Fandoms are a weird beast. Sometimes they can be awesome, like when they poured their support for a struggling Post Malone. But other times they can be absolute dicks who suck the fun out of everything, like Outlander star Sam Heughan, who has been faced with years of bullying, harassment, and even death threats from the show’s passionate fandom and has finally spoken up about it.
This sort of awfulness is exactly what The Chaser would mock mercilessly on their new podcast, and the GOAT team chat to the lads about that exact topic on ‘It’s Been A Big Day For…’ below:
Taking to Twitter with a series of written messages, Sam Heughan revealed that he, his family, friends and co-stars have been at the receiving end of “bullying, harassment, stalking and false narrative” for “the past 6 years” from the Outlander fandom, and it’s been affecting his “life, mental state and is a daily concern.”
Sam states that he didn’t speak up previous because he was hoping “these bullies would just go away” and goes on to say how he’s been subject to a series of false claims ranging from him “manipulating fans, being a closet-homosexual, trying to mislead or exhort fans for money and disregarding Covid advice.”
Having been self-isolating in Hawaii, Sam writes how he didn’t want to risk anything by flying back to the UK and reveals the backlash he received for that decision. He then states how he’ll not “entertain it anymore” and will be “blocking anyone that writes anything defamatory or abusive” before thanking all his supporters who have been with him over the years.
“As an actor in these times, we feel impotent. We can’t do much but I have tried to use what leverage I have to provide a voice to charities that need it and hopefully a little entertainment or light relief. For those still unhappy I suggest you unfollow. To every fan that has supported me and the work I do, THANK YOU. I’m so grateful, from the bottom of my heart.“
It’s one thing to unashamedly love something like Outlander but it’s another thing entirely to harass and send death threats to Sam Heughan just because things in real life didn’t pan out the way it did in your head.
This whole saga is another example of how a fandom’s obsession over something can bleed over into real-life and how awful it can be. Some people need to realise that there’s a massive difference between liking something that is fiction and understanding the consequences of their actions in real-life.
Playing jump rope with the line between harmless shipping and tinfoil hat conspiracies that blur the line between character and actor is a dangerous mentality to have. It’s unfortunate that there are people who are like this and hopefully Sam Heughan’s message will have some sort of impact on getting overzealous fans to stop being horrible people.
Fandoms are great, full of positivity, and it’s always the vocal minority who ruins it for everyone. But every fan also need to be reminded that it’s not an excuse to go around harassing people or taking things just a bit too far.
If you, or anyone you know is suffering from harassment or needs someone to talk to, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or 1800 RESPECT for support services.
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