Daisy Ridley discusses vicious fan entitlement, social media God complexes, and rude fan behavior.

Deleted member 5666 · Jul 18, 2019

https://www.bustle.com/p/daisy-ridl...-fan-backlash-why-this-is-just-a-job-18174265

Fan entitlement is nothing new. The Simpsons' Comic Book Guy, who first appeared on the show in 1991, is handy pop culture shorthand for the fan who believes that his in-depth knowledge of a piece of media means that that media must cater to him or be deemed worthless. But while those conversations were once contained within fandom spaces like conventions and comic book stores, the evolution of the internet has led to efforts such as targeted campaigns to lower IMDB ratings and the infamous petitions to HBO to re-produce the final season of Game of Thrones and to Disney to remake The Last Jedi. It does seem like fan entitlement is getting worse... or at least more visible.

"It's great that people are expressive of their views. But this is people's jobs. People worked really, really hard on that thing," Ridley says, with conviction. "I think there's a way of having a discussion that isn't so vicious."

Social media can contribute to "the God complex that some people have," Ridley continues. "Because if you've got however many followers, and you write something that you think is, like, so deep, and a hundred people like it, it's constant reinforcement." But, in her experience, it's not just people sitting behind their laptops and their phones who brazenly share hurtful opinions.

"I was at my friend's birthday," she recalls, "and one of her friends, who I barely know, was like, 'Hey, really liked the first Star Wars. Didn't really like the second one,' and I thought, 'That's rude, dude! That's my job!'"

Daisy Ridley has some interesting comments to Bustle about the growing issues of fan entitlement, in particular relating a personal story of someone rudely going up to her about TLJ and how social media reinforcement is contributing to the problem. Her point about social media fueling the viciousness and reinforcing people into thinking the behavior is acceptable which lead to people to bringing into into real life and up to her personally is pretty apt. As we see with death threats against creatives, the recent Kyoto Animation studio fire...this is a problem that is just getting worse and worse.

CaviarMeths · Jul 18, 2019

Oh geez. Within 24 hours, dozens of YouTube videos will be up about how Daisy Ridley hates white men. Within a week, people who never even saw the videos will be parroting that lie because they heard it on social media.

Deleted member 5666 · Jul 18, 2019

CaviarMeths said:
Oh geez. Within 24 hours, dozens of YouTube videos will be up about how Daisy Ridley hates white men. Within a week, people who never even saw the videos will be parroting that lie because they heard it on social media.

The sad thing that is exactly what she is calling out with her comments about how reinforcement on social media fuels vicious behavior.

Soon as I saw this I knew she had shaken the hornets nest, but I think that was her intention.

Deleted member 7051 · Jul 18, 2019

Oh I thought it was something actually rude. If all they said was "I liked the first one but not the second" then that's not really a issue. Inappropriate, sure, given that they were at a friend's party, but the way the headline and article said it I thought someone randomly walked up to her and said she sucked and ruined Star Wars for them.

She is right about social media, though. It can turn everything into an echo chamber and when people don't have their opinions challenged they just assume they're always right and they don't grow.

Odesu · Jul 18, 2019

Anyone who goes to an artist or creative or something along those lines just to say "Hey, that thing you made/spent years working on? I don't think that's great!" without having any noteworthy relationship with them beforehand is a huge fucking asshole.

Dan Thunder · Jul 18, 2019

Incoming 'Last Jedi is shit' post in 3.....2.....1........

SurrenderDorothy · Jul 18, 2019

She's right, fuck the fans.

SArcher · Jul 18, 2019

That guy's comment was like super mild.

Spinluck · Jul 18, 2019

This is why a to of artist I know don't have social media or use it very sparsely. It's a powerful tool but it goes both ways.

For some people it's too much. And some critics rather be more of an asshole than critical.

Like Daisey can't do anything about how the entirety of how TLJ came out. Why not say you didn't like it but comment on her performance?

Eggiem · Jul 18, 2019

"I was at my friend's birthday," she recalls, "and one of her friends, who I barely know, was like, 'Hey, really liked the first Star Wars. Didn't really like the second one,' and I thought, 'That's rude, dude! That's my job!'"

