From Broadway Reddit: Be more chill "fans" are harassing Gerard Canonico and his loved ones

[Fiyero13]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 6:25pm

https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/9euuwl/be_more_chill_fans_are_harassing_gerard_canonico/?st=jlyaa07y&sh=76e4f92d



it seems like BMC is the breeding ground for rabid ferocious fans which is quite sad so I heard the cast is quite sweet

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 6:55pm

<<edited by BWW staff>>
I feel bad for Gerald, he’s one of the best ensemble members that Broadway has to offer.
Get a grip, kiddos.

Updated On: 9/11/18 at 06:55 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 7:12pm

Pretty disgusting, actually.

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 7:21pm

So much has changed from last year. In April 2017 it was a pocket of fans who liked BMC and were never problematic with it (other than the holy quad scandal) and they were so sweet. 

Until it grew to over 100K fans, who hijacked and took the show for granted. This should be a lesson: Be More Chill fans are not comparable to Wicked, Rent, or even Next to Normal fans. They're a different breed in a different age and the consequences of their actions are felt more through social media, and this apparent hack. These are stans, not fans.

Good luck to the cast of Be More Chill on Broadway, but the fanbase is not one to mess with.

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 7:25pm

I'm nosy so I went and did a little digging around on social media and it's even worse than it looks at first glance. Apparently the reason behind the harassment is that some fans thought Gerard is gay and dating George Salazar, and then found out he's straight and has a girlfriend, and now they're mad because they "deceived" the fans, I guess? Or they think that the girlfriend got in the way so they're stalking her?  I feel like the word "YIKES" doesn't even begin to cover how creepy this fanbase is.

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 7:29pm

I feel really bad for his girlfriend. The poor girl had to change her phone number.

I dont understand the thinking process of these kids.

[BOM]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 7:34pm

It’s way worse than I initially thought. One day these kids will look back and realize how cringey and weird their actions were.

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 7:34pm

It’s highly disturbing and flat out disgusting that they “fans” have cast members contemplating hiring private security.

[bk]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:08pm

You think one person in this cast can afford to hire private security?  What a laugh.  They're all making Blway minimum I have no doubt.  One does wonder if this is made up by the show itself.

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:13pm

bk said: "You think one person in this cast can afford to hire private security? What a laugh. They're all making Blway minimum I have no doubt. One does wonder if this is made up by the show itself."

1) Rent-a-cops ain't that expensive.

2) I have a friend affiliated with BMC. I can assure you that the intense attention from the fans is not faked and has been getting progressively worse for the past year, even for people whose connection with the show is not as active anymore or not as public-facing.

Updated On: 9/11/18 at 08:13 PM

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:19pm

n2nbaby said: "<>
I feel bad for Gerald, he’s one of the best ensemble members that Broadway has to offer.
Get a grip, kiddos."

“Edited by BWW staff.”

I feel like Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids when she just wants to visit her friends in first class.

 

”Welcome to Germany.”

[BroadwayNoob]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:24pm

The fact that some of these fans feel justified in their actions to harass Gerard's loved ones is absurd. This isn't like a "oh hey, can I have Gerard's #" it was a full on like don't come at me bro or else you'll have a world of hurt waiting for you. 

 

And I thought it was known that he had a girlfriend and that him and George are always just messing around. SMH these stans gotta do their reasearch

[greenifyme2]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:27pm

First and foremost, this is not ok.

But- the cast are adults and need to react as such. I certainly don't answer any phone calls from numbers I don't recognize, does anyone else? Taking it to social media only fuels the flames of the attention-seekers. Don't feed the trolls, just ignore them.

 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:30pm

Be more chill, indeed.

[BroadwayNoob]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:33pm

I honestly think taking it to social media might have been the way to go. Keeping it it themselves would have made the harassers think that they were being ignored and then make them want to try harder and go further with the harassment. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:45pm

^ very that

These kind of people want attention, any way they can get it.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:45pm

BROADWAY minimum?   They aren't ON Broadway.  According to what I googled, minimum off b'way is: $566 and $1008, depending on the size of the house. 

And I doubt everyone is making minimum.

 

 

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:52pm

BroadwayNoob said: "I honestly think taking it to social media might have been the way to go. Keeping it it themselves would have made the harassers think that they were being ignoredand then make them want to try harder and go further with the harassment."

