If entitled fans treat famous people as fodder for their Instagram feeds, they risk losing a connection to them altogether
A few months ago, I watched a video of apex predators close in on and devour a pair of zoo animals. Sorry – a clip of some young women interrupting a cuddling Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco on a picnic in a New York park. They didn’t ask about Gomez’s work or acknowledge her personal space, and instead went straight for what mattered: the photo. A vulnerably positioned Blanco, laid down in Gomez’s lap, seemed to dissociate, his hood pulled over his face. With someone filming the whole encounter, it was clear this wasn’t about the fans meeting an idol. It was about them maximising the potential of this moment as social media content.
Gomez has rarely complained about her fans, mostly urging them to maintain kindness and respect, which is the typical line from celebrities lest they bite the hand that feeds them. But Gomez is decidedly old-school, a Disney kid grown up. A new crop of artists are being more vocal about their fans overstepping the mark.
Hannah Ewens is a freelance editor and writer, and the author of Fangirls: Scenes From Modern Music Culture
