Top 10 Celebrities Who Opened Up About Fan Culture
These celebs weren't afraid to open up about fan culture. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at the stars who have detailed negative fan interactions and called out toxic fandom behavior.
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00:00 It's not fair and no one ever should be spoken to in the manner that I've seen.
00:05 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 celebrities
00:10 who opened up about fan culture.
00:12 For this list, we're looking at the stars who have detailed negative fan interactions
00:16 and called out toxic fandom behavior.
00:18 I was drunk and this guy asked me for a selfie and I was like, "No."
00:24 Number 10, Niall Horan.
00:26 As a former member of One Direction and more recently a solo artist, Niall Horan has experienced
00:31 his fair share of fan interactions, both good and bad.
00:39 In the past, he's admitted to avoiding going out due to the hordes of fans waiting outside
00:44 the band's hotels.
00:45 In 2016, Horan posted a series of tweets calling out so-called fans who were flooding his phone
00:50 with hateful messages.
00:51 It's meant to be a happy place and these are people that are so-called fans of mine abusing
00:56 me, so I didn't really fancy it.
00:58 The abusive comments weren't just directed at him, but also his loved ones, even his
01:03 young nephew.
01:04 Horan told followers that while he considers himself the "most carefree, laid-back person
01:08 around," he wanted to bring awareness to the issue for other people dealing with it.
01:12 There's nothing really you can do, only just say your bit and hope for the best.
01:16 Number 9, Jennifer Lawrence.
01:18 After her breakout role in Winter's Bone, Jennifer Lawrence quickly became a household
01:22 name and quickly gained a following of adoring fans.
01:26 But in Variety's Actors on Actors interview, Lawrence told actor-comedian Adam Sandler how
01:31 she deals with fan encounters.
01:38 If there's one thing we know about the actress, it's that she is brutally honest, and many
01:43 people, especially her fans, find that personality refreshing.
01:47 However, admitting that she uses rudeness as a defense tactic garnered criticism and
01:51 some questioned how she treated her admirers.
01:54 In another interview, she discussed how fans may think they know her, but from her point
01:58 of view, it can be scary being approached by strangers, which is understandable.
02:10 Number 8, Billie Eilish.
02:11 There are plenty of receipts showing how much Billie Eilish loves and appreciates her massive
02:16 fan base.
02:17 As a self-proclaimed fangirl, she totally understands being obsessed with artists and
02:21 their work.
02:25 However, she often has to remind her fans that there is a line that they shouldn't
02:46 cross, like following her to a hotel or sending gifts to her home address.
02:50 Eilish told Variety,
02:51 "Fans' passion is, quote, 'so beautiful,' but it's also really scary."
02:55 She's had to get restraining orders against trespassers at her family's home, some of
02:59 whom have even broken inside.
03:11 Despite these traumatizing experiences and ridiculous criticism, Eilish still makes an
03:16 effort to be accessible to her true fans.
03:26 Number 7, Justin and Hailey Bieber.
03:36 Justin Bieber is no stranger to dealing with rabid fans and constant paparazzi.
03:40 Justin only increased when he dated Selena Gomez on and off throughout the 2010s.
03:48 But in 2018, Bieber married Hailey Baldwin.
03:52 Since then, the couple has been harassed by Jelena fans who still think they should be
03:55 together despite both Gomez and Bieber moving on.
03:58 While all three celebs try not to stoke the drama fire, sometimes they feel the need to
04:17 speak out.
04:18 In 2020, Bieber blasted one fan for encouraging fellow Jelena shippers to attack Hailey in
04:24 the comments during an Instagram Live.
04:26 The model has also addressed the years of relentless hate from Gomez fans and told her
04:31 own fans to stop the toxicity, quote, "on her behalf."
04:34 Number 6, Robert Pattinson.
04:37 The Twilight films made Robert Pattinson an overnight heartthrob in the late 2000s, and
04:42 since then, he's accumulated a large fan base.
04:44 Like any celebrity, the world has been all up in his business, particularly his love
04:49 life.
04:50 Pattinson began dating fellow Brit FKA Twigs in 2014, with the couple calling it quits
04:55 in 2017 after a brief engagement.
