If you are willing to hear a counterpoint on the whole Glen and Gigi debacle…
When you said that people who didn’t feel like it’s right to gossip about it were “holier than thou” or something like that, you effectively started to create a division in the fandom, whether you intended to do it or not. The “cool” ones, who are on board with making those assumptions, and the “square” ones who don’t want to take part in any of it. Us versus them. Take it or leave it.
And yeah “don’t take fandom too seriously” and yeah “Glen and Gigi people we don’t and will likely never know”, but the fact is that Glen’s fandom exists and it’s generally a great place to be. You are a rather big part of that fandom. I don’t know how many followers you have, but I’d bet it’s a good number, and deservedly so. You are a great author, and you’re also known for your generosity in sharing specific Navy knowledge that none of us have. I’ve seen you answer so many questions in such a detailed manner, it’s amazing.
So when people like you, with a perceived positive influence over the fandom, starts mocking “the other side” of it, it’s not good for anyone. The ones who side with you get lit up, for sure; but the others have probably gotten tired of it at this point and will start disengaging, unfollowing, blocking, if they haven’t already.
Is it really worth it? Perhaps that’s what I’m asking. Is it worth starting, and insisting on, a rift in an otherwise healthy fandom for something so… idk, inconsequential?
So I let this sit in my inbox for a little bit because 1. Work has exploded over the last week, not sure if you’ve been tracking the news and 2. I wanted to make sure I was reading this correctly and could find the time and correct mental space to give it a fair shake. I’m always willing to hear other perspectives, though I don’t think that necessarily means I need to adjust my own opinions to align with them. That all being said:
1. I’m not sure why you’re saying that I created division in the fandom by saying that people were acting holier than thou - if you look through the asks I received, that “division” was clearly already there.
My first post ever about this was me asking what was going on, because I hadn’t had the time to piece together everything. I received a few answers from people generally going over the timeline. Then, the first post I disagreed with was this one, where I felt like I was pretty polite in my disagreement when I talked about public figures and the expectations surrounding celebrities and those in the public eye. Disagreement doesn’t equal division. The first instance of someone personally attacking me was this one, where they said:
“People like you will find any excuses to gossip about those who don't even care about your existence.”
The phrase “people like you” already created a division, so I’m not sure where *I* personally created or “insisted” on “division in the fandom.” Even then, I felt I was very reasonable in my response, when I said I didn’t understand why they were so upset as it was very literally the definition of a celebrity, and gossip has been around for millennia.
The first time that I ever mentioned anyone acting “holier” than others was this one:
“People who don't care simply don't care, whether it's her or him. Personally I don't give a shit if he or she cheated since it doesn't affect me. I like Glen's acting, I don't care about Gigi since she doesn't do anything interesting and that's that.”
That, in my personal opinion, very much places whoever that anon was in a virtue-signaling status, and I also felt it was inappropriate to say that they “don’t care about Gigi” because supposedly “[Gigi] doesn’t do anything interesting and that’s that,” as if it was a fact.
You’ve mentioned that I was “mocking the other side of it,” but I really do not see where I was doing that. You may be referring to these two posts here and here: where I’ll admit, I did get a little sassy, but it was in response to the personal attacks. At no point in any of my answers prior did I ever say anything about “the other side” or “mock” anyone.
“I literally said that Gigi doesn't do anything that interests ME. She doesn't create anything, why should I care? I also don't give a shit about Glen's family. I just think you're all pathetic dicks for making up shit and getting excited over famous people problems.”
“The fact that you came back just to help spread rumors and speculation about Glen’s private life and relationships by tagging everything to his tag just screams attention seeking. You crave all these anonymous responses cos you know people love drama. You clearly don’t care that you’re helping to spread dirt to his name. Such a shameful online behaviour. Especially if you’re an adult. And to think I previously had respect for you from your previous contributions to the tgm fandom. Sad.”
I mentioned this before in my previous posts and answers, but this isn’t my first rodeo with the Glen Powell fandom, which I personally believe gets more toxic by the day. When Devotion was being released, I posted my thoughts and reviews about the movie in advance, as I was lucky to attend a few early screenings due to my connections with DoD/Navy. Many of my criticisms were genuine, and anyone who’s been following me for a while could probably tell you that I love the source material and it was my most anticipated movie of the year. Even then, I received anon asks criticizing me for “destroying the fandom” and being “toxic” and “ruining Glen’s career.” Someone literally said that Tom Hudner and Jesse Brown would be disappointed in me, an ask I had to delete because of how absolutely insane it was. It’s very similar to what’s happened now. I don’t believe that you mean any ill-intent by your ask, but it seems like it’s now turned from toxic, personal attacks to trying to guilt me somehow for stoking division. Disagreement is not division, and if there was division, I guarantee it was there before I personally started asking questions. Frankly, I will stand by my opinion that I’ve remained fairly neutral and have publicly stated my doubts on some of the more far-fetched rumors. That is not “starting” or “insisting” on “division”.
2. You’ve used my “role” in the fandom to justify why I shouldn’t behave a certain way, and aside from all the reasons that I’ve listed out above showing that I didn’t behave that way in the first place, I don’t think my follower count has anything to do with - well, frankly, anything. I didn’t “join” the Glen Powell fandom, there was never a membership card or a terms of agreement. I started writing and posting on here for fun, I engaged with other people for fun, I read other people’s works and support them for fun. I didn’t realize that by posting Hangman imagines and fics that I’d somehow signed up for not being able to express my (what I believe to be reasonably neutral) opinions without being criticized for “mocking the other side of the fandom” and stoking “division.” The craziness and hypocrisy of it all is that these criticisms are coming from people who insist on Glen Powell’s ability to do whatever he wants and his need for privacy, while there seem to be no limitations on personal attacks on me or expectations of how I conduct myself. I am not a public figure, but Glen Powell is.
Sorry for the long answer, but hopefully that answered your ask sufficiently and proved that I did give your opinion due consideration, though ultimately I disagree with it. Frankly, I think everyone is overreacting. I’ve said it before, but my opinion is that something likely happened between Gigi and Glen, that calls for privacy and for gossip to stop are unrealistic given the role gossip plays in human society and the expectations of celebrities in Hollywood, and that I haven’t seen any actual evidence of infidelity. I don’t want to wave my “free speech” banner around because this isn’t a First Amendment scenario, but I frankly do not understand why or how the “fandom” is at a point where if someone says those above things, that has somehow created a civil war. If that’s the case, that a few answers from me specifically “started” and “insisted on” this so-called rift, I don’t believe that the fandom is as “healthy” as you say it was.
And sorry if you thought my quotes and hyperlinks were overboard, but if anyone’s going to come for my character, I’m going to have receipts.
