“Oh my gawdddd I love Harry Styles so much. I know his blood type, where he was born and his entire family’s names. We are TOTALLY meant to be together.”

“Girl you DON’T know Taylor Swift’s grandma’s name? You’re such a fake fan.”

Welcome to Random Rants with Annemarie! This is a segment where I rant about prevalent topics on my noggin. So sit back, relax and enjoy some R&R. This issue’s topic is: Parasocial Relationships. 

Now, you are probably curious about the quotes you just read. These are real things that I have heard actual human beings say. Not as a joke, either. 

I am so serious right now.

Now, before you roll your eyes so hard you accidentally achieve time travel, let’s address the elephant in the room—or should I say the celebrity-obsessed fans that have been swinging from the chandeliers of sanity as of late. 

It’s not just a comedic episode of “People Do The Strangest Things,” but a real head-scratcher that has us wondering if the line between fandom and fanaticism has become nonexistent. With celebrities, people have been taking things way too far as of late. At a recent Bebe Rhexa concert, the singer was injured to the point of needing stitches from the objects that people in the crowd threw at her on stage.

One “fan” threw a phone directly at Rhexa’s face and hit her in her eye, causing her to go to the hospital for stitches. 

Fans have been crossing every line possible, even taking it as far as stalking their favorite celebrities. In 2020, Selena Gomez was stalked so heavily that she had to move out of her new house after living there for just 18 months. 

The question I pose to you today is: have we become too entitled to celebrities’ lives? I personally think we have, and that it has been this way for a long time. 

For years, people have been way too interested in the personal lives of celebrities.

Selena, John Lennon and Princess Diana are all celebrities who tragically lost their lives as a result of their extreme fame. Selena was taken from us by the president of her fan club, and John Lennon signed his autograph for someone who would end up murdering him only hours later. Princess Diana lost her life because of the paparazzi chasing her so intensely that she got into a tragic crash.

These celebrities lost their lives because of their fame. This makes me nervous for the celebrities we know and love today, and what could happen to them. As a society, we are too invested in the lives of the rich and famous. 

They are human just like us, and we should treat them as such.

Annemarie Karabinus is a photographer and opinion writer. Contact her at [email protected].