Latest / Mini Scroll / Stan-ing The Flames: The Evolution of Celebrity Feuds & The Impact of Fan Involvement

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Stan-ing The Flames: The Evolution of Celebrity Feuds & The Impact of Fan Involvement · Mini Scroll

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Last week we announced the launch of our official podcast
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network with the news of our first spin off show, High
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Stakes, a podcast about iconic celebrity beef to usher in this
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new era for the Centennial World brand and get you all excited
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for this new show. We thought it was only fitting
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that we give you a bit of a pregame to mistakes with this
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week's Deep dive. This is an exploration into the
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evolution of celebrity feuds, from tabloid culture to drama
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channels to TikTok reporters. We're looking at how the
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evolving culture on social media, coupled with the ability
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for fans to participate and fan the flames themselves, have
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impacted how celebrity feuds go down alongside some very niche
1:22
examples from Centennial World. I'm Lauren Meisner and this is
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Infinite Scroll, a podcast about Internet culture.
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The creator economy and how social media is shaping Gen.
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Z. Welcome back to Infinite scroll
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everyone. If you guys didn't hear the news
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on mini scroll last week, then you just heard it.
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Now we are expanding the Centennial world brand and we
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are launching officially launching a podcast network,
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which is so exciting. So obviously mini infinite mini
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tech that's kind of under our umbrella right now, but those
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are in house produced podcasts. So we are bringing other
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podcasts on board, the first one being High Stakes.
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We have some really exciting hosts.
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We have Laura Macia and Maddie Bogish, and they are both
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entertainment journalists and they're going to be the host of
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High Stakes. It is a podcast about frenemies,
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falling out, celebrity beef. It's going to be so good.
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The first season will be 12 episodes long and it will be
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featured, of course, on their own RSS feed and then every
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episode will also be on our YouTube channel here.
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So I'm really excited. Please go subscribe to them.
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Go show them some love. And this is a bit of a precursor
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because their first episode is going to actually go on our feed
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next week in lieu of a deep dive.
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So this is getting you guys like excited for it in theory.
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As always, Please remember to rate, review and subscribe.
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called Infinite Scroll on Fridays.
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We round up the five biggest thing pieces from the Internet
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that week. From Tana Mojo versus Rosanna
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Pansino to Michaela Testa versus Anna Paul, feuds have always
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been a driving force in Internet culture.
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No matter how much we claim to hate the drama, many of us can't
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stop watching, commenting, and ultimately coming back for more.
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These rivalries aren't just entertainment.
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They end up shaping narratives, fueling fan engagement, and even
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coming to define digital fame itself.
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Of course, this isn't just an awesome online phenomenon.
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Traditional media and mainstream pop culture have been fueling
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celebrity feuds for decades. From click bait headlines to
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entertainment news shows, rivalries have long captivated
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audiences, turning personal conflicts into public interest.
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At the heart of all of this is tabloid culture.
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Now, for those of you who aren't exactly sure what constitutes a
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tabloid, Mt Bastos writes for the International Encyclopedia
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of Journalism Studies. Quote tabloid content tends to
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expose sexual misconduct and explore conservative and
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iconoclast topical interests with strong commercial emphasis
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and populist vernacular. We've touched on tabloid culture
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before, particularly in our episode titled Chapel Rone and
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the Plight of Celebrity Access. In that episode, we explored how
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outlets like TMZ, Just Jared and Perez Hilton, all of which
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launched in 2005, relentlessly covered celebrities personal
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lives, from relationships to rumors and, of course, feuds.
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Though these mediums weren't always accurate, they have
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managed to keep audiences hooked on celebrity drama, offering one
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of the fastest ways to follow the lives of Hollywood's elite,
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even if the stories were exaggerated, misrepresented, or
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entirely fabricated. While we've touched on how
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tabloids invade celebrities privacy, we haven't fully
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explored what makes a tabloid successful.
