Discussion on a TikTok creator's apology for joking about 'sundown towns'

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From Johnny Silvestri to Ashley Leechin: The Evolution of Superfans to “Famous Fans”

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Discussion on a TikTok creator's apology for joking about 'sundown towns'

Discussion about the viral news story surrounding a TikTok creator's offensive joke about 'sundown towns' and the subsequent backlash and mixed reception to her apology.

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In this week’s episode, we explore fandom culture from an angle we haven’t looked at before – the fan-to-”famous fan” pipeline (46:56). While “famous fans” are definitely not a new phenomenon, it’s a growing one over the past few years as virality becomes easier to obtain. We look at some recent examples of “famous fans”— like Johnny Silvestri, Ashley Leechin, Adam McIntyre, and Paige Neimann— and what this says about fan culture online, including the traits of fan communities that make it easier for individuals to rise through the ranks and become celebrities/objects of the fan culture themselves.

Timestamps:

06:04 Talk to Me recap with SPOILERS!

08:57 The Summer I Turned Pretty recap

11:05 Gran Turismo recap

20:12 Madeline Argy apologises for joke TikTok about wanting to live in a “sundown town”

27:07 TikTok Singer Rodger Cleye accused of preying on 19-year old aspiring singer Olivia McCraw

43:48 Trisha Paytas apologises to Addison Rae and Charli D’Amelio & Dixie D’Amelio for publicly dragging them in years past

46:56 From Johnny Silvestri to Ashley Leechin: The Evolution of Superfans to “Famous Fans”

48:10 What is a "famous fan"?

48:30 Three ways that fans become "famous fans"

53:22 Recap of recent Swoop exposé about Colleen Ballinger superfan-to-"famous fan" Johnny Silvestri

57:40 How someone falls down the superfan-to-"famous fan" pipeline

01:05:30 Reasons people become "famous fans"

01:17:40 The consequences of "famous fans"

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Resources:

https://centennialworld.com/madeline-argy-sundown-town-tiktok-apology/

https://centennialworld.com/rodger-cleye-olivia-mccraw-tiktok-accusations/

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSLp3EJRA/

https://www.thecut.com/2013/04/stalker-sarah-17-only-takes-selfies-with-stars.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/magazine/the-hollywood-fast-life-of-stalker-sarah.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity_worship_syndrome

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