In the world of flashing cameras and dramatic assumptions, celebrity life seems glamorous. Living the life, as many would say. Having an excess of money, fame, and the fans to back you up. But, as is being made more clear, celebrity life isn’t all money and fun. Many celebrities have experienced a big scandal or drama of some sort. While this drama, in a usual life, would result in their peers whispering for a few weeks and then getting over it, that is amplified by the media and fans.
Celebrities have a lack of privacy. This much is obvious, with paparazzi and fans often swarming celebrities wherever they go. The public always knows where Kim Kardashian is eating, or where Justin Beiber got his hair cut. They have very recognizable faces, and this leads to people taking their photos when they are out and about.
However, this lack of privacy also applies to their online lives. Yes, they put a lot of their personal lives onto social media, but some would argue that this is a common thing for everyone. Pictures and updates about people’s lives are a typical thing on social media. The celebrities should be aware that this is broadcasted to many more people, but this doesn’t mean they deserve to have their personal laundry aired out.
One instance was the Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, and Sabrina Carpenter drama. Or, so-called drama. Rodrigo released an album called “Sour,” which topped the charts and went viral on TikTok. It surrounded a past relationship of hers, and had many songs about the past lover betraying her or pseudo-cheating with another girl, who was ‘just a friend.’
Fans took this as an album addressed to Bassett, who was someone Rodrigo was rumored to have been with. One lyric in particular brought Carpenter into the mix: “You’re probably with that blonde girl (…).” This triangle of sorts made fans crazy, taking sides and sending death threats to the other. It started a large feud in which Rodrigo seemed to be winning. However, both Carpenter and Bassett then released their albums. Of course, people switched sides or became neutral. This shows the immense role that fans have in these people’s lives.
In what would normally be an upsetting but passing drama in a circle of friends became a blown out love triangle with bad and good guys. Out of the three of them, none of them broadcasted their relationships, or said the albums were about anybody. Fans simply made up whatever drama they wanted to satisfy their hunger. This did increase the popularity of all three, but it also made for a large and unnecessary situation. These teenagers don’t deserve to be speculated about and accused of things that have no proof.
Another example including Bassett was his recent turn to Christianity. He posted a video testifying to a church congregation, shocking some fans as he had come out before that. People assumed it was a joke or he was being brainwashed, and did anything but understand that he is just living his life.
Another drama happening recently is the Selena Gomez and Hailey Beiber drama. Grace Schmidt wrote an article for this, so I won’t go into much detail, but the gist is, Beiber made some supposed slights against Gomez and fans swarmed her. Fans have assumed things about Hailey and Justin Beiber and their relationship, such as that Justin is still in love with Gomez or that he doesn’t want to be in the marriage. Fans have taken things very far, and made Beiber to be in the wrong and Gomez to be innocent. While I’m not taking sides, I don’t think it’s as black and white as people are making it, and no one is fully bad or fully good.
I know, I know. The Scroll talks about Taylor Swift way too much. But, it’s very relevant to this article, so I’m going to talk about her again. The drama here was with “Red (Taylor’s Version)” and “All Too Well (The Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version).” The album was never dedicated to anyone, nor did people really bring up who they thought it was dedicated to until Taylor’s Version was released.
Immediately, fans began to side with Swift and accuse Jake Gyllenhal, a past boyfriend of Swift, of doing the things in the album. While I’m not sure if this is totally out of the blue, I also think that fans jumped the gun. They easily assumed what they wanted to and took a situation and blew it out of proportion. Both of the parties have had time to heal and grow, and both may have already moved on.
All of these are examples of what happens when fans involve themselves in drama. Even when love lives aren’t advertised and albums aren’t dedicated, people take things out of context and apply it to what drama they think exists. This causes celebrities to be even more withdrawn and cryptic. The tendency of fans to push their opinions into people’s lives, even if they are more public than others, is rude and pushy, and needs to be addressed.
The celebrities are people too, and they deserve some semblance of privacy and the ability to live their lives. Try to remember that they are humans, and that they have lives. They don’t share everything with fans for a reason, yet it is still assumed that they signed up for this kind of speculation. Think about your theories all you want, but don’t act on them or push them into the celebrities’ faces.