Fans are really getting out of hand

[MsZem]

Social media is a disease. Time for people to talk to each other instead of instagramming everything. Old school rule: if you don't say it to my face, I'm not listening.

As I've pointed out in other threads, social media can be used for good - check out some of Yashar Ali's work on Twitter, for instance - and it can be a bad thing. It can bring out the best and worst in people. It is not, in itself, good or bad.

Most fans of Hanyu probably know that Weir is a skater that Hanyu has long admired and been inspired by. If some of the ugliness towards Medvedeva is a deranged form of admiration for Hanyu, it's good for a skater like Weir to speak out about it. Even if not, it's good to publicly support a fellow skater.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Social media is a disease. Time for people to talk to each other instead of instagramming everything. Old school rule: if you don't say it to my face, I'm not listening.

Unfortunately almost every public person/athlete MUST now have at least one, or more, social media accounts, in order to stay relevant not just in his/her industry/sport, but lack of at least one may affect their results, especially in a "subjective sport or opinion driven profession". As of recently, athletes' endorsements directly linked to their social media accounts, and sponsors expect their brand names to be promoted in fotos and interviews.

Since advertising methods and campaigns are now shifting to social media from the old forms (TV, radio, print, billboards) social media is a must-have for athletes. It is very unfortunate, but true.

People in order to control the comments have an option to make their accounts private, by subscription only, but that eliminates non-subscribers from seeing the information. If social media providers can expand and give more options "read only" or "disable comments/but see the content", that would be great. some social media offers this option, but not enough and not with too many variations.

 

[CaliSteve]

Is Yuna on the board of AT Sports, or does she belong to its management team? I feel like I had always heard it was her mother's company. And we know her relationship with her mother, while close, hasn't always been conflict-free.

I always thought it was her mom's company.

 

[CaliSteve]

Unfortunately almost every public person/athlete MUST now have at least one, or more, social media accounts, in order to stay relevant not just in his/her industry/sport, but lack of at least one may affect their results, especially in a "subjective sport or opinion driven profession". As of recently, athletes' endorsements directly linked to their social media accounts, and sponsors expect their brand names to be promoted in fotos and interviews.

Since advertising methods and campaigns are now shifting to social media from the old forms (TV, radio, print, billboards) social media is a must-have for athletes. It is very unfortunate, but true.

People in order to control the comments have an option to make their accounts private, by subscription only, but that eliminates non-subscribers from seeing the information. If social media providers can expand and give more options "read only" or "disable comments/but see the content", that would be great. some social media offers this option, but not enough and not with too many variations.

Yuzu doesn't have any social media account, but I agree that any public figure really needs to have one too help keep their brand relevant.

 

[Perky Shae Lynn]

As I've pointed out in other threads, social media can be used for good - check out some of Yashar Ali's work on Twitter, for instance - and it can be a bad thing. It can bring out the best and worst in people. It is not, in itself, good or bad.

Most fans of Hanyu probably know that Weir is a skater that Hanyu has long admired and been inspired by. If some of the ugliness towards Medvedeva is a deranged form of admiration for Hanyu, it's good for a skater like Weir to speak out about it. Even if not, it's good to publicly support a fellow skater.

On the heels of what Mariah Bell had endured, it's both good and necessary for athletes to speak out. Granted, Weir may have done it as means of self-glorification, but I don't care what his motivation was. He's an iconic and well-respected skater. Perhaps others will follow suit. If this behavior is silently tolerated, it will never change.

 

[starrynight]

I think he was absolutely right to speak out. And a retired skater is the right spokesperson because no one can accuse him of having an agenda. People need to see that actions actually have real life consequences.

I see too much going on over on twitter where 15 year old kids are tweeting deeply hurtful things to skaters. And you do wonder if those kids actually realise that the skaters are real and not sort of cardboard cutouts? A reality check would always be a good thing.

If the skaters don't say anything, people just presume that it's okay to carry on like that. This is skating and the skaters are just regular people who live normal lives. Fans maybe forget they are not One Direction etc who are millionaires and have big support networks around them.

 

[Willin]

I totally understand why Yuzu doesn't have social media - he's probably as scared of his crazy fans as we are. In fact, I remember during the season he moved to TCC that the talking heads on TV said the move was at least in part due to the harassment he was getting both from his fans and the newsmedia trying to get articles/pictures/information to feed those fans. (IIRC Yuna had the same problem in Korea).

