In Harry Styles’ hit song “Treat People With Kindness,” Styles sings, “…And we can treat people with kindness.” When Styles received a Skittle to the eye during his performance at The Forum in Los Angeles, it was evident that the perpetrator did not take that lyric to heart. 

At a rapidly increasing rate, fans are getting too intense, concerts are getting progressively more expensive and celebrities and fans alike suffer from the toxicity of their relationships.

Fans occasionally throw things on stage, which often results in a good-spirited interaction between the fan and artist, however this can also result in negative ramifications. There are times when one or both parties are hurt, emotionally or physically. Styles had to leave the stage to recuperate after a potentially serious eye injury, while during another performance, singer Steve Lacy had an angry outburst when a fan threw their phone on stage. 

Celebrities are not there just for public entertainment. It is necessary for us to be mindful of how our actions can affect them, whether that means not throwing a Skittle or keeping hateful comments to ourselves.

Following the release of “Red (Taylor’s Version),” where Taylor Swift re-released her 2012 album “Red,” many Swift fans, also known as Swifties, turned their attention towards the focus of most of her songs: her ex-boyfriends. 

John Mayer, one of Swift’s past boyfriends, received several death threats from Swifties. One Swiftie posted screenshots of her Instagram DMs with Mayer on TikTok. She revealed that she sent the celebrity death threats, and he responded wondering if she truly wanted him to die. 

In the exchange, Mayer revealed that he had received multiple threats from Swifties similar to this one.

These threats are not only a mistreatment of a fellow human being, but they are cruel and can have detrimental impact on someone’s mental health. Celebrities are real people, and deserve to be treated as such.

There are not only physical and emotional consequences on fans and celebrities, but also financial risks. After an overwhelming number of fans flooded Ticketmaster in an attempt to snag tickets for Swift’s upcoming tour “Midnights,” tickets were being listed for absurd amounts of money on ticket reselling websites such as StubHub. 

According to CNN, “Tickets for Swift’s show at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 26 are listed for as much as $21,600 each on ticket resale site StubHub.”

To put this number into perspective, the average down payment for a house is $10,000 to $15,000 according to Rocket Mortgage, while the average price for a concert ticket is $88 according to SeatGeek.

However the issue arises when fans purchase these overpriced tickets. Some are so devoted to Swift and seeing her in person that they would pay well over what the value of the tickets is.

Many argue that this is acceptable and even necessary. That celebrities need diehard fans to defend and support them. These diehard fans are often referred to as ‘stans.’ Stans are on the highest tier of loyalty to a celebrity, overzealously obsessed. They support everything a celebrity does and defend them against ‘haters.’ Stans argue that what they do is essential for celebrities and their popularity, as well as that it gives stans someone to look up to and believe in.

I do believe that it is necessary for people to have role models, but being a stan is not the route to take. Stans can take things too far, and get too much into a celebrity’s personal life. No one should ever be intruding on celebrities as much as stans do. Additionally, celebrities can still be popular without stans. A good celebrity will be able to remain popular without stans and the toxicity that they bring.

Fans and celebrities should have positive relationships with each other, and it’s important to think about that when you have a celebrity that you admire. I urge you to consider the well-being of yourself and celebrities, and always remember that influencers are humans too.