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Asbestos continues. Quote tabloid newspapers
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compared to broadsheets present, on average, less detailed
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articles, often directed by marketing departments and
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heavily influenced by demographic appeal and audience
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share. In a 2019 article for The
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Conversation, University of Sydney academic Rodney Tiffin
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examined how tabloid journalism has evolved, explaining some of
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its modern day practices. Although Tiffin's article
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focuses primarily on the Australian media landscape, his
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analysis can be applied to other regions around the world.
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Given that the dynamics of celebrity feuds and scandal are
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pretty much universal at this point, he makes the point that
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tabloids over the years have become increasingly angry and
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rage filled. Quote polarization runs through
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the way tabloids frame the news between triumph and disaster,
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heroes and villains, common sense and absurdity, Tiffin
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explains. These papers offer their readers
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certainty and simplicity rather than ambiguity and complexity.
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They give them the opportunity to vent their anger at the
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modern world. Since Tiffin's article, the
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intensity of these narratives has only grown, especially in
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the context of heightened societal and political
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polarization. Controversies, feuds, and
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scandals have become even more amplified, feeding the demand
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for quick, emotionally charged stories that cater to an
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increasingly divided public. Having said that, feuds aren't
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just a byproduct of celebrity culture.
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They are a carefully crafted narrative that drive engagement.
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And more often than not, these narratives hinge on pitting
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people, especially women, against each other, framing them
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as enemies in a way that only serves to reinforce outdated
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misogynistic tropes about competition and jealousy.
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The way the pop culture enthusiasts have approached the
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alleged feud between Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber is case
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in point, but more on that later.
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While tabloid culture, with its focus on anger and polarized
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views, laid the groundwork for our obsession with celebrity
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feuds, it was social media that truly solidified it.
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Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have given
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fans direct access to celebrities, making drama even
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more immediate and accessible. With this in mind, these
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platforms don't just exist as a place to report on feuds, they
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actively fuel and extend them. Now, there are a couple of key
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reasons for this, and we can break them down into two
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overarching arguments. First, there are simply more
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avenues for stories to be shared today.
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The variety of personal channels ranging from TikTok to YouTube
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to X means that celebrity feuds don't have to be confined to 1
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medium, They can reach audiences across the space.
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Ultimately amplify their impact. The second hypothesis relates to
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the democratization of virality and information.
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In the past, only mainstream media outlets had the power to
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shape narratives, but now, thanks to social media, anyone
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online can jump in on the discourse.
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Fans, influencers, and even celebrities can directly engage
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in and fuel these discussions, making the fuse feel more
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participatory than ever before. On top of this, these platforms
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allow people to react, comment and contribute as as it is all
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unfolding. So let's expand on this.
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The 1st and arguably most consequential impact of social
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media is that it allows creators and celebrities to speak
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directly to their followers, often bypassing the layers of
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mediation that once existed. In the past, when a celebrity
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appeared on late night shows or in a traditional media
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interview, their stories were filtered through producers, PR
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teams, journalists, and sometimes even networks.
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These layers often shaped how stories were told and who
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control the narrative. Of course, this isn't a new
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argument or fresh analysis by any means, but it's one we can't
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ignore. Over the years, we've seen
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celebrities bring feuds to social media, whether by sharing
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their side of the story directly with fans or subtly shading
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another celebrity through cryptic tweets, shady Instagram
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stories or in comment sections. 1 niche but telling example was
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the feud between Drake Bell and Justin Bieber around 2014.
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It all started when Drake took a jab at Justin on Twitter,
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criticizing him in a way that believers did not take lightly.
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What might have otherwise been a once off insult turned into a
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full on online battle, with beliebers responding in full
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force, some even sending death threats to the Nickelodeon star.
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This feud, while largely 1 sided, is a prime example of how
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social media changed the dynamics of celebrity drama.
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Platforms like Twitter didn't just allow celebrities to beef
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publicly, they allowed celebrities to speak their mind
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and turn a dispute into a public spectacle.