I do wonder why there isn't a controlled flow of information like many stars have. Everyone from Steph Curry to Draymond Green to Christiano Ronaldo to Tom Brady to Taylor Swift to Kanye to the Kardashians to George Takei to Robert Downey Jr (I could go on and on) have social media teams that essentially run their accounts. That's not to say the individuals in question don't occasionally post their own content or words, but rather that content is sometimes posted and messages/comments read only by a social media agency person for them. And when things get dicey you only need the social media staffer to run your official account so you can ignore all the vitriol or craziness. And if an apology or statement needs to be made the social media person can either concoct one themself and post a screenshot or they can concoct one and have the star read it out in a short video statement.
Basically, what I'm saying here, is that I'm shocked Yuzu has no social media regardless of any personal interest in it. You'd think he/his agency could make $$$$$$$$ from all the sponsorships and ad posts he could get and he could do it while being entirely detached from social media himself. It could also be a way to get a "statement" or "condemnation" of his fans' behavior and show support for fellow skaters while also keeping him detached from the situations.


I also think it may have been better if Johnny blacked out parts that could be considered identifying for the skater (not that it wouldn't leak out anyways), but I do think he's right to call out questionable fan behavior. Not enough retired skaters call out all the BS we see from fans - Ashley and Johnny are the only ones I've seen do it with any regularity - and not enough currently competitive skaters call out the BS.
I think we need more skaters willing and ready to speak up if we want the behavior to change. I don't think it will ever go away completely - that's impossible - but I think it might be possible to cut down on it or to at least show the skaters getting bullied that they're supported.

 

[IceAlisa]

Good for Johnny for using his name and his status of the skating “elder” to speak out. I don’t see how one can credibly fault him for it

 

[canbelto]

Quite frankly, why anyone would ship Hanyu with a female is beyond me - my gaydar has rarely failed me, and he pings...hard.

The same reason why there's this blogger who thinks Tessa and Scott have three secret babies locked in the basement and the Sergei widows thought they were Sergei's spiritual wives and Yunabots sent death threats to Mao and Adelina? And a poster in this thread is convinced Med is a "drama queen b_tch"? Because they're not looking at the actual person/skater. They're living in a fantasy about this skater and reality cannot intrude on this fantasy. So they can project whatever thoughts they want on this skater. It's a reality-free zone.

 

[Willin]

@mrinalini I have no idea what his sexual orientation is and I don't speculate because I don't really care (also because for a lot of fans it plays into the fantasy they create). But ITA that real person shipping is absolutely disgusting. As @canbelto said, shipping skaters has nothing to do with reality or thinking of skaters as living, breathing human beings but rather as a part of some fantasy. They view these real people as characters in a story to manipulate: they don't care that Hanyu and Medvedeva are friends/colleagues who are miles apart in personality, maturity, and career stage. They just care that they think a relationship between them is cute.

The most public incident of this I can think of and how it can freak out skaters was back in Vancouver. Some fans (figure skating fans in particular) created a "kink meme" themed for the Olympics. Basically a place where someone could request that someone else write porn about a character (or in this case athlete). For whatever reason people watching the Olympics wanted to read a LOT about specific figure skaters, and in particular Johnny Weir. Well, turns out the athletes in question found that "kink meme" and even Weir (who is pretty open about his sexuality) was creeped out about it, especially since he was often portrayed as being rather promiscuous and kinky. IIRC at least one other skater spoke out about how disturbed they were by it, but I don't remember who, and I think more skaters than just Johnny Weir were unlucky enough to find the site. I would assume it's now down as it was on LiveJournal, but the fanfiction movement is still going strong and creepy as ever. ETA: If you want to read more about this disgusting part of the figure skating fandom (I'm not sure why), you can find a history of it here.

 

[canbelto]

@mrinalini I have no idea what his sexual orientation is and I don't speculate because I don't really care (also because for a lot of fans it plays into the fantasy they create). But ITA that real person shipping is absolutely disgusting. As @canbelto said, shipping skaters has nothing to do with reality or thinking of skaters as living, breathing human beings but rather as a part of some fantasy. They view these real people as characters in a story to manipulate: they don't care that Hanyu and Medvedeva are friends/colleagues who are miles apart in personality, maturity, and career stage. They just care that they think a relationship between them is cute.

The most public incident of this I can think of and how it can freak out skaters was back in Vancouver. Some fans (figure skating fans in particular) created a "kink meme" themed for the Olympics. Basically a place where someone could request that someone else write porn about a character (or in this case athlete). For whatever reason people watching the Olympics wanted to read a LOT about specific figure skaters, and in particular Johnny Weir. Well, turns out the athletes in question found that "kink meme" and even Weir (who is pretty open about his sexuality) was creeped out about it, especially since he was often portrayed as being rather promiscuous and kinky. IIRC at least one other skater spoke out about how disturbed they were by it, but I don't remember who, and I think more skaters than just Johnny Weir were unlucky enough to find the site. I would assume it's now down as it was on LiveJournal, but the fanfiction movement is still going strong and creepy as ever. ETA: If you want to read more about this disgusting part of the figure skating fandom (I'm not sure why), you can find a history of it here.

