Do Celebrities Have A Responsibility?
Stans: they are the extreme 2013 version of 90s fans.
When the new season of American Idol started, we were all waiting for one thing to happen. The media hyped up an argument that ensued between Mariah and Nicki. Although video footage was released, no real information on what started it was given. We were told to wait and see what happened. By the time the episode with said argument aired, it had been cut down to a small disagreement, and I myself can't remember what started it all, but it was obvious that the tension wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Every Wednesday I watch American Idol just to hear Candice Glover sing beautifully. Last week during the live taping of the show Ms. Minaj was sitting at the judging table, saving (hitting the favorite button) some very shady tweets about Mariah, and retweeting them while LOLing. She rolled her eyes every time Mariah opened her mouth to give her expert opinion, and made remarks in hopes of getting a rise out of Mariah. It was the grown up version of that age old bullying game of I'm not touching you.
Recently, Nicki Minaj fans were all up in arms about this piece written by Laura Saltman. In the article, Laura talks about Nicki being a mean girl, and about how in the press room backstage, she tried to give Nicki a chance to address the issues between she and Mariah. According to Laura, Nicki told her that her question made no sense and walked off in a huff. The piece was well written, and hit on some points that I myself have stated on Twitter and to an empty room while watching her "act out" on American Idol. Nicki read it or heard about it and jumped on Twitter. She and her gang of Barbs A.K.A. Stans decided to GO OFF on Laura and Billy Bush. One of her stans went so far as to threaten Laura.
@laurasaltman I'll kill u. For @nickiminaj come to Atlanta hoe
— IG: MicholeKemp (@MICHOLEKEMP) May 4, 2013
The stan later said something like, "I was just playing." But the wheels had already been set in motion. Nicki never acknowledged that tweet, but I'm almost certain she heard about it, and/or saw it, and she's said nothing.
Twitter is a blessing and a curse. Celebrities are so accessible now, and that is a problem. Twitter gives a lot of these kids, and adults a false sense of importance. When they are RTed or replied to by their favorites, they automatically feel like they have a connection to that person, so these people begin to feel protective. I watch people get dragged up and down my timeline for saying something as simple as, I don't like that new hairstyle Beyonce' has. The Beyhive is brutal, the Rihanna Navy is unstable, and clearly the Barbs are no better.
My question is: When does it become the celebrity's responsibility to speak up? Beyonce has said before that she sees what her fans say on Twitter, yet she says nothing about their actions. I find it funny that celebrities stand up for bullying in schools, but stay quiet while their fans "bully" people who don't like them. Doe this this mean that the rules don't apply to them?