I for one am in defense for Para-social relationships. There are aspects to them that can help an individual. And yet with all these benefits it’s not hard to see how these para-social relationships do get out of hand sometimes. Stalking, cult-like behavior, obsession,and reckless behavior are some negatives that come out of formed para-social relationships.

And while this does highly affect the individual, what about the celebrities who have to constantly deal with these fans absurd behavior? In this blog I want to look further into the the perspective of celebrities who experience toxic para-social relationships and how they affect their mental health and physical health. As well as their social and work life.

How Celebrities Feel about Toxic Para-social Relationships.

Despite it being highly looked down upon some celebrities have called out or talked about the weird behavior of some fans. For example there is Tyler the Creator, a rapper, who has constantly opened up about how some of his fans act. He recently just on October 21st released the song, Noid, where there were some lyrics that sparked my interest. Such as:

“No cameras out, please, I wanna eat in peace” 

“Privacy? Huh, yeah right, I got a better shot in the NBA”

“You sing along, but you don’t know me,”

Tyler has been notorious for opening up about weird fan behavior. On a appearance of Mavericks with Maverick Carter, Tyler did talk about crazy obsessive fan behavior. A direct quote from this interview was:

“Because of the internet, people don’t know personal boundaries anymore, and it’s normalized…[but] it’s like ‘we don’t know each other.”

Tyler isn’t the only one trying to put his fans in place. Another notable artist would be Chappell Roan. Roan posted two videos on tik tok where she said:

 “It’s weird how people think that you know a person just ’cause you see them online, and you listen to the art they make.”

“People have started to be freaks—like, follow me and know where my parents live, and where my sister works.”

There have also been small call outs some celebrities have done. For example after Riverdale fans were very upset and started harassing the actors over a show decision, Lili Reinhart, the actor of Riverdales Betty Cooper, reminded everyone that Riverdale relationships are fictional and the actors who portray them are just doing their job. Also Jennifer Lopez who says that from her POV, it can be scary being approached by strangers.

And there’s a fair more amount of cases where celebrities have called out the fact that some fans do have some weird behavior and how they can’t seem to have any privacy.

The Effects of Toxic Parasocial Relationship on Celebrities

These toxic para-social relationships impact celebrities so much more than you think.

Stalking Risk Profile shares that,”Research has shown that victims suffer a wide range of psychological, physical, occupational, social and general lifestyle effects as a consequence of being stalked.” Some of the effects of stalking on a individual are:

Insecurity and inability to trust others, problems with intimacy, self-medication alcohol/ drugs or using prescribed medications, deteriorating work performance, avoidance of usual activities, going out, moving to a new area, changing phone number, name or even appearance.

Now imagine just constantly being stalked, having people follow you everywhere, watching your every move, and giving you no privacy whatsoever. Public figures deal with this constantly. And there has been cases where we can see the side effects of being stalked hitting them. I won’t name any specific names as I do want to stay as respectful as possible but we have seen multiple child stars turn into drug addicts or many celebrities talk about how they can barely go out anywhere anymore.

They have been affected.

Medical News Today shares that,” Obsessive love may be a sign of a serious mental health condition, and without treatment, it may be destructive to friendships and relationships. It could also lead to other serious mental health concerns for anyone involved.”

Think of the fans who have such a huge obsession towards celebrities. Now think of the celebrities who have opened up how hard it is for them to find partners, trust their partners, or find love in general.

They have been affected.

Make the Connection talks about how reckless behavior is a huge danger to yourself and the others around you.

Think of the fans who have mobbed singers or acted very recklessly. And now think of the celebrities who have had to deal with that and when they open up about how that completely drains them and their love for their passion.

They have been affected.

Toxic para-social relationships are affecting celebrities so poorly and it’s time we stop ignoring it. Fans are getting out of control.

So What?

We should talk more about how toxic para-social relationships are ruining celebrities and fan culture.

It’s really easy to judge celebrities when they speak up about crazy fans. I mean they’re famous. It makes sense that in their millions of fans there are a few crazy ones. Or that they have strangers asking for pictures.

In this industry it’s very hard for the workers to speak up about these types of weird behaviors as it’s usually met with ,”Well that’s part of the job,they signed up for this.” and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Most celebrities do love their dedicated fans, yet we have to keep in mind that we don’t know these people.

Think of it from their perspective. You are a totally stranger. A total stranger who happens to know where they live. A total stranger asking for a picture.

No amount of content, music, photos, or videos we take in will ever get us to truly know these figures. So of course once they start encountering weird situations with fans who can’t seem to respect their boundaries and privacy they will be weirded out.

Because just like how we don’t know them, they don’t know us.