Three Ways K-Pop Celebrities Deal With Trolls

How do they deal with the hate from the haters?

Celebrities get a lot of love from their fans. Sometimes, the love is inappropriately expressed and cause awkward situations that leave the celebrities scratching their head in confusion. The superstars sometimes receive the adorning of their fans to the point of exhaustion - yet love and adoration isn't the only kind of attention that they get. They receive countless hate mails and messages from the anti (anti-fans, trolls) whose intent is to hurt the celebrities targeted. One might say that all celebrities are destined for both love and hate.

Then how do the celebrities deal with the anti-fans? It really divides into three types of response.

The first response is "ignoring." Some celebrities choose to completely ignore social media and the Internet. It might be the wisest option of the three - if only it was possible - because there really is no way of getting hurt if there is no way of accessing the hurtful messages. The problem is that most celebrities are driven by curiosity as to the public's opinion about themselves. This response is usually suggested to the celebrity by the management company, since it really goes against the celebrity's desire to access social media for a self-gauge.

One management company employee commented: "When a celebrity member of our company is wrapped in a scandal we recommend that they completely shut themselves out of the internet and news media. Most celebrities take each and every criticism to heart and have a hard time dealing with mass hatred." He added, "There is no way to completely avoid those things, but it's the best method for them and for us, the company, in dealing with the matter."

The second response is "colliding head-on." Some celebrities read every negative comment from the anti-fans and publish a well-informed and thought-out response. They tend to write sincere letters from the heart, relieving the stress of being silent about the matter at hand. They usually communicate via an alias.

These responses are also sometimes followed by asking the court for an injunction or a cyber restraining order against the matter discussed. Anti-fans are made aware of potential fine and jail time that will come with each negative comment. They are often successful at deterring negative comments.

The third response is "enjoying." All attention, both bad and good, is enjoyed by some celebrities who maintain that "all publicity is good publicity." Of course, it is never a good feeling to be publicly called out in hatred, but some celebrities have the well-mannered nature to laugh it off and take it in stride, saying that they would rather be hated than be forgotten.

This is why sometimes negative comments and anti-fans and trolls are seen as a possible "noise marketing" tactic for management companies. Some rookie celebrities are known to gain fame and attention by drawing negative responses from the Korean public. Many management companies are constantly looking for something to make an issue of, often tapping into their friends and partners inside the newsrooms to stir up the pot of fortune for the newest up and coming artist.

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celebrities
K-Pop
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