jaegerbombdad: (Default)
jaegerbombdad ([personal profile] jaegerbombdad) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2014-03-13 09:43 am
Entry tags:

How to Cope with Being Suddenly Famous, Thursday Second Period

"Once you become famous," Herc began today's class, "your life is not only your own any more. It belongs to the public; specifically, to your fans. 'Oh,' I can hear some of you thinking, 'I'm not going to be that kind of famous,' but you would be surprised at what people can be fans of. Now, we've touched on this earlier, talking about the internet and the things people might say that you should just ignore, they're not really for you, but dealing with fans directly is a whole other kettle of fish, and not always one you're going to have any control over. You might be in line at the grocery store, trying to buy milk, and someone comes up to you wanting a photo, or an autograph, or to ask you some really intrusive questions or pinch your bum--" not that that had ever happened to him or anything, ahem "--because sometimes people forget that the people they look up to are people too, and that there are lines. And being rude to your fans is generally considered a bad idea, since these are, after all, people who have committed no greater crime than thinking you're really awesome." He paused, then admitted, "Except for the ones unthinkingly committing sexual assault. Most people won't blame you for being rude to them. I'm not going to tell you how to deal with having fans, because it's something I'm not that good at, either." Living on a military base helped with insulating himself from that kind of thing, and then their popularity had taken a nosedive for a while there. "But it is something to think about and be aware of. How you treat your fans matters, not just to your public persona or whatever, but to them, as people.

"Now, I'm going to open the floor to discussion," he declared. "I want to hear your thoughts, and any questions or strategies you might have as far as dealing with fans goes."