A Timothée Chalamet fan account received viral criticism online this week after people suggested that several of the account’s recent posts could be taking a love for the actor too far.
Club Chalamet has fewer than 4,000 followers on Instagram and just over 1,600 on X, formerly Twitter. But the account, run by fan Simone Cromer, became its own trending topic after making several posts about Chalamet’s public appearance with Kylie Jenner during a Beyoncé concert Monday. The two, who have been rumored to be dating for months, were spotted kissing at the Los Angeles show.
Chalamet, a 27-year-old indie darling turned blockbuster movie star, has often been referred to as one of the many people’s favorite “internet boyfriends.” It’s not uncommon for any fan base, let alone one as large as Chalamet’s, to home in on their favorite celebrities’ lives and share deep dives and analysis online. The news of the Jenner PDA prompted a mix of widespread disbelief, jokes and disappointment from some fans online.
Still, Club Chalamet’s response — which also involved hosting a discussion that drew about 8,000 people on X — has been called out as particularly bizarre.
“If you’re feeling distressed by the video, it’s ok. But please take care of yourself. Step away from social media for a couple of days,” Club Chalamet posted in a statement earlier this week, along with unsubstantiated claims that Jenner — referred to in several of its posts as “Slurpee” — had been “stalking” Chalamet.
Some online said they were appalled by the authoritative tone behind Club Chalamet’s posts, for example when the account implied that Jenner’s team must have “commanded” him into being seen with her. Others expressed concern over the super fan obsession with policing Chalamet’s love life.
Representatives for Chalamet and Jenner did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
The whole saga — which has been talked about across social media platforms, including in one lengthy Reddit thread — has renewed conversation online surrounding the extreme parasocial nature of some fans’ relationships with their favorite celebrities. Parasocial relationships are defined as one-sided emotional investment with a celebrity or fictional character.
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Much of the viral ridicule has bubbled over into vitriolic mocking of the account and Cromer herself, though some of the discourse also reignited genuine questions around fan boundaries.
“Like why are these Timothee fans acting like they know him, and that he owes them anything? Is extremely weird and disturbing,” one Reddit commenter wrote on the thread, referencing parasocial relationships.
One person called the negative comments about Jenner made by Cromer misogynistic. “The internalized misogyny is too much … The key point is you don’t know him,” another Reddit commenter wrote. “You have never met him. You don’t know what he is like.”
There were also people who compared the fan page posts to the time a fan account wrote a lengthy letter to Chris Evans expressing fans’ hurt after the actor publicly revealed his relationship with Alba Baptista. Others also drew comparisons to when “Jelena” stans made baseless assumptions about the lives and motives of Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber, who split up five years ago.
In an Instagram post Wednesday, Cromer referenced the conversation about parasocial relationships that’s been sparked by her commentary.
“It appears that the fandom has learned a new word and is applying it to me,” she wrote. “The term is ‘Parasocial Relationships’ and people are glee at their assumption that I fall under this tag. … Basically, the general gossip public that just heard of Club Chalamet for the first time in recent days, think I’m just a possessive delusional fan of Timothée Chalamet, championing his life while he doesn’t know I exist.”
However, she wrote, she doesn’t think the label fits her.
“Well, I’m happy to burst your bubble, but please note that he knows of me,” she wrote, detailing alleged interactions at events in the past. “I’m not his friend. I’m not even an acquaintance friend. I’m just a fan who he is very familiar with, and I’m proud of that.”
When reached for comment by NBC News, Cromer declined to comment further, citing concerns that a response to media inquiries might amplify the backlash Club Chalamet is already receiving online.
“I continue to be a proud fan of Timothée Chalamet via Club Chalamet and will support him wholeheartedly for years to come,” Cromer wrote in an email Wednesday.
She reiterated a similar sentiment in a different Instagram post Wednesday.
“I said what I said and I stand behind my words,” she wrote in the caption. “I also will no longer use this space to reference Timmy’s current romantic life because I don’t want to provide more entertainment to looky-loos who just want more reaction from me and fellow followers who post their comments.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
