A tourist from Paris was shocked to see a man pulling a half-eaten burger from a trash can in New York.

Not realizing it was Richard Gere, she offered him fresh food.

The woman was heartbroken that this could happen to anyone, especially someone who looked like they needed help.

Richard Gere was in New York filming a movie called *Time Out of Mind* in 2014.

In the film, he plays a man with mental illness who ends up living on the streets.

For a scene, Gere was dressed in ragged clothes and placed on the streets among real people. Despite being in a busy area, very few people noticed him. Gere said that if he had been recognized as Richard Gere, he wouldn’t have lasted long.

Gere was surprised by how easily he blended in while pretending to be homeless.

Richard Gere explained that while he was dressed as a homeless man for a movie scene, people didn’t recognize him because they saw only a person in need. This showed how easy it is to overlook homeless individuals.

The director, Oren Moverman, pointed out that no one gave Gere any money or even noticed him. This demonstrated that homeless people are often ignored in our society.

A photo of Gere in his costume was shared on social media, with some people mistakenly thinking he was secretly raising awareness about homelessness and giving out money. The post went viral, reaching nearly 2 million people.

Richard Gere, who doesn’t use social media himself, cleared up some misunderstandings using actor Jenna Malone’s Facebook page.

He wrote, “Hi, Richard Gere here. I was surprised to see a photo of me posted online, showing me as a homeless man in New York. The post made it seem like I was secretly helping the homeless, but that’s not true.”

Richard Gere clarified that the online post about him being a homeless man was made up and that he was actually filming a movie. He did not give out $100 bills as some people had claimed.

While Gere was going through a trash can and found a half-eaten burger, a woman named Karine Gombeau, who was visiting from Paris, noticed him. She was leaving a pizza place with her family when she saw him.

Gombeau, who didn’t recognize Gere, felt sorry for him and offered him some cold pizza leftovers. She told The New York Post that she tried to explain in a mix of English and French that the pizza was cold. Gere thanked her and said, “Thank you so much. God bless you.”