IWTV Fandom PSA
⚠️Warning: Very long post
TLDR: The users to block if you want to enjoy this fandom
I'm really hoping this is the last I will have to speak on this but over the past few weeks, I've been receiving a lot of DMs and had many conversations with other fans who reached out to me. It seems a lot of us have gone through or are currently going through the same negative experiences and it also looks like most of it is down to a specific group of fans, who have taken it upon themselves to make this fandom toxic and unbearable for everyone else through targeted bullying and harassment.
The most insidious part is that these individual disguise their vitriol and hatred as combatting fandom racism. They hide behind this pseudo morality to harass and bully others, while perpetuating racism and racist rhetoric themselves.
Though I agree with many of the issues they raise, I know that their arguments are not in good faith and they are only motivated by hatred and a need to assert control over other fans. I hate nothing more than to see something as ugly and heinous as racism trivialized and used as a buzzword in order to bully and demene others.
There is indeed racism in all fandoms, especially this one, and it does need to be pointed out and hopefully eradicated. But this is not the way to go about it imo, and most importantly, that is not the primary aim of these people. For them, racism just a trump card they can use to claim moral superiority over others, just like they use their blackness (for the ones that actually black, which is not all of them) as a pass that exempts them from any criticism, no matter how heinously they behave towards others.
I want to thank to everyone who reached out to me and shared their stories with me. I know a lot of you were not comfortable speaking about this publicly and that's understandable, so I hope I represent your feelings and experiences correctly.
Some in the fandom have also decided to go against this group anonymously or through trolling, which I don't condone because this only feeds into their narrative and gives them more leverage to paint themselves as the victims and to justify their disgusting behaviour towards others.
I believe instead, that this issue needs to be talked about in the open, because open and honest discussions are the only way we can grow and move forward as a fandom.
I recently read a brilliant article about the dynamics in fandom and the use of moral posturing as a both a club and shield for cyberbullying and harassment. While reading it, I realized this here is a textbook case—sometimes down to the word for word insults these people throw at other fans and the excuses they use to justify them.
So grab your snacks and drinks, this is gonna be a long one.
**the screenshots I used are a bit messy and different colors because a lot of them were sent to me by mutuals and other fans who have gone through a similar experience over the past year. Nothing is censored, including the vile language used and all the usernames. I want everyone to see and understand who these people are and how they operate. And these are just a few examples of many that were shared with me or that I have experienced first hand.
Let's start here:
This is the most recent example of the type of fandom interactions this group engages in, and as I pointed out into my response to one of them, the pretense of antiracism is just a cover. It is something they use to claim moral superiority and righteousness and thus justify their harassment of other fans, but the true motivation behind it is hatred, and a desire to exert power over other fans.
They seek to impose their interpretations of the show as the only valid one and to paint anything that deviates from that as wrong and morally reprehensible.
Let's take a closer look at where this stems from:
This group of fans seems to be united by their "love" for Louis and their hatred of Lestat, which fine and even understandable, but they then go further and also attribute moral value and hierarchy to other fans based on the characters and ships they like or the type of fanfic they consume. Once again, this is a textbook case of this sort of fandom dynamic.
This is very much reflected in their vitriolic posts:
To them, Lestat fans are reprehensible and this also extends to the actors and writers who may have any affinity for the character.
*this is the same user on her Twitter account—remember her name, she will appear here quite often.
This is just one example of their trivialization of racism—fans of a character they don't like are equivalent to something as horrific as the ku klux klan.
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They also target the cast, especially Sam Reid, for his great crime of liking the character he plays a little too much.
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In their eyes, anyone who interprets these characters differently than them is either wrong or has simply failed to understand the narrative.
Again, this is just one example of that thinking:
This is once again done under the guise that any other interpretation but their own is racist because they believe if they throw that word around, no one will dare to disagree with them.
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And with this justification, they go after fanfic writers and fan artists who depict Lestat or Louis in ways they don't like—especially those who draw Lestat as GNC, write Lestat as a bottom or verse, or attribute him any of the feminine traits he canonically possesses.
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And of course if anyone points out the very real racism, misogyny transphobia and homophobia in some of their own writing and discourse, they are told to stop policing the fandom or called anti black for criticizing black fans.
But when this group does it—going as far as to issue death threats to fic writers and fan artists—it's righteous and justified because only they have the moral authority on what is right and wrong and what is the correct way to consume this material.
The lengths they will go to:
Another example is that this group harassed a fanfic writer and sent them anonymous death threats for allegedly stealing their ideas —because again, only their interpretation is correct and they own a trademark on whichever tropes they write and no one else is allowed to write them.
And this was the response when asked to put an end to their harassment:
There was also an instance of going onto the fanfiction server to directly harass writers in their dedicated channels and consequently getting booted off by the mods for their aggressive behavior towards other fans and for breaking the server guidelines which include no harassment to other users.
This was, once again, done under the guise of combating fandom racism when in actuality it was simply a targeted harassment effort. This is further evidenced by the fact that even after the targeted authors corrected the issues with their fics, some of them going as far as deleting their entire fics, the group continued to harass them and still do so to this day.