05:05 During this time, the talented singer-songwriter, who is of Jamaican and Spanish descent, was
05:10 relentlessly bombarded online with racist comments and messages.
05:14 In past interviews, Pattinson seemingly found fan culture amusing and strange.
05:27 However, the horrific racism and harassment his partner faced left him rightfully angry
05:32 and disgusted.
05:33 In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, he likened the commenters to, quote, "professional
05:38 trolls."
05:40 Number 5, Eric Kripke and Aaron Moriarty
05:46 Despite Primes the Boys being a huge hit, the cast and creators of the dark superhero
05:51 series have dealt with harsh criticism from fans.
05:53 In 2020, Season 2 was review-bombed by disgruntled fans because they didn't like its new weekly
05:59 episode rollout schedule.
06:01 Showrunner Eric Kripke addressed the baffling reaction, telling The Wrap that it was a,
06:06 quote, "creative choice," and that he didn't understand why a fan would, quote, "harm something
06:10 you love because you're disappointed."
06:12 "Hi trolls.
06:13 One, this is literally the opposite of the show's f---ing message.
06:17 Two, you're causing pain to real people with real feelings."
06:21 Two years later, Kripke denounced the online trolls claiming to be fans after Starlight
06:26 actress Aaron Moriarty opened up about the hurtful hypercriticism of her appearance.
06:32 In March 2023, Carl Urban, who stars as Billy Butcher, tweeted an expletive-laced message
06:38 to a toxic fan, though the reason was unspecified.
06:42 Number 4, Cole Sprouse
06:44 Like other celebrities on this list, Cole Sprouse, along with his twin brother Dylan,
06:48 experienced fame at a young age.
06:51 Around 2018, when the ex-Disney Channel star began dating his Riverdale co-star Lily Reinhart,
06:56 he gained another subset of fans, or shippers, who obsessed over their relationship in the
07:01 show and in real life.
07:02 The rumors and speculation about his private life never stopped, and while he sees the
07:07 absurdity of it all, he understandably grows tired of the, quote, "insanity and fanaticism."
07:12 "Is that just a consequence of an incredible love?
07:14 Or is that what fanaticism looks like?
07:16 Perhaps because those lines were blurred to our audience.
07:19 It's hard to break those things up, even when life moves on."
07:21 After Sprouse and Reinhart split, he apparently received death threats and what he described
07:26 as, quote, "really nasty, honestly criminal stuff."
07:29 "I get a lot of stuff sent to my house or my loved one's houses.
07:34 Death threats.
07:35 Really nasty, honestly criminal stuff."
07:37 3.
07:38 Simon Pegg
07:39 Actor, writer, and professional nerd Simon Pegg knows a thing or two about fandoms.
07:44 "I find the Star Trek fans have always been very, very inclusive."
07:47 During an interview with SiriusXM, he revealed he found the most toxic fandom to be Star
07:51 Wars.
07:52 "To be honest, and as someone who kind of was, you know, kicked off about the prequels
07:56 and when they came out, the Star Wars fan base really seems to be the most kind of toxic
08:03 at the moment."
08:04 He also acknowledged and apologized for his past behavior as a fan.
08:08 When Kelly Marie Tran starred in 2017's The Last Jedi, she ended up leaving social
08:13 media due to the barrage of sexist and racist messages.
08:17 And she isn't the only actor to be harassed by the dark corners of the Star Wars fandom.
08:21 In 2022, actress Moses Ingram joined the cast of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and her co-star Ewan McGregor
08:27 called out the fans flooding her DMs with hateful messages.
08:30 "I just want to say as the leading actor in the series, as the executive producer in
08:36 the series, that we stand with Moses."
08:39 Disney showed their support as well, and even had some words for the trolls.
08:44 2.
08:45 Lily Reinhart
08:46 Since being catapulted into the spotlight as Betty Cooper on Riverdale, actress Lily
08:50 Reinhart has called out several instances of toxic fans and their entitled behavior.
08:55 "It's kind of sad that people felt the need to just make my weight a topic of conversation.
09:02 I mean, but that's just the world we live in, but I'm going to always speak out about
09:05 something that I feel I need to talk about."
