THE FAN-CELEBRITY PARADOX

The idea of a celebrity being an idol and people that adore them is not a new one. Due to their personalities, lifestyle and what they do, these attributes tend to attract them to some certain set of individuals that call themselves fans. The truth is, without a fan base, a celebrity would hardly ever be known as a celebrity. People only get to know more about you as a celebrity when you have fans. When you have people talking about you almost every time, it means they are either your fans to bring you down or lift you up.

As I have seen in so many movies and I have heard, fans can be really scary sometimes. There are some that start feeling entitled to anything that concerns the celebrity they like. They could fight for them and defend them whether or not they are right or wrong. They don’t want to hear anyone saying or doing anything bad to them and they can go to a great extent to prove a point. It’s nice to support people but sometimes, most of these fans out there get it all wrong and even cause more problems for the celebrity they think they are supporting.

These days, we are having more people looking for a fan base to be a part of because it sometimes seems like you are out of trend if you don’t have a celebrity you adore. These fans are always ready to prove a point as long as it concerns the celebrity they believe so much in. They know almost every thing that goes on in the life of that celebrity (online at least). Most times, they even become stalkers without knowing it. They are always bent on being the first to know anything that happens to them. Sometimes, they even tend to hate other fans that know something about that celebrity more than they do.

Because of this and other reasons, I find some fans really scary and dangerous. They most times claim to love the celebrity so much but little do they know that they are even obsessed with them already. Naturally, once someone is obsessed with something or someone, they become aggressive. And at this point, they can even hurt those they think they love so much. I watched a movie once when a manager of a celebrity was her diehard fan unknown to her. He did so many things that scared the girl but she never knew he was the one behind it. He left a camera in her room and was always watching everything she does the moment he drops her off at her apartment.

In the end, the girl found out and she threatened to report him to the agency however, because of his obsession, he ended up killing her and he tried to frame someone else for it. No one could ever tell he was the one because he was her manager and was never seen as a fan. The story was a lot scarier than what I have just shared but I can only imagine this happening in real life. Some fans can be really aggressive and possessive. They are mostly delusional. They want the celebrity’s world to revolve around them but that’s not how it works.

On the aspect of the celebrities, they most times become aggressive when they perceive that a fan is doing too much. It’s hard to know the kind of life they live behind the scenes but based on the ones that are caught on camera, it is obvious that they are either having a bad day or they just don’t like how a fan is acting. For me, their actions are a little bit pardoned than that of a fan. I mean, you as a fan can easily choose not to support that celebrity if he does something that you didn’t like but that celebrity can’t stop you from being his fan.

But then, there are better ways for a celebrity to act rather than being aggressive. But in all of these, to solve this problem is by enlightening fans on how to act and also celebrities how to act in the presence of a fan. This might not yield so much results because humans will always want to do what they have set their minds to but at least, it will help a little. Also, both celebrities and fans should learn to treat themselves with respect, kindness and empathy.

This is my response to the Hivelearners topic on ”FANS AND CELEBRITIES.”