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What might have once been a behind the scenes grudge or a
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tabloid fuelled rivalry now played out in front of millions
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with fans actively participating.
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And Drake versus Justin was just one example of many that have
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played out over the years. Aside from celebrities and
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creators being able to address feuds themselves, social media
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has allowed public figures to navigate conflicts in new and
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increasingly engaging ways. One major shift is how evidences
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are aired in a way that prioritizes entertainment over
10:03
fact. Feuds are no longer just
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disputes, they are content. A prime example of this is the
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rise of distracts online. Of course, distracts are not
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unique to social media by any means.
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Their origins lie in rap battles, a foundational element
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of the hip hop culture. In a piece for The Conversation,
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academic Adam de Poor Evans discusses this history,
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explaining how rap battles laid the groundwork for what we now
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recognize as diss tracks. Quote.
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Until the 1st Hip hop records in 1979, the music and raps which
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helped shape hip hop culture were performed at live events
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and shared as taped recordings, he writes.
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During that time, lyrics that centered on territory, skills,
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and identity formed much of hip hop's content, which provided
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plenty of ammunition for dissing.
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As a result, the diss became synonymous with battling, where.
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The relationship between diss records and rap battles was
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crucial to the expansion of diss records during the the 1980s.
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Diss tracks have since taken on a life of their own, evolving
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from niche rap battles to mainstream cultural moments.
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2024 was a particularly massive year for the genre, with
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Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us, a track widely recognized as a
11:15
diss to Drake, dominating the charts, sweeping the Grammys,
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and even being performed at the Super Bowl halftime show.
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But in the online space, diss tracks have been Co opted by
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various influencers, often stripped of their original
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cultural context. As is the case with much of
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Internet culture. In the digital world, these
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tracks become less about lyrical skill and more about pure drama.
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Diss tracks arguably peaked around 2017, though they still
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do drive engagement today. We don't need to get into
11:44
everything happening between Bad Baby and Alabama Barker right
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now, but with so many people locked in, it's clear that diss
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tracks still have influence online nonetheless.
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In the mid twenty 10's, the digital space saw influencers
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like Jake Paul, Rice GUM and KSI turn personal conflicts into
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viral music videos with disses built in to each one.
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One of the most infamous examples is of course It's
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Everyday Bro by Jake Paul and the Team 10 members.
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Released on May 31st, 2017, the song was essentially a diss
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track aimed at his ex-girlfriend Alyssa Violet.
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It dropped shortly after their breakup, during which Alyssa was
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kicked out of the Creator collective and the house they
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shared. Rumors circulated that Jake had
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cheated on Alyssa with Tessa Brooks, who notably also
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appeared in the music video. Despite the controversy, or
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perhaps because of it, the video remains Jake Paul's most watched
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upload, currently sitting at 303 million views.
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Quote. Much of its everyday bro is a
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veiled takedown of Violet Paul, references kicking her out of
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the Team 10 house and their social media feud, writes
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Billboard. At the time, the track became
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Paul's first appearance on the Hot 100, peaking at #94, and the
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Team 10 crew celebrated by upsetting their LA neighbors
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with more over the top stunts, which allegedly included setting
13:05
furniture on fire in an empty swimming pool.
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Alyssa would then go on to respond by releasing its Every
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Night Sis with Rice Gum. The track was successful in its
13:14
own right, marking Alyssa and Rice Gum's first appearance on
13:17
the Billboard Hot 100 charts. As Billboard continues, quote
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Sis is even more relentless than Bro.
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In the viral video, Violet and Rice Gum bounce around in front
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of a luxury Los Angeles mansion and yellow Lamborghini, with the
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duo claiming that Paul pays for sex and bullied kids in school.
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Beyond its everyday bro, there have been countless diss tracks
13:38
and roasts born out of creator feuds, so much so that it even
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became a trend for creators to quote UN quote roast themselves
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in the roast Yourself challenge, which actually predated its
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everyday bro by a year. Where diss tracks thrived
13:53
because they capitalized on existing feuds, drama channels
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took it to an entirely new level.
