Twitter user xan, who uses they/them pronouns, is a long-time Rami Malek fan. But little did they know that on Monday night, their life was about to become intertwined with Malek’s after the two passed each other in New York.
Xan eventually reached out to Malek and turned on their camera’s video mode, asking if he could “say hi to my friends.” Malek quickly interrupted, shaking his head and saying, “no, but we can take a picture.”
Of course, the whole entire conversation was recorded on xan’s phone. Afterward, xan says Malek “literally swiped my camera” and changed it to photo mode, just to make sure the two would get a picture and not a video.
“Nah I’m done with video messages,” xan concluded.
so rami malek walked past me…..how do i describe this flex….
— xan black (slow)♟ (@madebyxan) October 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/enemyfiIm/status/1057076580370051073
https://twitter.com/enemyfiIm/status/1057085412315938818
i worded this wrong he didnt take a photo OF HIMSELF- i meant he swiped the camera options until it was on “Photo” (i really hope that made sense) https://t.co/NVeTu5N9Nh
— xan black (slow)♟ (@madebyxan) October 30, 2018
Xan’s story is just the perfect viral cocktail: An adoring fan meets Malek, walks up to him, gets shot down for a video, and the actor then proceeds to take their phone away from them to change the camera mode. As you can imagine, Twitter is going nuts with the whole premise.
https://twitter.com/nycstarks/status/1057116135957491712
https://twitter.com/elioperlsman/status/1057094368606085120
Fan: h-
— ✨ (@wiiissssss) October 30, 2018
Rami Malek: https://t.co/Nxcx5Txd8c
https://twitter.com/HK_Sweeney/status/1057111604159021059
https://twitter.com/ladybirdmp3/status/1057087587947606018
https://twitter.com/rvstyryan/status/1057116209622253568
https://twitter.com/victorvaIe/status/1057095228241465349
https://twitter.com/susipiria/status/1057099766851649537
https://twitter.com/lizyeol/status/1057097246225817600
https://twitter.com/carxlinv/status/1057108102225510405
Even xan is sharing some of the memes.
https://twitter.com/enemyfiIm/status/1057104027543052288
I FELL OVER JFNJDXKS https://t.co/wig3Z0iuH1
— xan black (slow)♟ (@madebyxan) October 30, 2018
NOOOOOFJFKSKDLD https://t.co/LKLIfFsD4l
— xan black (slow)♟ (@madebyxan) October 30, 2018
https://twitter.com/enemyfiIm/status/1057133136117751808
Others compared Malek to actor Jake Gyllenhaal, who has absolutely zero chill when it comes to meeting fans.
https://twitter.com/dianeselwyns/status/1057096136467591168
https://twitter.com/giaonfilm/status/1057094680041549824
https://twitter.com/joeygIevitt/status/1057101713461731328
jake gyllenhaal rami malek and ian somerhalder ignoring their fans on a daily basis https://t.co/xbgH3kyTh0
— ❤️🔥 (@lovequinne) October 30, 2018
As for xan, it’s safe to say their notifications are swamped with Malek-inspired posts. Their follower account has since ballooned to 2,220 Twitter users.
“My follower count was 400 this morning.. did I make a career?” they tweeted. Probably not, but they can take a picture.
my follower count was 400 this morning.. did i make a career?
— xan black (slow)♟ (@madebyxan) October 30, 2018
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