Is it her job to write the characters and plot?
I didn't like the second movie but I really liked her performance. Why is that rude?

Fulminator · Jul 18, 2019

Deleted member 5666 · Jul 18, 2019

Winny（๑•̀ㅂ•́）و said:
Oh I thought it was something actually rude. If all they said was "I liked the first one but not the second" then that's not really a issue. Inappropriate, sure, given that they were at a friend's party, but the way the headline and article said it I thought someone randomly walked up to her and said she sucked and ruined Star Wars for them.

SArcher said:
That guy's comment was like super mild.

Eggiem said:
"I was at my friend's birthday," she recalls, "and one of her friends, who I barely know, was like, 'Hey, really liked the first Star Wars. Didn't really like the second one,' and I thought, 'That's rude, dude! That's my job!'"

Is it her job to write the characters and plot?
I didn't like the second movie but I really liked her performance. Why is that rude?

Because it is obviously rude to go up to an actor, especially if you do not know them, while they are in a private setting to tell them you didn't like a film they spent years making? You can't see how that is rude?

She's at her friends birthday party not in some sort of public Q&A session here. This is clearly very inappropriate behavior. She is the one who experienced it and made it clear it was rude behavior to her personally.

trineo_feo · Jul 18, 2019

Eggiem said:
"I was at my friend's birthday," she recalls, "and one of her friends, who I barely know, was like, 'Hey, really liked the first Star Wars. Didn't really like the second one,' and I thought, 'That's rude, dude! That's my job!'"

Is it her job to write the characters and plot?
I didn't like the second movie but I really liked her performance. Why is that rude?

You don't think it's rude to tell someone you barely know, and with no provocation, that you don't like something they were a part of? Or you think it's your duty to give your opinion to everyone you meet about stuff they have participated in in the past?

BDS · Jul 18, 2019

TLJ Derangement Syndrome affects millions of people. Together, with your help and your kind donation, we can find a cure for the complete and utter inability to stop talking about a fucking movie you didn't like.

i like big butts · Jul 18, 2019

Winny（๑•̀ㅂ•́）و said:
Oh I thought it was something actually rude. If all they said was "I liked the first one but not the second" then that's not really a issue. Inappropriate, sure, given that they were at a friend's party, but the way the headline and article said it I thought someone randomly walked up to her and said she sucked and ruined Star Wars for them.

She is right about social media, though. It can turn everything into an echo chamber and when people don't have their opinions challenged they just assume they're always right and they don't grow.

She barely knows the friend of a friend. The point she's bringing up is that people are starting to behave in real life in similar manners to how they'd might behave on the internet. In what world should an acquaintance feel the absolute freedom to casually state "lol your first album was cool but your second album was kind of shitty" unless they wants to fuck with the party or the person in question? Its the old "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say it at all" mantra.

Now if they were really good friends then sure that person could possibly get away with that comment. But Daisy barely knows this person, at the very least you have Daisy thinking "why are you fucking telling me your opinion on this" and the host thinking "what the fuck why are you saying this" and everyone with any form of social graces thinking "uuuhhhh what the hell man". The person doesn't even have to tell Daisy that The Last Jedi was a great movie, why the person even brought up his or her opinion is just someone who spends too much time on the internet or has zero social skills whatsoever.

Psittacus · Jul 18, 2019

Cheebo said:
Because it is obviously rude to go up to an actor, especially if you do not know them, to tell them you didn't like a film they spent years making? You can't see how that is rude?

Part of having a job is people telling you that the project you worked on sucked. It doesn't have to reflect on you.

Fliesen · Jul 18, 2019

SArcher said:
That guy's comment was like super mild.

Hey, you work at Gamestop? I think Gamestop kinda sucks.
Hey, you're a waiter at RESTAURANT? I don't really like that place.

Unless 'provoked' (i.e. the person inviting you to rant about their place of employment) It's always kinda rude to randomly talk shit about someone else's workplace.

Psittacus said:
Part of having a job is people telling you that the project you worked on sucked. It doesn't have to reflect on you.