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We've spoken extensively about the origins of drama channels on
14:03
this podcast, and in 2023, we even had Christy from Spill Sesh
14:07
join us to talk about what it's like to produce content in this
14:10
space and how the niche has evolved over the years.
14:13
But for those of you who aren't as familiar with this corner of
14:16
YouTube, let's break it down. Drama channels function as
14:19
entertainment news shows, but with a hyper specific focus on
14:23
creator controversies. In an academic journal article
14:26
by Rebecca Lewis and Angel Christian titled Platform Drama,
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Cancel Culture, Celebrity and the Struggle for Accountability
14:33
on YouTube, the academics outline the three functions of
14:36
the Drama channel. At the core of these channels,
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drama creators quote, reveal, and report on scandals involving
14:43
YouTube celebrities, much like tabloids.
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Next, drama channels offer breaking coverage of conflicts
14:48
and feuds between Youtubers, mirroring quote semi stage
14:52
spectacles of reality television and daytime talk shows, as well
14:56
as the beefs that emerge between rappers.
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Finally, these channels quote provide general news and
15:02
commentary about the world of user generated content on
15:05
YouTube, seeking to offer opinions and make moral
15:08
judgments about creator behavior.
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While they first gained traction on YouTube in the late twenty
15:13
10s, particularly within the beauty community, they have
15:16
since expanded across every major content genre.
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These channels provide timely and often surprisingly accurate
15:23
updates on influencer drama, further stocking the flames of
15:26
online feuds. While personal updates from
15:28
creators help fans keep track of ongoing conflicts, having a
15:32
seemingly objective source break it all down only encourages more
15:36
users and creators to engage in the discourse.
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The Pioneers of this community each carved out a distinct yet
15:43
significant niche in this space. Philip Defranco, for example,
15:46
isn't necessarily seen as a classic drama channel, but he's
15:50
widely considered the original Internet news influencer,
15:53
helping pave the way for this kind of content.
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He launched The Philip Defranco Show in the late 2000s and
15:59
continues to post, covering everything from political
16:02
updates to influencer controversies.
16:05
Another key figure was here for the T, who started around 2015
16:09
as the first major beauty YouTube drama channels.
16:11
Samantha Rabinowitz, the creator behind the account, is regarded
16:15
as a leader in the drama space and was instrumental in exposing
16:18
shady influencer marketing and sales tactics such as
16:22
undisclosed affiliate links and sponsorships, long before they
16:25
became widely scrutinized. Her last video was posted in May
16:29
in 2019, and in 20/21 it was reported that she had passed
16:33
away, marking the end of an era for one of the most influential
16:37
voices in the beauty community. As Lewis and Christian note,
16:40
drama channels have been instrumental in feuds like by
16:43
Sister, with the central goal of holding creators accountable.
16:47
Having said that, it quickly became clear that influencers
16:50
could benefit from building relationships with these
16:53
channels, leading to the development of a unique media
16:56
ecosystem. Drama channels became so
16:58
influential that at one point it was widely believed that Jeffrey
17:03
Star manipulated 1 channel T Spill into scrapping a potential
17:07
series about Jaclyn Hill and her scandals.
17:10
Though it seems that the peak of the YouTube drama channel may be
17:13
behind us, many have adapted to short form formats on TikTok and
17:17
Instagram, allowing them to stay relevant in an era of short form
17:20
content. For instance, we have seen the
17:22
rise of drama accounts native to the short form video platforms,
17:26
think TikTok Room or T Talk Talk.