And not only this, but now they are suffering a backlash from other fans that are not as wild and crazy as them rest and being SHAMED by the very actors they are looking up to teaches them a lesson as well. That lesson is "You can't do this and keep us silent, we don't like people like YOU."

[Robbie2]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 10:09pm

Fiyero13 said: "https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/9euuwl/be_more_chill_fans_are_harassing_gerard_canonico/?st=jlyaa07y&sh=76e4f92d

 

it seems like BMC is the breeding ground for rabid ferocious fans which is quite sad so I heard the cast is quite sweet"

 

So, how are all these kids affording to see BMC? Teenagers or these kids 11-15 don't work and do their parents know what's going on with this unacceptable behavior? My niece and nephew are 13 & 15 and live in the metro area and never heard of BMC and I know they don't act like this way. Can someone explain to this 43 year old why this is happening? I just don't get it!? Rapid ferocious fans...I find it disturbing that this show is coming to BWAY! WTF is "shipping culture" I have never heard of this...I even asked some colleagues -friends at the gym and they had no clue?

Updated On: 9/11/18 at 10:09 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 10:23pm

Most parents have NO clue what their kids ACTUALLY do online.....and even if they heard about lots of this they would be "sure" their angel couldnt possibly be involved.

MOST of these have likely not seen anything EXCEPT for the bootlegs.  

I don't know if my students know anything about BMC.....it hasn't been brought up in any discussions.  My son knows only because I've asked him if he's wanted to go.  (He doesn't.)

[msmp]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 10:25pm

This kind of behavior is precisely what I had in mind when I said the transfer made me nervous about the fans.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 11:02pm

1) Again, how the hell did someone get her number?!

2) Ummmm....it's no one's business who is dating who and what their orientation is. And it doesn't matter. At all.

3) From DEH's stagedoor to Spongebob with a fan literally following Ethan home to this, fanbases are getting worse and worse. Their ages and maturity levels aren't excuses

[starcatchers]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 11:10pm

disneybroadwayfan22 said: "1) Again, how the hell did someone get her number?!

2) Ummmm....it's no one's business who is dating who and what their orientation is.And it doesn't matter. At all.

3) From DEH's stagedoor to Spongebob with a fan literally following Ethan home to this, fanbases are getting worse and worse. Their ages and maturity levels aren't excuses"

She is a performer as well, I believe, and somehow they pulled it from an Instagram business a profile. 

[bwaylinds]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 11:25pm

I'm all for people loving and supporting their favorite shows and seeing it many times/making personalized drawings/gifts for their favorite cast member but between this, and the fan who followed Barrett Weed to her house after Mean Girls in DC, it's getting out of hand.

[BroadwayNoob]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 12:30am

So, how are all these kids affording to see BMC? Teenagers or these kids 11-15don't work and do their parents know what's going on with this unacceptable behavior? My niece and nephew are 13& 15and live in the metro area and never heard of BMC and I know they don't act like this way. Can someone explain to this 43 year old why this is happening? I just don't get it!? Rapid ferocious fans...I find it disturbing that this show is coming to BWAY! WTF is "shipping culture" I have never heard of this...I even asked some colleagues -friends at the gym and they had no clue?"

Parents see that the kid likes the show, and buys the kid a ticket for a birthday/holiday. Or maybe they saved up the money on their own. And honestly, it's really easy for kids to hide stuff. Even if they weren't necessarily hiding it, why would their parents know what they're commenting/doing to other people unless they were directly contacted about it.

 

Shipping people emerged as like a thing when I was in 6th grade, which was 5 years ago. It's really just a kid thing that doesn't leave the Tumblr/Instagram fan accounts. I don't expect parents to know what's going on.

 

Overall though, I am noticing parents becoming more and more oblivious to their child's online presence. I participate in another niche hobby that has people in it of a variety of ages. Someone appeared one day and started harassing a lot of instagram accounts, calling people horrible names, saying their pictures were terrible, stealing other peoples photos, etc. It went on for a good week until one day she just disappeared. A few days later I got a DM from her mom apologizing, saying how she was 12 and autistic and she'll do a better job of monitoring her account. But a week or so later, she came back and started harassing people again, and her mom had to make another apology. I don't understand how someone with an autistic and unpredictable child can just let them run amuck on the internet like that. I'm starting to sound like an old lady lol