The sad thing is that most 'shipping and fanfic-ing is absolutely benign. It usually takes place between two characters on a TV show. I've never fan-fic-ed but I definitely 'shipped Jaime and Brienne on GoT, for example. But the 'shipping of Jaime and Brienne was between two fictional CHARACTERS in a book and tv series. Both Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Gwendolyn Christie have been gracious about the amount of enthusiasm these two characters created and it was all fun and good.

The issue is that I think for most of the figure skating fanfic, they absolutely blur the lines that the skater is an actual PERSON, and not a character created in their own minds. So they've taken a rather benign hobby for fans of fictional tv, movie, or book series and turned it into something weird and creepy which is a shame.

 

[Gris]

Fans maybe forget they are not One Direction etc who are millionaires and have big support networks around them.

Exactly. I noticed that there is a tendency for fans to enter with an agenda and overly scrutinize every single word skaters said on social media which is totally unnecessary and often biased. For example, the 'incident' about Duhamel and anti-vaccine. Skaters may enjoy fame in this small figure skating world but for sure they are not like celebrities who have a PR team behind them to make their posts impeccable.

 

[canbelto]

I'd also add that even big superstars like Tom Brady who have social media handlers are not immune to fans getting really weird and creepy on their social media. Awhile back Tom posted a video of him with his oldest son Jack. Jack was asking for a video game console to play Fantasy Football and Tom asked for a kiss in return. I thought it was cute. But EVERY time he posts something now there are people who make way out of line comments about his kids, along with homophobic slurs. These comments go on and on and I guess they've given up deleting them.

 

[MAXSwagg]

I totally understand why Yuzu doesn't have social media - he's probably as scared of his crazy fans as we are. In fact, I remember during the season he moved to TCC that the talking heads on TV said the move was at least in part due to the harassment he was getting both from his fans and the newsmedia trying to get articles/pictures/information to feed those fans. (IIRC Yuna had the same problem in Korea).

I do wonder why there isn't a controlled flow of information like many stars have. Everyone from Steph Curry to Draymond Green to Christiano Ronaldo to Tom Brady to Taylor Swift to Kanye to the Kardashians to George Takei to Robert Downey Jr (I could go on and on) have social media teams that essentially run their accounts. That's not to say the individuals in question don't occasionally post their own content or words, but rather that content is sometimes posted and messages/comments read only by a social media agency person for them. And when things get dicey you only need the social media staffer to run your official account so you can ignore all the vitriol or craziness. And if an apology or statement needs to be made the social media person can either concoct one themself and post a screenshot or they can concoct one and have the star read it out in a short video statement.
Basically, what I'm saying here, is that I'm shocked Yuzu has no social media regardless of any personal interest in it. You'd think he/his agency could make $$$$$$$$ from all the sponsorships and ad posts he could get and he could do it while being entirely detached from social media himself. It could also be a way to get a "statement" or "condemnation" of his fans' behavior and show support for fellow skaters while also keeping him detached from the situations.


I also think it may have been better if Johnny blacked out parts that could be considered identifying for the skater (not that it wouldn't leak out anyways), but I do think he's right to call out questionable fan behavior. Not enough retired skaters call out all the BS we see from fans - Ashley and Johnny are the only ones I've seen do it with any regularity - and not enough currently competitive skaters call out the BS.
I think we need more skaters willing and ready to speak up if we want the behavior to change. I don't think it will ever go away completely - that's impossible - but I think it might be possible to cut down on it or to at least show the skaters getting bullied that they're supported.

Hanyu doesn’t have an agency.

 

[Willin]

@MAXSwagg He doesn't? Then who handles all of the TV show bookings, the fanmail, negotiating the contract for the acting gig he got, the photoshoots, the ice shows, the modeling jobs, the magazine interviews, the advertisements etc.? His mother? It's not that I doubt you seeing as I can't find any information about him being represented by anyone like IMG or a Japanese talent agency, but all of that scheduling can't possibly be handled just by him alone given how much he trains and how focused he is on training. And he/his family members may not have the knowledge to understand contracts and such associated with advertisements and TV gigs.

 

[Daena]

I think the better response to this is ignorance, who really gives a sh*t about what that deranged person writes (whoever it is needs mental help, seriously), go out on ice and do your thing girl.

I don't agree. People like that have to be found, named and shamed.
Oh, but Daena, those poor souls will be harassed online - some would say.
Good for them - I'll answer. Some taste of their own medicine.

 

[MsZem]

I don't agree. People like that have to be found, named and shamed.
Oh, but Daena, those poor souls will be harassed online - some would say.
Good for them - I'll answer. Some taste of their own medicine.

This is why people participate in online pileons. It serves no purpose except to make you feel good about yourself. If the person responsible has the capacity to change, they don't need more than a handful of responses. If they don't, it's pointless.

