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---
title: Emilia Clarke Says No Selfies After Panic Attack Fan Photo
description: &#x27;Game of Thrones&#x27; star Emilia Clarke is refusing selfies after a fan approached her for a photo while she was having a panic attack.
canonical: https://time.com/5753819/emilia-clarke-no-selfies/
author: Cady Lang
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2019-12-20T17:22:50.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:09.834Z
og:title: Emilia Clarke Says No Selfies After Panic Attack Fan Photo
og:description: Here&#x27;s her reasoning why
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og:image:alt: The Fashion Awards 2019 - Red Carpet Arrivals
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twitter:title: Emilia Clarke Says No Selfies After Panic Attack Fan Photo
twitter:description: Here&#x27;s her reasoning why
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d4bddf3e9439f0a/698a07dc457a52e71cd634d3/Emilia-Clarke-no-selfies.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# Emilia Clarke Says No More Fan Photos After Being Approached During a Panic Attack

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![Cady Lang](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd534f2cb81c3b094/69894087e76ad2e66b633ad3/c_lang.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)


![Cady Lang](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd534f2cb81c3b094/69894087e76ad2e66b633ad3/c_lang.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Cady Lang


Dec 20, 2019 5:22 PM UTC

![The Fashion Awards 2019 - Red Carpet Arrivals](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d4bddf3e9439f0a/698a07dc457a52e71cd634d3/Emilia-Clarke-no-selfies.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 02: Emilia Clarke arrives at The Fashion Awards 2019 held at Royal Albert Hall on December 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 02: Emilia Clarke arrives at The Fashion Awards 2019 held at Royal Albert Hall on December 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images) Getty Images—2019 Jeff Spicer/BFC

![Cady Lang](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd534f2cb81c3b094/69894087e76ad2e66b633ad3/c_lang.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)


![Cady Lang](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd534f2cb81c3b094/69894087e76ad2e66b633ad3/c_lang.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Cady Lang


Dec 20, 2019 5:22 PM UTC

[Emilia Clarke](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567865/emilia-clarke/) says she won’t be [taking selfies with fans](https://time.com/4326097/justin-bieber-no-fan-photos/) anymore after she was approached by a fan for a photo while she was suffering from a panic attack.

In an [interview](https://play.acast.com/s/tablemanners/684a1dbb-c57a-4d6b-b426-3ef136622a6f) with Jessie Ware on the _Table Manners_ podcast, the [_Game of Thrones_](https://time.com/game-of-thrones-2017/) star said that she began reconsidering how she wanted to interact with her fans after she began having a panic attack in an airport.

“I was genuinely walking through an airport and I suddenly started having what I can only believe to be a panic attack brought on by complete exhaustion,” she said. “I was on my own, I was on the phone to my mum saying, ‘I feel like I can’t breathe, I don’t know what’s going on.’ ‘I’m there and the tears are coming out. I’m crying and crying, this guy’s like, ‘Can I get a selfie?’ And I was like, ‘I can’t breathe, I’m really sorry. Just having a minute.’ It was after a few moments like that where I was like, ‘I don’t know how to do this.'”

Clarke later explained that while she won’t be taking any selfies or photos anytime soon, she’s still happy to sign something for fans, which she feels is a more engaging experience.

“When you do that, you have to have an interaction with that person, as opposed to someone just going, ‘Oi, give us a selfie, goodbye,'” she said, noting that when people ask for a selfie, she wants to be able to give them the experience they’re after. “Then you have a chat and you’re actually having a truthful human-to-human thing, as opposed to it being this other thing that probably isn’t nice for them and isn’t nice to you.”

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