Since when? And in what other industry? If i'm an architect, is it 'part of having a job' for people to randomly approach me at parties, telling me that they really dislike the Miller Family's house (which i designed).

UnpopularBlargh · Jul 18, 2019

Eggiem said:
"I was at my friend's birthday," she recalls, "and one of her friends, who I barely know, was like, 'Hey, really liked the first Star Wars. Didn't really like the second one,' and I thought, 'That's rude, dude! That's my job!'"

Is it her job to write the characters and plot?
I didn't like the second movie but I really liked her performance. Why is that rude?

Because they barely know them if at all. It's pretty much akin to a stranger going up to you and saying" you suck".

Mass_Pincup · Jul 18, 2019

Eggiem said:
"I was at my friend's birthday," she recalls, "and one of her friends, who I barely know, was like, 'Hey, really liked the first Star Wars. Didn't really like the second one,' and I thought, 'That's rude, dude! That's my job!'"

Is it her job to write the characters and plot?
I didn't like the second movie but I really liked her performance. Why is that rude?

I mean you can, but why tell her that to her face if not to make her feel bad.

I think it's fair game to trash a movie that you found bad in a forum like this, but to go out of your way to try to say it directly to people who worked on it is a bit rude.

Mendrox · Jul 18, 2019

SArcher said:
That guy's comment was like super mild.

Yeah I don't really see it. If she is annoyed about people always telling their opinions - fine. He just said he liked the first one and not the second one. No harm here...

Well if that guy really came to her like like this immediately without selling hello etc. then that is rude, but what else does she except as a mega star?

Kyuuji · Jul 18, 2019

Eggiem said:
Is it her job to write the characters and plot?
I didn't like the second movie but I really liked her performance. Why is that rude?

If my friend (or one of theirs) is in a theatre performance I might be more subtle than "I didn't really like it" after watching it. Same thing I imagine, it's not like people's feelings are going to scale with production or budget.

Liquidsnake · Jul 18, 2019

I um.......

Deleted member 5666 · Jul 18, 2019

Psittacus said:
Part of having a job is people telling you that the project you worked on sucked. It doesn't have to reflect on you.

She is not at work or out promoting a movie. She was enjoying a friends birthday party. Do you want strangers you do not know to go up to you while you are with family/friends to go up to you and tell you that you that your work sucks?

Fliesen · Jul 18, 2019

Kyuuji said:
If my friend (or one of theirs) is in a theatre performance I might be more subtle than "I didn't really like it" after watching it.

If they don't ask you for their opinion (which i'm quite sure Ridley didn't in that case) why would you feel the need to give them a review about their performance? If you liked it, tell them. If you didn't, don't.
Or do you really think they'll take that valuable constructive criticism to heart and use it to become better.

What's to gain from telling someone that you didn't enjoy something they put work in?

Kyuuji · Jul 18, 2019

Fliesen said:
If they don't ask you for their opinion (which i'm quite sure Ridley didn't in that case) why would you feel the need to give them a review about their performance?

I mean, I wouldn't. I was explaining why it would be rude.

i like big butts · Jul 18, 2019

Mendrox said:
Yeah I don't really see it. If she is annoyed about people always telling their opinions - fine. He just said he liked the first one and not the second one. No harm here...

Well if that guy really came to her like like this immediately without selling hello etc. then that is rude, but what else does she except as a mega star?

She was at a friend's party where that person was a friend. They were acquaintances at a mutual friend's social gathering. That person is a straight asshole if he or she thinks that he can shit out his opinions like that to a mere acquaintance at such an event just because Daisy was in a Star Wars movie.

Deleted member 5666 · Jul 18, 2019

Kyuuji said:
I mean, I wouldn't. I was explaining why it would be rude.

Yep, and hell, it is even worse than that. It's not like she just put on the performance and was told. She was out at a friends birthday party. Hearing someone she doesn't really know come up to her and complain about Star Wars while at a friends birthday party is not something that should be expected.

Patitoloco · Jul 18, 2019

I'm hoping for that Daisy Ridley/Brie Larson team-up soon, my salt shaker is empty.