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The rise of drama channels and the way they've essentially
17:32
replaced tabloids for Gen. Z demonstrates just how
17:35
democratized gossip and reporting on celebrity feuds
17:39
have become. With far more players in the
17:41
game, there are now more avenues for creators and celebrities to
17:44
tell their side of the story, but also more people willing to
17:48
leak information or embrace their inner armchair detective
17:51
and uncover it themselves. When it comes to creators
17:54
specifically, drama channels have long been able to hold
17:57
influencers accountable. They're in a feud, or more
18:00
broadly, far more effectively than tabloids or mainstream
18:04
media. This is largely because drama
18:06
channels are deeply embedded in the digital space, understanding
18:10
its nuances in a way that traditional outlets often fail
18:13
to. The aforementioned academic
18:15
journal explores how accountability operates within
18:18
the digital world, especially for drama channels.
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After interviewing various drama channels, the researchers found
18:25
that quote performances of authenticity and scams as well
18:29
all as acts of accountability and spectacle become
18:32
intertwined. In other words, entertainment,
18:35
truth, and moral indignation are one in the same.
18:39
Therefore, when it comes to covering feuds between creators
18:42
and celebrities, drama channels have positioned themselves as
18:45
truth tellers that social media users turn to for latest
18:48
updates. At the same time, creators have
18:51
learned to leverage these channels to try to shape their
18:54
narratives, get the audience on their side, and even control the
18:57
discourse surrounding their opposition.
19:00
With drama channels racking up millions of followers over the
19:02
years, it's clear that creator drama and feuds are major
19:06
engagement drivers. This has LED non traditional
19:09
players to weigh in on celebrity and influencer conflicts,
19:13
further intensifying the drama for those involved.
19:15
In turn, it has given social media users a sense of
19:18
validation that they too have the right to sow division
19:22
between the feuding creators and celebrities.
19:25
One of the most notable non traditional players in this
19:27
space is of course, Brand. Historically, it was rare for a
19:31
brand to acknowledge or play into a feud.
19:34
At most they might have subtly taken sides by featuring one of
19:37
the individuals in a campaign, but directly using a feud as a
19:41
means of engagement was almost unheard of.
19:44
Now, because brands often try to develop their own personality
19:47
for digital marketing, it is becoming increasingly common to
19:51
do so. The exemplary case here is
19:54
Duolingo. At this point, we are all
19:56
familiar with Duolingo social strategy.
19:58
The personification of duo the Owl and the snarky persona in
20:02
comments sections has made for a historic social media strategy
20:05
that manages to promote the brand while engaging Gen.
20:08
ZA seemingly impossible task. But being so on the pulse has
20:12
led to a number of missteps by the brand, especially when it
20:15
comes to celebrity and creator feuds.
20:18
We did touch on this in our smear campaign episode, but
20:21
Duolingo attempted to capitalize on the Hailey Bieber and Selena
20:25
Gomez feud when it reemerged in the cultural zeitgeist in 2020.
20:30
At the time, the company posted a TikTok to the audio.
20:33
I'm not saying she deserves it, but God's timing is always
20:36
right. Showing Duo pointing to an
20:38
evidence board that included pictures and screenshots of
20:41
Selena and Haley over the years. Perhaps even more egregious was
20:45
when Duolingo social media accounts sided with the anti
20:49
Amber Heard mob during the trial against Johnny Depp.
20:52
Also in 2022, the company came under fire after the brand's
20:56
account left a joke about Amber under a TikTok posted by NBC
21:01
News. In the video, Amber was on the
21:03
stand and implied that she was being bullied on social media,
21:06
saying you can look either of us up online and figure out who's
21:10
being abused. Duolingo commented on the video.
21:13
Y'all think Amber watches TikTok?
21:15
Many Internet users criticized the company for the comment,
21:18
questioning why a language learning app was capitalizing
21:22
upon a legal case for relevancy and traction online.
21:25
Zarya Pervez, the employee who left the comment, later
21:28
apologized on her personal Twitter.
21:30
All that to say, social media has completely reshaped the
21:34
landscape of celebrity and creator feuds.
