Just Askin': 'The Nashville way' — why it's frowned upon to ask celebs for autographs

Editor's note: Just Askin' is a Tennessean initiative that answers your burning questions about Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Created by our nosy newsroom of Nashville reporters.

Got a Just Askin' question for us? Email justaskin@tennessean.com and your question could appear in an upcoming column.

Last week, my colleagues and I were having a conversation over lunch about Reese Witherspoon's visit to Plaza Mariachi in December. She was in Nashville to support a Hispanic Family Foundation event during the holidays.

In an Instagram post, the actress is spotted wearing a beanie and sweater, looking quite … normal?

As far as we can tell, there wasn't an encircling of fans around the star of "Legally Blonde," "Election" and other movies.

Which leads into our question of the day.

The Question: Why don't Nashville residents push stars for autographs?

Their Answer: "Leave them alone. It’s the Nashville way."

"You leave them alone here. No matter what."

"Nashville isn’t a petting zoo - Leave them alone."

These are just some of the comments under a recent Reddit post on the subject.

Our Answer: Most agree on the unspoken rule of simply leaving them be, from country music stars to the most popular Titans players. No wonder so many stars continue to reside and hang out in Music City.

Music City is, after all home to hundreds of talented musicians, actors, professional athletes and entertainers. The long list of super-popular and iconic singers includes Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, and Kelly Clarkson. Sports stars include San Francisco 49ers' George Kittle and former Tennessee Titans Blaine Bishop and Eugene Amano.

Other names in entertainment who have made Nashville their home are: reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, "American Pickers" star Mike Wolf who frequents the Country Boy Restaurant at Leiper's Fork, and rock star Jack White who can be found at his record label headquarters, Third Man Records.

So it's definitely not uncommon to bump into celebrities while out and about in Nashville.

Another Question: But should you approach them? Can you ask for a picture? An autograph? A video of them saying hello to your cousin's best friend's roommate?

Another Answer: Nothing is stopping you from asking, however many Nashvillians agree that the best practice is to simply let them go on about their day. At most, you can smile or say, "Hello, I'm a big fan of your work."

"In Nashville, the unwritten rule has been for a long time that we don't approach our own celebrities," said Brad Schmitt, our storytelling columnist and resident Nashville know-it-all. Back in his Tennessean days as a celebrity columnist, he penned a regular commentary called "Brad About You."

Schmitt said the rule applies to all homegrown celebrities: people who grew up here, made their careers here or moved here.

"You wouldn't go up to Luke Bryan at a Predators game, or Martina McBride at Kroger," he said.

Let them pick their produce in peace.

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Click to email us at justaskin@tennessean.com, and your question could appear in an upcoming column.

But what is about Nashville and the Middle Tennessee area that attracts so many big names?

Aubrey Preston, a philanthropist and preservationist who was responsible for selling Justin Timberlake 126 acres of land in Leiper's Fork back in 2015, said it could have to do with location.

"You can rehearse here, you have access to really high quality buses and transportation which makes everything about being a touring musician easier and economical," he said.

With Nashville being one of the most musical cities in the world, it makes sense why so many people would want to be here and enjoy access to all the talent, engineers and producers the city offers.

Perhaps what sets Nashville apart from bigger cities like New York or Los Angeles is the treatment of our own. Here, some residents believe asking for an autograph or photo feels weird and even intrusive.

For Preston, good, southern hospitality and kindness plays big roles in the reason why so many artists come to Nashville.

"There's a higher understanding of how these people make a living and people respect the way that they make a living," he said. "They (Nashvillians) see a lot of these artists and people that do this as friends and neighbors and want to treat them how they want to be treated."

So while it's completely normal to feel star struck by someone we admire, it's important to remember why that public figure is hanging out in Nashville in the first place.

When in doubt, abide by the "Nashville way."

Diana Leyva covers breaking/trending news for The Tennessean. Connect with her by email at Dleyva@gannet.com or follow her on twitter at @_leyvadiana.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Just Askin': Why don't Nashville residents ask stars for autographs?