Celebrities do not owe anything to their fans
Ever since the rise of music artists, there have been many cases of harassing, stalking, entitled and incessant superfans. Celebrities constantly speak up about these creepy fans, asking them to stop this inappropriate behavior. But fans ignore the asks of these artists, claiming that they should not be criticized, as they are the reason celebrities have their platforms in the first place. Superfans stalk artists, demanding their attention, thinking they are entitled to celebrities’ time and energy because it “comes with their job”, but when fans are ignored by their idols or told to back off, they become violent and turn to aggressive harassment to get the attention they desire.
Not only do so-called “superfans” stalk artists to feed their parasocial relationships, but they also harass artists onstage, yelling and throwing things. While Bebe Rexha was performing in New York City on tour, a man from the audience threw this phone on stage and it hit the artist in the face. Fans throwing items on the stage is not new; David Bowie was almost blinded when a fan threw a lollipop on stage. Throughout the years this abuse has heightened. During a Harry Styles concert, he was struck directly in the eyeball by a fan throwing a Skittle. The type of attention that fans do to get the artists’ attention is violent and can cause injury to the artists. Time and time again, artists have told fans how disrespectful this behavior is and told fans they need to learn concert etiquette.
The less fans get acknowledged by celebrities, the more and more violating they become. Chappell Roan has recently spoken up about fan behavior after being followed and harassed in public and inappropriately touched. Roan addressed the amount of gratitude she has for the popularity she gained but continued to say that no matter how popular she is, inappropriate fan behavior is never acceptable. “What I do not accept are creepy people, being touched, and being followed,” Roan said.
Although they are the basis of an artist’s popularity, celebrities are not indebted to fans, and fans do not deserve anything from celebrities. At the core, celebrities are real people who do not exist solely for fans and should be treated as such.
