Artists’ main concern when growing in popularity is to amass enough fans to sell their art, whether it be music, paintings or tickets to a comedy show. Supporting artists is something everyone does, but there is a boundary between the responsibility and privacy of an artist and the need to appeal to all of their fan base while disregarding themselves.
Internet users have no difficulty finding comments and posts from celebrities responding to their fans on popular social media platforms. Typically these displays are purely for entertainment, as celebrities enjoy creating relatable content for anyone following them, however, followers often feel entitlement to celebrity responses, pushing boundaries of respect.
On the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the “Paint the Town Red” singer Doja Cat attacked her fans, disapproving of a fandom name. She ordered those who supported the alleged title to “get a job” and “help your parents around the house”. Fans were taken aback by her backchat, eventually causing an online controversy.
In July 2023, Doja Cat put out a brutally honest post sharing her feelings and opinions on X, generating an immense amount of backlash. One fan replied to the rapper in a post, speaking on behalf of Doja’s fanbase, that they expected the artist to say she loves them, as most celebrities say in response. The singer quickly denied the false statement of loving her fans, arguing that she doesn’t know the individual behind the screen.
Quickly escalating, another supporter tried to humble the artist, posting on X saying, “ and we don’t know you. but we have supported you through thick and thin. mind you you’d be NOTHING without us.” Unbothered, the singer addressed the sudden entitlement presented by the fan, stating that they sound crazy for speaking to her like a mother, although this fan is a complete stranger.
Doja Cat has recently changed in her aesthetic and artistry, gravitating more toward darker themes. This gravitation towards the occult and more alternative ways of dress has led to many calling her a Satanist, and begging her to leave this new style behind and go back to the way she was.
The newfound entitlement of social media users and the general public has only begun to appear as social platforms grow in popularity. As most of Doja’s fan base is from social media, the star was quickly ridiculed for her new looks.
Due to this bullying, Doja Cat did end up replying stating that she does not owe her fans anything on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. The star refuses to compromise her art to make her fans more comfortable and has often made it clear that she appreciates the support but does not owe her life to strangers liking her posts behind a screen.
Experiencing casual conversations with people of fame is unimaginable due to the higher status the public contributes to them. As a result of cultures being connected by apps and social platforms, the wall of respect drops as users slowly forget that their favorite idol is still human. With their lives showcased to the world, celebrities find themselves pushed to their comfort limits, torn between expectations and enjoying their success.
Recently, popular comedian Matt Rife battled social media fallout as fans noticed hints of misogyny within his comedy routine. His rise in fame began in MTV television series Wild ‘N Out, a Nick Cannon-produced comedy sketch. Later within his journey, Rife’s witty and on-the-feet stand-up comedy clips attracted a lot of attention on social media platform TikTok, gaining popularity with female audiences for his clever remarks and charming looks.
With his growing popularity, Matt Rife soon gained a Netflix comedy special, expected to skyrocket his popularity. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the outcome. Viewers were sadly met with an inappropriate joke on his Netflix special titled “Natural Selection”, appalling fans.
Harmful misogynistic implications like abusive relationships and a specific callout to crystal-loving girls made it apparent that Rife’s special was not intended for women to enjoy. Beginning with a purposefully controversial stunt, Matt Rife supported his perspective of needing a larger male audience by hinting it within his jokes. Due to Rife’s established fanbase consisting of women who enjoyed his snarky crowd-work comedy, it was apparent that the comedian had a self-fulfilling prophecy that his comedy should not relate to women .
Although Matt Rife could not have reached his level of success without his predominantly female fans, through his comedy, his dissatisfied feelings plagued the comedian’s supporters. The inevitable resentment towards the TikTok-made comic made its way to all forms of social media, causing a public discussion addressing the startling discovery.
Rife has made it clear that he will put having men in his fan base through misogyny before the women standing in his audience. This caused a lot of controversy due to his fans feeling betrayed by the artists and feeling entitled to his comedy fitting their interests, not to be discarded on the path to a new male-centered audience.
Overall, artists will continue to battle between their interests and what their audience wants from them. The entitlement of fans only grows as an artist’s style develops, as Doja Cat. However, Matt Rife’s situation discarded the women in his audience with misogyny, a direct attack. Sometimes the feeling of entitlement to some sort of respect as a fan is justified, but not over the respect an artist deserves as they work to put out things for their audiences to enjoy.