Einchy · Jul 18, 2019

The fact that people don't see how what that dude did is rude proves Daisy's point tenfold. Lol

Fliesen · Jul 18, 2019

Kyuuji said:
I mean, I wouldn't. I was explaining why it would be rude.

woops, i think i kinda misread your post, sorry :)

Ichthyosaurus · Jul 18, 2019

Patitoloco said:
I'm hoping for that Daisy Ridley/Brie Larson team-up soon, my salt shaker is empty.

Hell yes. Bring Daisy over to Marvel!

Deleted member 5666 · Jul 18, 2019

Einchy said:
The fact that people don't see why that dude did is rude proves Daisy's point tenfold. Lol

I was just thinking this lol.

The internet has warped peoples minds on how rude fan complaints can be, in particualr in public to the actually artists themselves.

werezompire · Jul 18, 2019

If I was at a party and some random stranger came up to me and said they didn't like one of my games, I'd consider it rude. Not death threat rude, of course, but there's a way to be a decent person and I think people are losing sight of that thanks to the Internet. The polite thing to do in that situation is to give them a brief compliment if you enjoy some aspect of their work (emphasis on brief - they're not here for you to gush over them) or do absolutely nothing at all and just treat them like a normal person who you met in a social gathering.

Surfinn · Jul 18, 2019

Einchy said:
The fact that people don't see how what that dude did is rude proves Daisy's point tenfold. Lol

Yup

i like big butts · Jul 18, 2019

Cheebo said:
I was just thinking this lol.

The internet has warped peoples minds on how rude fan complaints can be, in particualr in public to the actually artists themselves.

Seriously, do people in this thread go up to muso acquaintances at a friend's wedding and tell them that they thought their music sucked?

Kuroyume · Jul 18, 2019

Am I the only one disgusted by the op equating someone being rude to Daisy Ridley at a party to someone setting a studio on fire and murdering people?

Volimar · Jul 18, 2019

Decorum. It's just not much of a thing anymore.

UnpopularBlargh · Jul 18, 2019

Cheebo said:
I was just thinking this lol.

The internet has warped peoples minds on how rude fan complaints can be, in particualr in public to the actually artists themselves.

It's not even about artists. It's just common decency if you don't know the person to not shit on their job at first meet.

KtotheRoc · Jul 18, 2019

Patitoloco said:
I'm hoping for that Daisy Ridley/Brie Larson team-up soon, my salt shaker is empty.

The inevitable Marvel/Star Wars crossover is really going to get people talking, lol.

Deleted member 2809 · Jul 18, 2019

Kuroyume said:
Am I the only one disgusted by the op equating someone being rude to Daisy Ridley at a party to someone setting a studio on fire and murdering people?

He didn't.

trineo_feo · Jul 18, 2019

Psittacus said:
Part of having a job is people telling you that the project you worked on sucked. It doesn't have to reflect on you.

What? Part of me having a job is people I barely know telling me randomly at social events during my personal life that a project I worked on sucked?
This is delusional.

i like big butts · Jul 18, 2019

Kuroyume said:
Am I the only one disgusted by the op equating someone being rude to Daisy Ridley at a party to someone setting a studio on fire and murdering people?

No because he never did that. It was brought up because we are at a time where there is an increasingly amount of people who are bringing their "online" behaviour to the real world and don't know how to interact with creators in an appropriate manner. In both cases, the behaviour is becoming increasingly hostile and sociopathic. The fact that people in this thread don't seem to understand that you don't say "hey I hated The Last Jedi" to one of the lead actors who is a friend of your friend who is currently hosting a party that you were invited to is a real shitty and awkward thing to do is proof of this really.

That being said, I can assure you that Daisy has gotten her fair share of death threats and harassment from the TLJ chud crew. She's probably not going to get people premeditating arson any time soon but she absolutely is getting the same degree of harassment from the TLJ chud crew that Kyoto Animation got from whatever insane idiots that feel that Koyoto Animation has beef with them for whatever reason.

