OF all my teenage phases, my stint as a 5 Seconds of Summer mega-fan is by far the most embarrassing. After stumbling across the melancholic black and white lyric video for the band’s song Amnesia in 2014, 13-year-old me was hooked.
It wasn’t long before I found myself immersed in an online community obsessed with these four Australian boys and willing to do anything to help further catapult them towards pop super-stardom. Powered by Tumblr and hormones, I talked, dreamt and thought about nothing else.
This level of dedication and devotion is nothing new - in fact my fangirl era was quite mild in comparison to the lengths to which some fans will go. However, what is new is the reaction of some celebrities to this ‘superfan’ behaviour. Most recently, American singer-songwriter Chappell Roan posted a statement on Instagram to voice her concerns about fans overstepping the mark.
The artist’s comments have sparked debate and left fans divided. Some have branded the singer ungrateful, unprofessional and even unfit for fame arguing that it’s hardly fair for artists to profit off their fans’ devotion and then refuse to engage with them in public. Whether Roan likes it or not she has struck the Faustian bargain - wealth, status and success in exchange for privacy and wellbeing.
Celebrities hoping to retain their privacy while simultaneously trying to raise their profile, together with their wealth and status, is just too bitter a pill for fans to swallow – achieving success and popularity invariably leads to increased interest and scrutiny.
Granted, some public figures actively court celebrity and appear to enjoy the limelight – the Kardashians, for example – which is why it’s ironic when they complain about the pressures of living in the public eye. However some, like Roan, say they just want to make great art; so should there always be a ‘price to pay’ for fame?
In a recent interview with Esquire, Winona Ryder shared a similar view. Reflecting on the frenzy which surrounded Ireland’s own Paul Mescal after his breakthrough she said: “I loved Normal People so much and then I saw these paparazzi pictures of (Paul Mescal) going to the store in his shorts. And I really felt like, ‘This poor guy’. This great actor who did this amazing thing and now he’s getting followed by photographers.” Now, with the impending release of Gladiator II, Mescal’s career is predicted to go stratospheric so being ‘papped’ in his shorts is likely to be the least of his concerns.
Historically, fans have always struggled to toe the line between admiration and obsession. In fact I recently interviewed former mod and pal of the Rolling Stones, James Hurst, who gave an account of the band’s gig at the Ulster Hall in 1964 when fans stormed the stage and pinned Mick Jagger to the floor…
If we go back even further, long before Beatlemania, there were accounts of ‘Byromania’, a term coined by Lord Byron’s wife Annabella Millbank to describe the frenzy which surrounded the poet after the publication of his seminal work Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage in 1812.
@chappellroan Do not assume this is directed at someone or a specific encounter. This is just my side of the story and my feelings.
♬ original sound - chappell roan
Clearly today’s problems are exacerbated by social media as this provides an opportunity for fans to interact directly with celebrities. This helps foster a (false) sense of intimacy and familiarity with them, further blurring the boundaries.
With the impending release of Gladiator II, Paul Mescal’s career is predicted to go stratospheric so being ‘papped’ in his shorts is likely to be the least of his concerns
The recent foiled plot to kidnap, rape and murder TV presenter Holly Willoughby is a profoundly sobering example of the risks associated with being a ‘public figure’. There have also been numerous reported cases involving celebrity stalking.
Roan may have ruffled some feathers when she asked fans to refrain from approaching her in public but her fears and anxieties are not unfounded.
For me it’s the actions of the few ruining it for the many. Being a fan used to mean following, supporting and adoring from afar because – as the old adage advises ‘never meet your heroes’, to which I can concur after attending a 5 Seconds of Summer soundcheck…
