Fans are rallying around Matthew Lillard after a bitter former fan confronted him at a horror convention.

The Scream actor, 56, was answering questions from fans at the Midsummer Scream event in Long Beach, California, over the weekend when a man came to the microphone and started an awkward dialogue with the movie star.

Video from the event shared on social media showed the man telling Lillard, who helped him hold up the microphone, “I met you a few years ago.”

The man proceeded to tell Lillard that when they previously met, he tried to tell him his theory about a connection between the hit 1996 slasher movie and the 1995 romance Mad Love — which Lillard appeared in — due to both films featuring Drew Barrymore as characters named Casey.

He said that in response to his idea, Lillard responded at the time by saying, “What were you smoking?”

“The way you made me feel...when you told me that, you kind of lost me as a fan,” the person told Lillard. “I just wanted you to know that.”

Lillard paused for a moment before quipping, “Okay. What a great question.”

The crowd’s reaction to the interaction began to drown out the man’s voice, but he continued to speak to Lillard before concluding, “I always had a thing for you, so I just wanted you to know you lost me as a fan. Thank you.”

Fans in the audience then erupted into booing the man as he finished speaking.

However, Lillard appeared unfazed by the awkward moment and walked away from the man to a different section of the crowd. When actor Jamie Kennedy then asked Lillard what had happened, he responded, “It does not matter.”

After people attending the convention were quick to hop to Lillard’s defense by booing the critic, his online fanbase posted messages of support for the Scooby-Doo star.

“Why would you even wait to bring that up? How petty are you sir to make him feel bad? Matthew is soooo sweet and caring,” one person wrote on Instagram. Another added: “Protect Matthew Lillard at all costs.”

“Who goes to an event to hate on somebody?!!” a third wondered in the Instagram comments.

Another wrote on X, “When the f*** did people decide it was okay to publicly gang up on Matthew Lillard, literally one of the sweetest guys in show business?”

The Independent has contacted Lillard’s representatives for comment.