From Fans to Fanatics: The Dark Side of Celebrity Obsession
Ada Lambert | November 1, 2023
Celebrity worship culture has existed for eons within the world of entertainment; whether it be in genres such as sports, music, comedy or content creators, we are constantly bombarded with the lives of those who provide us stimuli online.
Going back to ancient Rome, people spent their time in the famous Colosseum watching gladiator battles, chariot races, reenactments of battles and dramas.
This is reminiscent of our current state of entertainment post-pandemic. Many musicians are making their way back to the stage after a long hiatus and in turn, tickets are harder to buy than ever. Similarly, sports games are selling out so fast that it is not always guaranteed that an avid fan might acquire a ticket.
This has sparked a lot of controversy and pushback from people who have emotionally invested in certain celebrities and feel wronged by the systems preventing accessible experiences. With all of this being said, I’ve been wondering why this obsession occurs and how it affects people.
When I was a child, I loved Taylor Swift. I had a tiny red iPod with a limited selection of songs that I had chosen to buy from her second album, “Fearless.” At the time, it was normal to enjoy her music— I didn’t have to rationalize it with “It’s just nostalgic, I don’t think she’s all that good.” Now it feels humiliating to enjoy her music as she becomes the face of god-like celebrity worship. The lengths people will go to defend a musician that they connect with is delusional and not something I want to be associated with.
This isn’t just a Taylor Swift problem, though. Celebrity worship culture extends its roots into all places of entertainment. Through social media, people are able to voice their opinions as fact, argue what is right or wrong, and obsess over real human beings who, most of the time, despise the public eye.
Many celebrities have abandoned their path to fame to ensure a life of privacy and autonomy. A notable example of this is Audrey Hepburn— many know her for the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” but likely do not know that she retired just a couple of years after her career peak to become a UNICEF ambassador. She wanted to focus her attention on her children and a quieter life, away from the dark intricacies of the film industry. She made a few movies after but ultimately left the spotlight while she still could pursue a different career.
This is also a pattern with child actors— many go on to do things that stray away from public attention due to the extreme pressure the industry puts on them early in life. For those who stay in the industry, it is not surprising to hear cases of drug abuse, mental illness and sometimes suicide. The pressure of the film industry is immense to begin with, but we must also account for the pressure we put on these figures as individuals.
While some celebrities may seem incredibly lucky from our perspectives, with their affluent fame and wealth, that is not always the case. Lady Gaga once said in an interview that as soon as she leaves her home, she loses her freedom and suddenly belongs to everybody else.
Likewise, Megan Fox told Esquire that “I don’t think people understand, they all think we should shut the fuck up and stop complaining because you live in a big house or you drive a Bentley. So your life must be so great. What people don’t realize is that fame, whatever your worst experience in high school, when you were being bullied by those ten kids, fame is that, but on a global scale, where you’re being bullied by millions of people constantly.”
Not all celebrities started their careers seeking fame. Fame is surely a result of hard work for some, but it is often propelled by luck, wealth and exposure. Sometimes, the intensity of fame is too much for people and becomes an active passion-killer in the process.
For a woman like Marilyn Monroe, fame put her in a position of constant objectification and abuse, ultimately leading to her premature death. This was also a struggle for “The Wizard of Oz” Judy Garland, who suffered from sexual abuse at the hands of directors, cast members, and other men associated with the film industry at the time. These talented actresses were put on such a pedestal that they were unable to flourish into their true potential and were suppressed by fame.
These cases might seem to lack importance in the conversation about celebrity worship culture, but personally, I feel that this is all intertwined. The pains and pressures of people who are deemed famous are just as detrimental to those contributing to it. When you worship an actor/actress, musician, sports player or whoever it may be, you are actively choosing to support someone that you do not know and build what is called a parasocial relationship.
Parasocial relationships are one-sided, psychological attachments that people create between themselves and people they see in the media. This effect has only intensified over time with the rise of social media platforms. These days, it is easy to feel interconnected with people on the internet because they are putting themselves out there in personal and vulnerable ways. The more people can relate to these parasocial relationships, the more they can rationalize them with thoughts like “We are so alike!” or “This person truly understands my experience in a way others do not.”
What this causes oftentimes is the self-allowance to indulge in their lives, whether that be browsing the internet for Tom Holland and Zendaya's relationship status, looking up family photos of sports players or any peek into people's lives that would qualify as light stalking in a different circumstance.
These actions can be harmless, but not always. In 2016, Christina Grimme, a winner of The Voice, was fatally shot at a meet-and-greet for her fans by a man who was said to have had an “unrealistic infatuation” with her.
Another musician who was killed by their fan was John Lennon, a member of the Beatles. The man who killed him had a strange obsession with the book “Catcher in the Rye” and sought to fight off the ‘phoniness’ in the world. He reportedly told authorities that he wanted to be somebody and nothing was going to stop that from happening.
Though these are rare instances, many celebrities that we know and love today have encountered crazed fanatics as well. A recent event with Drew Barrymore highlights this; at one point during the talk, a man starts screaming and claiming to know her. Luckily, no violence ensued.
Taylor Swift herself had a stalker who sent horrifying letters to her family claiming to be “the real son of god” and threatening to kill their entire family.
In 2014, Sandra Bullock’s home was broken into by a man while she was there and she hid in the closet while she called the police. Though unharmed, the experience left her with extreme PTSD.
These lived realities of celebrity worship culture lead me to believe that we, as a society, could benefit from a step back. At the end of the day, we are all just people and our individual experiences cannot be summed up with our internet presence. Everyone wants to romanticize their own lives, but it would be completely off-base to assume these figures of worship are the epitome of success and happiness.
For the average person, this culture can have negative effects on one's mental health, such as anxiety, depression, poor body image, social anxiety, etc. Parasocial relationships can foster unhealthy personal comparisons, which can leave people with a sense of emptiness and purposelessness. It also creates a space where people can create fantasies and delusions about a celebrity’s personal life when in reality, those aspects of a person should only be accessible through a real mutual connection.
This can contribute to cancel culture, which has become more and more toxic for those who participate in it. When a celebrity responds to a situation in a way that is not desirable for the masses, they are scrutinized by strangers online.
Not only is this horrible for the way we perceive others, it is an expectation that every creator of content must uphold a set of social expectations and leave no room for human flaws. Cancel culture can often extend into other areas of life as well, rationalizing the inhumane and strict treatment of others who do not live up to the image of what a good person requires.
If you do not participate in this mindset, that often leaves you in a social category labeled as ‘spineless,’ ‘socially inept’ and ‘unwilling to hold others accountable.’ This culture has gotten out of hand; its mission is no longer accountability, but an ability to feel devoid of empathy for others' flaws and wrongdoings. For celebrities, this is taken from a local to global level, leaving them completely overwhelmed.
To create does not always mean to be perfect in the eyes of scrutiny, and to love something does not mean you must love the face behind it. This inability to separate artists from their work is dangerous for everyone involved.
I used to be incredibly interested in the people behind my entertainment, but as I age, it becomes clear that it is intrusive and unrealistic to expect strangers to exist in a way I find likable. As our society continues to sensationalize public figures, choose to take a step back where you can, and a step closer to the reality of being a human. Nothing will ever fully bridge the gap between normalcy and fame, but then again, nothing good has ever come from worshiping real people as gods.