 

[antmanb]

If the skaters don't say anything, people just presume that it's okay to carry on like that. This is skating and the skaters are just regular people who live normal lives. Fans maybe forget they are not One Direction etc who are millionaires and have big support networks around them.

One Direction may have been millionaires but it has been fairly well documented that they had virtually no support at all, and, like most manufactured bands, were practically slaves to the record company whose only interest is wringing every last penny out of their cash cow while it lasts (knowing that all cash cows have a fixed shelf life. Zayne has been pretty candid about his mental health issues and how no-one official at the record company or in the their management really gave a toss about it until he wanted to leave.

 

[bardtoob]

Blades of Glory (1/12) Best Movie Quote - Sent you my blood Jimmy! (2007)

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/bestmoviequote Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/best.mov.quote Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/best_mov_quote

youtu.be

 

[Polaris]

Quite frankly, why anyone would ship Hanyu with a female is beyond me - my gaydar has rarely failed me, and he pings...hard.

Your gaydar might not work when it comes to Asians.

 

[MAXSwagg]

@MAXSwagg He doesn't? Then who handles all of the TV show bookings, the fanmail, negotiating the contract for the acting gig he got, the photoshoots, the ice shows, the modeling jobs, the magazine interviews, the advertisements etc.? His mother? It's not that I doubt you seeing as I can't find any information about him being represented by anyone like IMG or a Japanese talent agency, but all of that scheduling can't possibly be handled just by him alone given how much he trains and how focused he is on training. And he/his family members may not have the knowledge to understand contracts and such associated with advertisements and TV gigs.

He and his family work with a couple people (well mostly Shirota who you could call a “manager”) that ANA (his sole sponsor) hires for him. That’s the closest thing to an “agency”, but of course ANA isn't an agency; they are an airline corporation. He doesn’t work with any entertainment or talent agency.

 

[Willin]

@MAXSwagg So he doesn’t have an agency. But he still has a manager that still could, in theory, manage social media accounts and make statements for him. My point still stands.

 

[Madhatter]

@MAXSwagg So he doesn’t have an agency. But he still has a manager that still could, in theory, manage social media accounts and make statements for him. My point still stands.

As far as fans know, he doesn't have a manager either, not in a sense of somebody to create/look after a public image or reach out for commercial opportunities. Shirota mostly represents ANA, not Hanyu.

As far as social media accounts are concerned - Japanese athletes often are advised against having one. Shoma doesn't have one, either, and he's from a media-savvy family. Neither does Japan's greatest sports star, baseballer Shohei Ohtani. Hanyu probably uses social media in a private capacity - I believe some fans spotted him looking at Twitter - but not in professional one and it's entirely deliberate decision. Frankly, with somebody of Hanyu's standing in his home country, any social media post, no matter how innocent or noble, is a double-edged sword and will add fuel to some fire.

 

[alchemy void]

Dang. This thread has the potential to go off the rails just as much as that epic Slutskaya thread a few months back.

 

[MAXSwagg]

@MAXSwagg So he doesn’t have an agency. But he still has a manager that still could, in theory, manage social media accounts and make statements for him. My point still stands.

Hanyu and Yuna don’t have to say anything. They are not responsible for the actions of a few nutcases among tens of thousands of fans smattered all over the world. They are not some small USFSA or Skate Canada skater.

As mentioned, Shirota is not really a manager in the sense you are thinking. She does many other things and ANA hires her to do things for Hanyu only occasionally. She works for an AIRLINE CORPORATION.

 

[Madhatter]

wrong post

 

[MacMadame]

I know this will come as a complete shock to some of you but there are plenty of examples of famous celebrities who don't have a social media presence and still manage to make millions and get by just fine. Doing social media as a famous person and how you do it, if you do decide to do it, is a choice and there are many ways to go about it that work. There is not just one way to do "being famous."

 

[Shinsoureijou]

Hanyu and Yuna don’t have to say anything. They are not responsible for the actions of a few nutcases among tens of thousands of fans smattered all over the world. They are not some small USFSA or Skate Canada skater.

As mentioned, Shirota is not really a manager in the sense you are thinking. She does many other things and ANA hires her to do things for Hanyu only occasionally. She works for an AIRLINE CORPORATION.

As was said before by someone else, the only person you are responsible for is yourself. You may not be able to control external factors (weather, traffic problems, Internet gossip, etc.), but you can always be in control of your own actions and words.

Maybe Yuzuru Hanyu and Yuna Kim know this or have been advised not to do or say a thing. I don't pretend to know what is in their minds.

 

[skateboy]

Bullying never goes away on its own. A few words against it, especially from a respected idol, can make a world of difference.

 

[attyfan]

Bullying never goes away on its own. A few words against it, especially from a respected idol, can make a world of difference.

Even if it doesn't affect the bully, the words might be very important to the victim, making them feel less alone.