09:07 She's had savage responses to fans body-shaming her, speculating on her personal life, invading
09:13 her privacy, and criticizing her boundaries.
09:15 "A lot of people say you should just sweep it under the rug, don't pay attention to
09:19 it, but that's never really been my style."
09:22 Reinhart took to Twitter to defend her castmate when bughead shippers harassed Ethel Mugg's
09:26 actress Shannon Purser for her character crushing on Cole Sprouse's Jughead Jones in season
09:30 3.
09:31 She reminded everyone that Riverdale relationships are fictional, and the actors who portray
09:36 them are just doing their job.
09:37 In 2019, Reinhart condemned the Game of Thrones fandom demanding a rewrite of the infamously
09:43 divisive series finale, saying, quote, "TV shows are not fan service."
09:47 Well, she's not wrong.
09:48 "I'm not trying to look perfect, I'm not trying to show off all of this glamorous,
09:56 you know, my life in general is not extremely glamorous."
10:00 Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
10:04 Finn Wolfhard.
10:05 The then-teenager was already getting disrespect for having boundaries, and from adults no
10:10 less.
10:11 "It was a couple, and right when I got to my door, they were just like, 'Can we take
10:15 a picture with you?'
10:16 I'm like, 'No, guys, I'm sorry, you followed me back to my house.'"
10:19 Pete Davidson.
10:20 The SNL alum faced criticism from Ariana Grande's fanbase, prompting a post about the seriousness
10:25 of mental health issues.
10:26 "Davidson going on to say, 'I'm trying to understand how when something happens
10:30 to a guy, the whole entire world just trashes him without any facts or frame of reference.'"
10:35 Demi Lovato.
10:36 The singer called out her Lovatics for sending death threats to comedian Kathy Griffin.
10:40 "Why am I always looking for a ride or die?
10:46 'Cause mine's the only heart I'm gonna have for life."
10:47 Paul Meskell.
10:48 The Irish actor spoke out about being inappropriately touched by a creepy fan.
10:52 "I remember tensing up and feeling just like fury, he said.
10:55 I turned to her and said, 'What are you doing?
10:57 Take your hand off my ass.'"
10:58 Doja Cat.
10:59 This controversial treatment of her own dedicated fans lost her thousands of followers.
11:04 "In a now-deleted tweet, Doja wrote, quote, 'If you call yourself a kitten or effing
11:10 kittens, that means you need to get off your phone and get a job and help your parents
11:14 with the house.'"
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11:30 1.
11:32 Phoebe Bridgers
11:34 Since debuting around 2017, indie singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers has seen massive success both
11:40 as a solo artist and with the band Boy Genius.
11:49 And as we know, with success comes an overwhelming amount of attention.
11:53 In a 2023 interview, Bridgers and bandmates Julian Baker and Lucy Dacus condemned the
11:58 type of fans who invade personal space, saying their behavior feels dehumanizing.
12:03 Bridgers recounted when she was approached/chased at the airport after her father died.
12:07 "If you're a kid and the internet somehow taught you that that's an okay thing to do,
12:12 then of course I hate capitalism and everything that led you to believe that it's okay to
12:17 do that."
12:18 She also touched on the problem with modern stan culture, citing capitalism as a possible
12:22 influence.
12:23 And for the people who say these oft-disrespectful interactions are just part of the job, Bridgers
12:28 simply says, quote, "It doesn't have to be."
12:31 And we would have to agree.
12:33 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:36 -Bridges
12:37 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:37 -Bridges
12:38 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:38 -Bridges
12:39 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:39 -Bridges
12:40 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:40 -Bridges
12:41 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:41 -Bridges
12:42 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:42 -Bridges
12:43 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:43 -Bridges
12:44 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:44 -Bridges
12:45 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:45 -Bridges
12:46 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:46 -Bridges
12:47 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:47 -Bridges
12:48 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:48 -Bridges
12:49 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:49 -Bridges
12:50 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:50 -Bridges
12:51 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:51 -Bridges
12:52 "I want to normalize talking s--- about fans."
12:52 (upbeat music)
12:55 (upbeat music)