In the music industry, there is a lot of negativity that surrounds celebrities and their fans. People are almost forced to have strong opinions around popular artists as their top hits become virtually unavoidable and their fans’ enthusiasm and antics dominate the news and every social media site.

It has come to the point where once a musical artist becomes popular, receiving hate and death threats is the norm. Most of these hurtful messages are sent through the internet, which grows into a biased group effort. These groups of irrational critics, or so called ‘haters’, make rude judgments about artists solely based on the fact that they are extremely popular.

They claim that certain artists don’t deserve all of their acclaim, and others target their race, gender or cultural characteristics.

Victims of this hatred include One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber. They receive additional insults because their songs are played repetitively on the radio, which many people find tremendously annoying.

Many artists’ music is further critiqued as only enjoyable for younger listeners. For example, Justin Bieber’s and One Direction’s fan bases appear to consist mainly of children.

In addition, the media can also portray celebrities in an undesirable light. Rumors created by tabloids can spread like wildfire. Artists are then harassed by paparazzi and pestered by hungry interviewers on the basis of the outrageous gossip.

The fans also can receive hate from a number of directions. For example, they receive criticism from news sites for their association with mobbing the venues of the artist. They acquire ridicule from other artists’ fans who claim their idol is inferior to their own.

Fans can also receive negativity from within their own fandom. People claim that others are ‘fake fans’, an offensive term to classify those who ‘aren’t truly interested in their music’.

I myself have been targeted by people I know for liking certain popular artists.  Whenever I sing along to One Direction or 5 Seconds of Summer songs or mention them in conversation, I very often receive a look a disappointment and near disgust. And, as always, I am told the age old “I can’t believe you like them!” as if it were completely socially unacceptable to do so.

I believe that all of the pessimism being tossed around is completely absurd. People have become blinded by pandemics of bias and stereotypes. Several of the popular artists who receive hate for being too ‘mainstream’ have actually reached their fame with genuine talent.

In addition, in no way, shape or form is it tolerable to send hurtful and harsh words via hotheaded Twitter rampages.

There is much more to fandoms than meets the eye. They have created countless friendships. With the help of their idols, fans have been able to raise impressive sums of money for charities. A fandom united over a common interest can truly be a family.

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