Dylan Regrets Fake Autographs

Fans may have thought, or hoped, he wasn't aware that a machine had put his signature on artwork and books promoted and sold as hand-signed, but Bob Dylan now has said he knew about the deception, and he regrets it. In a Facebook statement Friday night, Dylan said an autopen was used starting in 2019 when he was battling vertigo and continued during the pandemic, Variety reports, because staff members couldn't help him with signings. Dylan said he was assured the practice was common.

"It takes a crew of five working in close quarters with me to help enable these signing sessions," he wrote, per Rolling Stone, adding that he couldn't find a safe way to hand-sign once the coronavirus was spreading. "Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately," Dylan posted, saying he's working with his partners on a solution. Castle Galleries of the UK said Saturday it's contacting customers who bought a print with a bogus signature. (More Bob Dylan stories.)