Intrusive behavior from overzealous fans is not something that traditional stars haven’t experienced before: in fact, it’s a part of their careers.
At the same time, these situations happen as a result of public exposure which is the necessary ingredient of a celebrity’s status.
Internet-grown personalities – influencers of various types – are increasingly attracting similar behavior from fans.
One of them is a Korean Twitch streamer known as “Jinnytty” who is making use of the giant platform to produce In Real Life, IRL streams – in other words, non-gaming content.
The very idea behind this subset of Twitch is to bring a streamer’s “real life” to their audience.
Days ago, Jinnytty was broadcasting from a national park in Taiwan, she received a donation worth $100 in Twitch bits – a virtual currency used on Amazon’s platform.
But that’s not all the fan gifted her – there was also a bag full of cakes.
And the bag was delivered in person – because the fan was right there in the park with Jinnytty – who, in turn, was streaming all this to her Twitch audience.
The streamer didn’t seem perturbed at first, accepting the cake and exclaiming, “I know, you just gave it to me and you’re here!”
She even sang “Happy Birthday” to the fan after he revealed he celebrated his birthday the previous day.
This is when the creepy aspect comes into play, because the fan said that he had paid her taxi fare in advance so that he could take her home.
Jinnytty had no interest in this, however, which apparently led the fan to make cause a bit of a scene.
But not too much: in the end the fan was happy to sit on the ground for ten minutes before leaving, while it took warnings from her audience to finally send the streamer on her way and end what’s described as an uncomfortable interaction with an entitled fan.
Being an internet personality is a job, and the (broader) industry is show business.
And while some fans have trouble understanding this as they become attached or obsessed with persons streaming their lives online – the streamers themselves certainly are fully aware of their status and purpose.