*This was the same user later boasting about it on her blog and her friends applauding her for it in the comments.
And when asked about it later, she feigned ignorance and pretended not to care, despite still sending anon messages to the author, telling them they should also delete the rest of their fics.
It seems this same groups were behind the harassment of many fanfic writers over the last year, often anonymously, to the point where some stopped writing or deactivated their AO3 entirely.But again, when called out on this, their will paint themselves as the victims.
From the many testimonies and messages I received, this group seem to be behind most instances of fandom drama that occured in the past year, both on here and on Twitter. And even when the other fans acquiesce to them or even apologize, they will continue to go after them.
This all stems from the belief that they are the moral authority of the fandom, and their interpretation of these characters is the only valid one. Anyone who disagree is the enemy and deserved to be harassed until they comply—and even after that.
Again, this is never about the racism in fandom, it's just about asserting power over other fans.
Their behavior towards other black fans:
That is another important point; despite their claim of speaking for all black IWTV fans and 'uplifting black voices' in the fandom, this group will go after any black fans who disagree with them the most viciously.
They did it to me and many others, as exemplified here, here or here, using the most vile, dehumanizing and racist insults you can throw at another black person to do so. Their logic is always—agree with us or be branded a traitor.
This because our mere existence is a direct contradiction to their moral posturing. When we criticize them or point out that their behaviour towards other fans is reprehensible, they can't shut us down by saying "how dare you attack a black person."
We are black fans who also speak out against fandom racism but disagree with them and point out the hypocrisy in a lot of what they say. Therefore we must be silenced and discredited in order for their tactics to work. We have to be painted as 'the wrong kind' of blacks, race traitors and coons upholding white supremacy while only they have the correct understanding of it.
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This was being said to me by a white fan who somehow felt entitled call me a race traitor and accuse me, a black woman, of upholding white supremacy by criticizing him because he knew the group would back him up as long as he continues to carefully toe the party line. And he was right, they all rushed to his defense because it was never about "uplifting black voices" and they have no problem attacking other black fans and using the most vile, degrading and racist insults to do so.
I can personally say that it's the most alienating and dehumanizing thing to be told that you are a traitor to your own skin, that you are not fit to belong to the identity and culture you do—to be told your blackness is somehow lesser—and all this over your opinions about fictional characters.
Again, these are just a few examples. Tumblr only allows certain number of images per post, but I was inundated with screenshots and messages, and I know there are so many more in this fandom who've had similar experiences with this group in the past year, outside of all the ones who've already reached out to me.
This group believe they are justify in dehumanizing and abusing other fans, and in engaging in toxic behaviors such as anonymous hate, harassment, death threats, doxing, false reporting of other fans' accounts etc. because they believe they have the moral high ground and therefore anything they do and say is warranted. They also think this supposed moral superiority makes them untouchable and exempt from all criticism. After all, the rest of us are nothing but lowly pieces of shit who think the wrong things or likes the wrong ships/character etc.
And of course, the moment you respond, defend yourself, or point out their negative behavior, you're a bully, racist/anti black and they are invariably the victims regardless of the context.
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I'd been ignoring this group's repeated attacks against me and had stopped engaging with them in the hopes that it would eventually die down, but it seems it has only escalated. So I've decided to speak about this once and for all and hopefully be done with it. If this post can also help other fans who have dealt with a similar experience, then even better.
Bullies win by silencing you and making you feel isolated and alone but know that you are not. This is a very common thing that happens in a lot of fandoms and I would once again highly recommend the article linked above and the other posts from that Twitter user because they offers so much perspective on this type of fandom phenomenon.
Fandom is supposed to be a place where we come together around a shared interest in things that we love, not around hatred of certain groups or characters. And I am so grateful that throughout this experience, I was able to meet and exchange with some amazing people that made the negative aspects pale in comparison to all the joy and kindness I've experienced in this fandom.
In conclusion:
My advice to other fans is that anytime someone comes after you, attacks you, throws accusations at you or uses vile dehumanizing language towards you—all under the guise of some false morality crusade— ask yourself if they are truly reaching out to you in good faith or if their aim is simply to demene and ridicule you for a power trip.
If you realized that their goal is just to bully into silence or harass you just because they think they are entitled to, do not engage with them further. There is no point in trying to argue or reason with someone who has no interest in an honest and open dialogue and only in scoring points. Simply block them and move on.
And so to that effect:
**NEW BLOCK LIST JUST DROPPED**
Many of you have probably already come across this person, perhaps some of you may even already have her blocked.
She also has a another account called meastyeyes and goes by that same username on Twitter and on AO3
And these are some of the other people in her friend group that I have seen first hand engaging in this type of bullying and harassment or have found through screenshots sent by other fans.
And of course, this user, formerly greedydemands, who now goes by downstairsbar and verseau on AO3
Some of you may have also seen the others in AO3 comments as
There are probably a few more of them in this group, and in typical coward cyberbully fashion, many of them have burner accounts and they will still find a way to stalk and harass you even after you block them. But I believe blocking and not interacting a good first step.
This has been my fandom PSA. Stay safe out there.