21:37
But allowing brands, drama channels, and other external
21:40
players to capitalize on these conflicts for content and
21:43
engagement ultimately cheapens the experience for those
21:46
actually involved. For creators, it adds an extra
21:50
layer of pressure, forcing them to either speak out or lean into
21:53
the feud for engagement, whether they want to or not.
21:57
That being said, various creators have spoken out about
22:00
the personal toll that feuding online takes on them, as well as
22:04
what might motivate them to bring such drama into the public
22:07
eye. One such example is Alyssa
22:09
Violet. While we've previously discussed
22:12
her feud with Jake Paul in relation to its everyday Bro,
22:15
Alyssa has been involved in several other feuds over the
22:18
years. Recently, though, she opened up
22:20
about her beef with Tana Mojo, specifically a feud that took
22:23
place last year. As we briefly covered in Mini
22:26
Scroll, the feud began when Alyssa defended Jason after Tana
22:30
mocked him for panhandling on TikTok Live.
22:33
Tana, who is friends with Jason's ex Trisha Paytas, had
22:36
posted multiple videos poking fun at him, often saying that no
22:39
matter how bad things get in life, at least we're not Jason
22:43
Nash. Tana's history with Jason was
22:45
already problematic. He frequently made inappropriate
22:48
sexual jokes about her during the Vlog Squad era.
22:51
Despite having a significant age gap and dating Trisha at the
22:55
time, Alyssa's comments led to Tana and Brooke Schofield
22:58
dragging her on the cancelled podcast, calling her the meanest
23:02
girl in LA and leveling other claims against her.
23:05
In response, Alyssa posted a video addressing their
23:07
allegations. In it, she gave context to her
23:10
behavior and how the public feud impacted her.
23:13
She started by acknowledging the intense backlash she had
23:15
received. I've received thousands of
23:17
comments, DMS, tik toks, tags, etcetera pretty much telling me
23:22
how awful of a human being I am. And believe me, I'm seeing it
23:27
all, and I have been. She took responsibility for the
23:29
way things had unfolded, admitting it's.
23:31
Completely my own doing, 100% my fault.
23:34
However, she also explained why she decided to criticize Tana in
23:38
the 1st place, sharing that she had been watching Tana post
23:41
videos criticizing creators for weeks and felt like the
23:44
cancelled podcast was simply a platform for quote negative
23:48
gossip. I understand everybody wants the
23:51
tea on what's going on in celebrity culture, specifically
23:55
in Los Angeles. But when you have to make up a
23:58
story and fabricate and encounter, spread misinformation
24:02
and slander somebody and speak as if something's fact, that can
24:06
be so damaging and hurtful to somebody's mental health.
24:11
Not to mention their personal brand that they've worked so
24:14
hard to build. So just be real.
24:16
Through this case, it is clear that creators often feel
24:19
pressured to defend themselves in public feuds, especially when
24:22
social media users start weighing in.
24:25
With drama channels and followers constantly
24:27
scrutinizing their every move, creators feel obligated to
24:30
clarify their side and protect their reputation.
24:34
This can obviously be emotionally draining, as they're
24:36
forced to deal with negative commentary and even fabricated
24:39
stories. The mental toll significant.
24:42
Alyssa mentioned receiving thousands of hate comments and
24:45
having to constantly respond to these attacks can cause stress
24:48
and anxiety for many creators. The emotional strain from these
24:52
feuds is often underestimated, and it's no wonder why some
24:55
creators choose to step away for their well-being.
24:58
On the flip side, instead of shutting down speculation,
25:01
creators sometimes capitalize on the feuds or even manufacture
25:05
them entirely for attention and engagement.
25:08
One of the most prolific examples is the K KSI versus the
25:13
Side Men. This fears into a corner of
25:15
YouTube that we don't usually talk about, but the Side Men are
25:18
a British YouTube collective known for their gaming content,
25:21
challenge videos, and sketches, among other high production
25:25
content. In August 2017, which was the
25:28
height of YouTube's diss track era as we already discussed, KSI
25:32
announced on Twitter and YouTube that he was leaving the group
25:35
and moving to LA. In the YouTube video, he blamed
25:38
Ethan Payne AKA Bazinga for his departure.
