Galloway, who has been described as "honest and talented young man with no intentions to steal", claimed that Smailović's act of playing the cello as a protest was a public act, and that fiction writers were under no obligation to pay those who inspired them, and that it was unreasonable to expect that. Galloway insisted that the cellist in his story, while inspired by the photos and story of Smailović, was imaginary. Galloway sent the cellist a signed copy of the book.