Supernatural Thursdays: A Discussion About The Dark Side of The SPN Fandom

In this column, both Kelly and I have spent a lot of time talking about how much we love the people in the Supernatural fandom and all of the wonderful things that they do for each other, the charities they support, etc. Last week though, something happened that made me want to spend some time talking about the other side of this fandom; the dark side, the side that I don’t quite understand.

About a week ago, someone released a picture of Jared and Genevieve’s new baby boy, Thomas Colton. I first saw the updates when I logged on Facebook later in the day, so by the time I saw the news, people were already discussing the fact that it was most likely released without Jared and Gen’s permission. I was happy to see that most pages immediately took it down, but there were a couple that kept it up for a bit longer.

The moment I saw the news and all of the uproar happening on both Facebook and Twitter, I immediately felt sorry for Jared and Gen. Releasing photos of their baby was something that they had every right to control and someone took that away from them. Someone figured that it was okay to share something that personal with the world and it made me want to hang my head in shame, even though I myself had nothing to do with the incident.

It brought to mind other unfortunate incidents that have happened, things that make me a tad embarrassed to be associated in the same fandom as certain kinds of people. I’ve been to a few conventions now and while those experiences are 98% wonderful, there is always that other 2% that has to rear their ugly heads and do things that are simply not okay. Touching actors inappropriately in photo ops, asking groan-inducing questions at the panels (“can I have a hug?” is always sure to have most of the audience wanting to crawl under their chairs). Jumping on actors (who can forget poor Jensen’s first convention ever?), and more.

And it’s not just at conventions. Speaking of inappropriate personal photos – I am on a bunch of Supernatural-related Facebook pages and one day a couple months ago someone posted a picture of Jensen and Danneel’s home on one of them. It was obviously taken out of a moving car and obviously without their permission. Needless to say, I unliked that page faster than you can say “violation.” I do not condone such behavior and will not support pages that do.

Now, I know that some will argue that it was the photographer that leaked the photo in the most recent case and not a fan (as that is the story that I have heard), but what about the pages that shared it after they knew it was stolen? What about those people who do all those other inappropriate things that make us all want to hide our heads in the sand?

It makes me wonder, what takes a “fan” to the dark side? To a place where they will do things to harm (whether mentally or physically) the very people that they love? That scary side of the fandom which was shown for comedic value on the series itself, when Becky kidnapped Sam and tried to turn him into her personal love slave. How can these people believe that their actions are okay, that they are not rude or downright dangerous?

So here’s my question to you folks. Have you had experiences with those kinds of Supernatural fans? What did you think when you saw them do what they did? Do you condone this type of behavior or believe that they are simply a part of the fandom world that we all have to learn to live with? Sound off in the comments below, I love hearing from you guys!

”Supernatural Thursdays”is published every Thursday. If you’re curious what this column is all about, check out our introductory post on it and more articles here.

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