25:42
As one fan put it in the R slash Side Men subreddit quote, KSI
25:46
went to LA, made a half serious, half joking video about leaving.
25:50
The Side Men made a joke about it being Ethan's fault.
25:53
Some fans took it seriously and sent hate to Ethan.
25:56
But Zynga capitalized on the moment, dropping a diss track
25:59
called Drama in response. Given that the diss track was
26:02
the initial move, fans weren't sure how serious the feud was at
26:06
first. Over the next few weeks, the
26:08
Side Men members dropped nine diss tracks in total.
26:11
KS is brother Deji even getting involved.
26:15
But things really escalated when Harry Lewis AKWTS released a
26:20
particularly brutal and now deleted diss track titled KSI
26:25
Exposed. From this, what seemingly
26:28
started as a stunt spiraled into something bigger.
26:31
But despite the tensions, the controversy brought huge
26:35
attention to the side bend, and they later credited it with
26:38
revitalizing their brand after a bit of a lull.
26:41
In fact, in a 2022 podcast episode of The Impulsive
26:44
Podcast, Toby Brown, TBJZL and Bazinga claims that KSI started
26:50
the drama simply because he was bored.
26:52
I think he was doing it to just, I don't know, probably be
26:54
exciting. He was bored because I think we
26:56
bored. We hit like a a big plateau with
26:58
like what we were doing. It was the same sort of shit in
27:00
and out. So spiced it up and it worked.
27:02
So while fans speculated at the time and in the years since that
27:06
the feud was staged, members of the Sidemen have essentially
27:09
confirmed it was initially meant to be big until real tensions
27:13
emerge. Having said that, this case is a
27:16
prime example of how fabricating feuds for views can backfire,
27:20
turning into something much harder to control now.
27:23
Throughout this episode, we've explored how the digital world
27:26
has reshaped celebrity feuds and how it affects public figures
27:30
directly. But what we haven't really
27:32
discussed is how they impact social media users, the people
27:36
watching, engaging with, and even fueling these conflicts.
27:41
There are a couple of key points to make here, and the first
27:43
comes down to the increasing access we have to creators and
27:47
celebrities because of social media.
27:50
The impact of parasocial relationships and the rise of
27:53
relatable influencers has been discussed ad nauseam, but it
27:56
remains an important piece of context.
27:59
This era of content has given us unprecedented access to our
28:02
favorite celebrities and creators.
28:04
Whether it's their daily routine, their friendships, or
28:07
their personal conflicts, this kind of content really took off
28:11
in the late twenty 10s and early twenty 20s, particularly during
28:14
the COVID-19 pandemic, when pop culture enthusiasts had to adapt
28:18
to a world where, honestly, not much was happening.
28:22
And with that, what constituted celebrity news became
28:25
surprisingly UN newsworthy. Instead of exploiting celebrity
28:29
scandals, gossip became about the mundane.
28:32
This is what helped with the rise of gossip accounts like
28:35
Dumois, which skyrocketed to viral fame after reporting on
28:38
celebrity sightings. Our obsession with the mundane,
28:41
compounded with the relatability factor of influencers has made
28:45
social media users deeply invested in every little thing a
28:49
creator does. As a result, we know so much
28:52
more about influencers personal lives, leading to public feuds
28:55
over things that wouldn't even register as an issue in
28:58
mainstream pop culture. By Sister is a case in point.
29:02
It's safe to say that a public feud instigated over a hair
29:05
vitamin gummy sponsorship would have never happened among
29:09
mainstream celebrities. The same could be said for the
29:12
infamous feud between Tana Mojo and Freely the Banana Girl,
29:15
whose real name is Leanne Ratcliffe.
