The international release of the Cynthia Erivo-Ariana Grande starrer Wicked brings back memories of the yellow brick road, but it also reminds one of the backlash pop star Grande faced recently. Grande was subject to online criticism after she separated from her husband and started dating Wicked co-star Ethan Slater. Social media was flooded with posts about possible infidelity and disapproving fans threatening to boycott Grande’s music. With Grande attempting to wade through the sea of rumours, one can’t help but notice the lopsided relationship between celebrities and their fans. Once fans curate an image based on their expectations and celebrities are held to an unattainable standard, the consequent disillusionment that occurs when a star falls short of it becomes apparent. The celebrity becomes purely incidental, their precarious star status beginning to crumble in the very audience’s hands that had built him or her up.
The term that best encapsulates these complex interactions is parasocial relationships. They are one-sided, where one person expends emotional energy, interest and time, and the other person, usually a celebrity, is completely unaware of the other’s existence. This type of interaction also creates fandoms. As fans begin to cherry-pick desirable traits and create an ideal image, celebrities are instantly put on a pedestal. What happens when the celebrity steps out of line? Going beyond the binary, be it good and bad, young and old, creates immense discomfort. So when we see someone try to do both or neither, especially someone who is a product of our love, we spiral. We grieve the loss of an image. And it is the consequent backlash that predominantly affects female celebrities.
Fandom culture isn’t going anywhere but the deification of female stars has dire consequences, reifying gender biases. As fans experience the stages of grief, their backlash re-emphasises the gender stereotypes that celebrities have worked hard to break. This perceived loss can be analysed through how we deal with grief — denial, anger, bargaining, and acceptance — or perhaps, ending with rejection.
When Sabrina Carpenter, a singer who has released chart-toppers like ‘Espresso’ and ‘Please Please Please’ this summer, started embracing not-so-PG-13 themes in her songs, there was a collective gasp. A Disney TV alum, fans wondered, how could a five-foot-nothing blonde who could make the audience laugh at her cute mannerisms possibly make sexual innuendos in her songs. “Bring back baby Carpenter” is a common, albeit infantilising response, as well as a creatively discouraging one.
When pop artist Chappell Roan, known for her public support for queer and transgender rights, declined to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as US presidential candidate and simply mentioned that she planned to vote for her, there was an uproar. Roan fans took to the internet to blame the queer icon for not directly denouncing Trump’s homophobic rhetoric. Thinking that Roan is letting down a community because she has a nuanced opinion is damaging only because they refuse to align with the dominant rhetoric.
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Likewise, when global sensation Taylor Swift was reportedly dating singer Matt Healy, fans initially expressed their disappointment in their idol being with a problematic man with a history of making racist comments about women of colour. This is complicated territory in many ways. Will fans only listen to Swift’s music before her Healy entanglement? Additionally with female stars, it has to be the woman’s fault too when her man is an issue… right?
The loss of an image finally hits the depressed fandom. They mourn the loss of an idol. Goodbye, days of obsession, of rosy-cheeked views into celebrities’ lives. Hello, darkness. An icon is dead.
The final stage can make or break a star. Does the audience finally denounce the star, making her unworthy of attention? Is she labelled ungrateful, for misusing the platform that fans created for her? Do we take these self-made women and snatch away their autonomy, undo years of hard work and feminist theory, and say “no more”? The fans become parasites, as they chip away at the stars, as they take and take, until there’s nothing left. But, no, they did love them, right?
The writer is interning with The Indian Express
