Paul McCartney Says Fan Selfies Feel Dehumanising
Sir Paul McCartney has explained why he routinely declines requests for photos with fans, saying the boundary helps him stay grounded and protects his sense of identity in public.
In a recent conversation on The Rest is Entertainment, McCartney said that when someone reaches for their phone, he typically responds, “I’m sorry, I don’t do pictures,” calling the stance “radical these days.” He added that it matters to him because if he starts “thinking I’m something else,” he won’t “like” himself, stressing the importance of being “just me.”
McCartney illustrated the discomfort with a story about Saint-Tropez, describing a man on the beach who charges for photos with a monkey. He said he does not want to feel like that monkey, arguing that posing for pictures can make him feel like a prop rather than himself.
The former Beatle also reflected on how fame has changed since the early days of The Beatles, when public recognition felt different and the band enjoyed it more. His refusal to take photos, he suggested, is part of a larger effort to preserve a normal life amid constant attention in the smartphone era, where moments can be instantly commodified and shared.
McCartney’s position has surfaced in other corners of online culture as well, including when he was temporarily banned from Reddit in an unrelated episode that highlighted how quickly celebrity visibility can become content.
By maintaining a no-photos policy, McCartney appears to be drawing a clear line between his public legacy and his private sense of self, a calculation many long-famous artists continue to navigate in the modern social media landscape.
