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Are Kanye West, Taylor Swift responsible for their toxic fans? How cyberbullying persists in fandoms and what celebrities can do to stop it
- How responsible are celebrities for the actions of their most rabid supporters, who cyberbully others on their behalf? The answer isn’t so simple, experts say
- Taylor Swift fans have piled on her ex Jake Gyllenhaal, Justin Bieber called out a Selena Gomez fan and Kim Kardashian has had trouble with Kanye West
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Don’t run afoul of a beloved celebrity on social media – unless you’re ready to fend off vicious attacks from hordes of superfans.
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Just ask Jake Gyllenhaal. Though Taylor Swift has never confirmed that the actor, whom she dated for three months in 2010, inspired her heartbreak anthem All Too Well, that hasn’t stopped legions of Swifties from piling on him since the song’s extended version arrived in November 2021.
When asked about the outpouring of hate he’s received from Swift fans, Gyllenhaal told US men’s magazine Esquire last week that it’s important for celebrities to rein in “unruly” supporters and “not allow for cyberbullying in one’s name”, without directly mentioning the pop star or her army of fans.
Since the release of the extended All Too Well, he’s had his Instagram comments turned off, though he declined to explicitly say why.
Justin Bieber expressed a similar sentiment in 2020, when he called out a fan of his ex Selena Gomez for encouraging people to disparage his wife, Hailey. And Kim Kardashian has spoken out on the issue recently, telling her ex Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, in an apparently leaked text message that she worries his verbal assaults on her rumoured beau Pete Davidson could inspire a fan to hurt the comedian.
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