29:17
We touched on this feud in part one of our Tana Mojo deep dive
29:21
last year. And to be clear, Freely has a
29:23
long been criticized for promoting disordered eating
29:26
habits. But to make a Long story short,
29:28
Freely went after Tana over her response to a question about
29:31
staying slim, taking issue with her mention of bored eating and
29:36
her advice for distracting herself from mindless hunger.
29:39
To put it into context, Anna was 17 years old at the time,
29:43
arguing with a woman well into her 30s.
29:46
After Freely had publicly targeted her, the two soon
29:49
started going back and forth, ultimately being another example
29:52
of an Internet specific feud that would be unlikely to happen
29:56
outside of influencer Stardom. Like I said, part of the reason
30:00
we allow these feuds to happen is because of our deep
30:03
parasocial relationships and our extensive knowledge of their
30:06
lives. But there's another layer at
30:08
play here, a cognitive dissonance.
30:11
Being a super online often creates a disconnect where
30:14
social media users express frustration with the ongoing
30:17
drama, as was the case in the beauty community where the drama
30:21
geddens left many followers at their wits end.
30:23
Yet despite this frustration, many continue to lead into these
30:27
often petty feuds. A big part of this is our
30:30
addiction to consuming social media content, but another
30:34
factor is that being chronically online has made many of us more
30:38
combative and accustomed to conflict.
30:40
Just look at Stan Twitter, where the comments sections under
30:43
accounts like Popcrave and Pop Base are full of users fighting
30:47
for their favorite celebrities. Whether it's the anonymity the
30:50
digital space provides or just the rise of a more combative
30:54
culture online, heated interactions have become the
30:57
norm. Perhaps the biggest reason we
30:59
lean so heavily into petty drama is the desire to feel righteous
31:03
while consuming content. Social media users often crave
31:07
that sense of moral superiority, and they can get it through hate
31:10
watching or engaging with rage bait.
31:12
This is especially true when it comes to creator feuds.
31:16
Even when users call these feuds stupid or petty, they continue
31:20
to participate, commenting on and following the drama they
31:23
claim to hate. It creates a cycle where they
31:26
feed into the very thing they criticize, intensifying drama
31:30
and perpetuating creator beef. That said, following creator and
31:34
celebrity feuds isn't inherently bad.
31:37
Gossip and discussions about a public figures behavior provides
31:40
an opportunity to reflect and serve as a digestible way to
31:43
engage with larger societal issues.
31:46
Think of how many creator feuds have sparked think pieces
31:49
exploring different systemic factors at play.
31:52
Whether it's misogyny, racism, or other forms of
31:55
discrimination, ultimately, these feuds open a door to
31:58
discussions on complex, complex topics like power dynamics,
32:01
morality, and the intersection of fame and personal identity.
32:05
However, the issue arises when the line between banter and
32:09
harmful behavior gets blurred, like when death threats are sent
32:13
or fans take the feuds so seriously that they attack one
32:17
another. By this point, we know that
32:19
creators shouldn't be targeted to the point of exhaustion over
32:22
personal or private matters. When that happens, it crosses
32:26
into dangerous territory. With all of that being said, if
32:30
you guys like diving into niche celebrity feuds, you will love
32:33
High Stakes, our new podcast exploring famous feuds,
32:36
frenemies, and falling outs that have shaped celebrity and
32:40
Internet culture. High Stakes will be released on
32:42
March 27th and the first episode will be available on the
32:46
Infinite Scroll RSS feed. All High Stakes episodes will be
32:49
available on our YouTube channel as well, so go subscribe
32:53
anywhere you listen to podcasts. I'll leave a link in the
32:55
description box below. Infinite Scroll is a podcast
32:59
produced, presented and Co written by me, Lauren Meissner
33:02
for Centennial World. This episode was researched and
33:05
Co written by Annabelle Ben David.
33:07
Additional research and scripting support was completed
33:09
by Emily Griffiths. Editing is by Danny Fennick.
33:12
Thank you so much for listening. I love you guys and I will talk
33:15
to you next week. Bye.