At the heart of human existence is the desire and tendency to form relationships, to establish human connection, to bask in the splendor of another human soul, with all its convolutions and complexities. This tendency is so primal, so foundational to the very notion of humanity, that it forms the basis upon which families are upholstered, upon which friends are tethered, it’s the glue that holds lovers together, shielding them from the headwinds of life and shrouding them in palpable appreciation for the evanescent spark that is life. This tendency for connection brings together religious brethren, individuals who’d otherwise be strangers but for the belief in a common truth, embodied in shared camaraderie. It’s the power at work in denizens of a particular geographical area—citizens of a country or members of a state or city—fastening them together through the connection occasioned by a shared identity.
This same force threads through the relationship between celebrities and their fans; a sweep of people brought together and melded into a single whole by a shared appreciation for a person and what they represent. While this relationship—between fans and celebrities—bears similarities to other variations of human connection. In other ways, it diverges from the template. Unlike the relationship between individuals and their close friends and families, regardless of their feelings towards a celebrity, fans do not know these public figures outside of whatever the furnish of a curated image allows for. And unlike the ecclesiastical quality that accompanies devotion to a particular religion, tradition, or set of ideals, celebrities are as human as everyone else, and yet they are ceaselessly venerated by their supporters.
Fans create social media pages dedicated to religiously keeping tabs on the latest events in their lives and squabbling with rival fans over their achievements. They congregate and gawp and swoon and scream when they see these celebrities in person. Even the most practical people are not exempt from the trap of subliminally placing them on a pedestal. And so as a society, we erupt with outrage when a celebrity makes a gaffe, acts in bad taste, or strays from the terrain of political correctness, as though they are any less flawed than the rest of us, or any more impervious to the tide of misinformation that blankets the greater sweep of today’s media landscape, or any less likely to flare up on a bad day.
The relationship between an artist and their fans is curiously fraught on account of the standards society holds them to. But artists have to navigate this precarious landscape, as finely as they can. And sometimes, like every other human, they will falter or fall short of our grace. How then are they supposed to navigate seedy situations like these, whether it be a case of misapprehension or a more deliberate infraction? This is the question that loomed over Tems yesterday when she announced a show in Rwanda, which according to the UN is sponsoring rebels prosecuting a war in the Goma region of Congo. In response to her announcement, a flurry of criticism descended on social media. To nCip the situation in the bud, she announced the cancellation of the show, taking responsibility for her ignorance and suing for peace in the region. Her manager Muyiwa Awoniyi—seemingly flustered by the fiasco, which had started to stir up discontent in her Rwandan fans who had been anticipating her concert—followed with a succession of apologetic posts.
The problem however is that their attempts at reconciliation felt uncoordinated and contrived, almost like a harried attempt to stave off further backlash. Tems’ tweet feels like a hastily put-together word salad and wrongly implies an active war between Rwanda and Congo (in reality—according to the UN—Rwanda is fueling the violence through support offered to the rebels). This raises the question of why a professional communications expert wasn’t brought in to mitigate the situation. Tems is a global star, and for an artist of her stature, her brand image is invaluable. If she has staff handling the various areas of her operations, professionals in their respective fields, why not a communications person to mediate between her and her fans in unsavory situations?
While this question is largely rhetorical, an answer to it would be that celebrities are increasingly favoring a less formal mode of interacting with fans on social media. Artists like Odumodublvck and Bloody Civilian frequently stir up trouble on social media, trolling detractors and engaging in friendly banter with their supporters. While this style of online conduct has its merits, it also very evidently has its limitations. Sometimes a situation is so delicate as to require the expertise of a communications expert who can adequately telegraph the intentions of the celebrity, taking nuance and context into consideration. And in those times, artists, public figures in general, must learn to bring in professionals to quell the crisis and prevent further escalation.
