he is currently underway with his 30-show residency at Madison Square Garden.

In footage shared by TMZ, which has now gone viral, Styles was seen being followed by a man asking him to sign a copy of his latest album ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally’. The man appeared to become more agitated and insistent, before Styles stopped and confronted him.

Now, after TMZ reported the incident as a “heated exchange”, the man in the video has come forward to share an apology to the artist – explaining that he was in the wrong and that the footage actually showed Styles trying to “calm him down”.

WATCH

😳 Harry Styles goes off on man asking for autograph on NYC street.

🎥: TheImageDirect pic.twitter.com/zHIUDlG4sl

— TMZ (@TMZ) October 21, 2026

In a post on Instagram, the man called Giovanni, who describes himself in his bio as the “world’s top autograph seeker”, wrote: “I want to clear up some of the headlines about my recent encounter with Harry Styles in NYC. Harry has always been a gentleman to me, going all the way back to 2012 when he first signed for me.”

“The truth is, I was having a bad day and I was out of line,” he added. “Harry was actually totally chill about the whole situation and even helped calm me down. The headlines suggesting Harry lost his cool couldn’t be further from the truth. If anything, I was the one who needed to cool down.

“I take full responsibility and sincerely apologise to Harry. He’s always been cool with me, and he deserves nothing but respect.”

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Styles’ 30-show residency at Madison Square Garden kicked off at the end of August, and will wrap up with a special “Harryween” show at the New York venue on Saturday October 31.

Across the shows so far, he has spoken out in support of Oscar Belgal, the man who was shot by ICE in front of his five-year-old son, shared his admiration for the late Dolly Parton, made a nod to Taylor Swift’s wedding at the venue, and also paid tribute to his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne on the second anniversary of his death.

After the Madison Square Garden residency, Styles plays more dates in Melbourne and Sydney in December, before kicking off the final run of tour dates in 2027. Those shows will see him head to London, Madrid, Rome, Los Angeles and more, and include support from Kylie Minogue, LCD Soundsystem and others.

‘Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally’, which was released in March, and NME caught the tour as it opened in Amsterdam, giving it a glowing five-star review and hailing it as “a hopeful celebration of community and connection”.