Music great Bob Dylan has said sorry for using machine-printed signatures on special autographed copies of his new book.
He held his hands up in a rare public statement to apologise for his “error in judgment”.
The 81-year-old, regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, had been advertising the editions of The Philosophy of Modern Song as “hand-signed”.
The limited run of 900 copies sold for $599 each and were snapped up hours after going on sale.
But he held his hands up and said he had started using an autopen after he developing vertigo in 2019.
Buyers began sharing images online after receiving their copies, quickly realising the books all featured identical signatures.
The End of the Line hitmaker, who has had nine UK number one albums, explained the situation to annoyed fans.
"I've hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there's never been a problem," he wrote.
"However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years. It takes a crew of five working in close quarters with me to help enable these signing sessions, and we could not find a safe and workable way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging.
"So, during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything and the vertigo didn't help.
"With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done 'all the time' in the art and literary worlds.
"Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately. I'm working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that."
Fans took to social media following the discovery with one describing the printed signature as "fraudulent".
Last week, publishers Simon & Schuster apologised for the controversy.
They eventually offered full refunds, writing on twitter: “As it turns out, the limited edition books do contain Bob’s original signature, but in a penned replica form.”
The row also raised questions over Dylan's artworks, prints of which can sell for up to $15,000 (£12,400), according to the BBC.
Castle Fine Art, the UK art retailer that sells prints of Dylan's paintings, said in a statement that they had been "entirely unaware of the use of autopen".
Earlier this year, Dolly Parton was accused of signing her latest book with an autopen.
Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor admitted last year that she had signed her memoir with one, saying: "I was not in a position to hand write my name 10,000 times, which is how many I was asked to sign. My son was unwell as was I".