CesareNorrez · Jul 18, 2019

Einchy said:
The fact that people don't see why that dude did is rude proves Daisy's point tenfold. Lol

I am baffled people are defending that person's behavior. There is zero reason to express that opinion to Daisy Ridley. What is it trying to accomplish? The absolute best outcome is that Ridley just kind of brushes it off, but anyone hearing they are apart of project that someone didn't like is probably going to feel a bit hurt. It's going to be a sour interaction at the very least.

I was listening to Conan O'Brien's podcast, an episode with David Sedaris, and they talked about similar fan experiences. And they both are hurt when fans of their work will say similar things about not liking certain projects. Sedaris theorized that is people trying to be real people and not just gushing fans, but hearing a negative opinion from a fan is really upsetting.

Psittacus · Jul 18, 2019

Cheebo said:
She is not at work or out promoting a movie. She was enjoying a friends birthday party. Do you want strangers you do not know to go up to you while you are with family/friends to go up to you and tell you that you that your work sucks?

I work on a project that used to be seen as a national white elephant and still has people spread misinformation about it to this day. Sometimes people react negatively when they realise where I work, but I'm fine with people doing that because I am a contributor to the project but I am not the project and the end result of thousands of people's work doesn't personally reflect on me.

At the end of the day it is rude to offer unsolicited opinions to strangers in general, but I take a lot of issue with the idea that you can't criticise people's work because they put effort into it

Deleted member 2625 · Jul 18, 2019

BDS said:
TLJ Derangement Syndrome affects millions of people. Together, with your help and your kind donation, we can find a cure for the complete and utter inability to stop talking about a fucking movie you didn't like.

this from you?? axe-grinder extraordinaire?

you signed the friggin petition for GoT and wrote 5 acres of text about how wronged your beloved Danny was

Messofanego · Jul 18, 2019

Only people allowed to criticise her at her job are her fellow employees or film critics and that's only if it's constructive and solicited. Some random Joe schmoe, nope. Especially not to her face.

And this wasn't constructive feedback. It was pointless and rude. Doesn't matter on your social status.

Cipher Peon · Jul 18, 2019

werezompire said:
If I was at a party and some random stranger came up to me and said they didn't like one of my games, I'd consider it rude. Not death threat rude, of course, but there's a way to be a decent person and I think people are losing sight of that thanks to the Internet. The polite thing to do in that situation is to give them a brief compliment if you enjoy some aspect of their work (emphasis on brief - they're not here for you to gush over them) or do absolutely nothing at all and just treat them like a normal person who you met in a social gathering.

I feel the same way.

I made the grave mistake of telling a coworker at a previous job that my girlfriend worked in games, and when he met her for the first time he started ranting about how much he hated the game she worked on without provocation. Dumb situation all around.

Now that I work in games, I can live the experience myself!

CaviarMeths · Jul 18, 2019

I'm trying to picture some rando coming up to me at a party at being like "I think your work sucks" completely unprompted and unsolicited.

Like dude I don't even know you and I was just trying to grab a drink.

Eggiem · Jul 18, 2019

UnpopularBlargh said:
Because they barely know them if at all. It's pretty much akin to a stranger going up to you and saying" you suck".

I dont agree with that when you said you ''really liked the first movie'' before.

Mass_Pincup said:
I mean you can, but why tell her that to her face if not to make her feel bad.

I think it's fair game to trash a movie that you found bad in a forum like this, but to go out of your way to try to say it directly to people who worked on it is a bit rude.

I think it's just a honest opinion. Her performance made it more enjoyable IMO.

Kyuuji said:
If my friend (or one of theirs) is in a theatre performance I might be more subtle than "I didn't really like it" after watching it. Same thing I imagine, it's not like people's feelings are going to scale with production or budget.

I agree when the comment was about her performance too.
If she said it was rude, it probably was.

kmfdmpig · Jul 18, 2019

Meanwhile in the GoT thread there are tons of people upset that the writers won't face an angry public backlash. Fandoms of all stripes are becoming increasingly entitled and toxic. Liking a thing doesn't give you ownership of it. Liking a product does not define who you are. You are not entitled to pester people who made different choices than you'd prefer

Daisy Ridley discusses vicious fan entitlement, social media God complexes, and rude fan behavior.

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