HOLLYWOOD—For many celebrities, Twitter is just a one-way channel for them to tell the world what they had for lunch and where their tour is going next. It’s a sales machine more than anything- which isn’t at all unanticipated, since the social network was originally designed more with business in mind than Facebook. Celebrities follow very few people back, period. If they do, you are extremely lucky or they just like you.
Egocentrism aside, there are a few celebrities that make an effort to follow their fans back and make them feel like they are having a two-way conversation with their favorite people rather than shouting adoring comments down an infinite dark corridor. Take Lady Gaga, she sends daily updates of all her tours, events, and lifestyles to all of her followers along with retweets of pictures and sayings from fans. No one can say that she does not do a great job of keeping in touch with her Little Monsters.
If you are wondering what Ed Sheeran did over the 4th of July. He decided to quit Twitter. According to published reports, he quit Twitter after receiving a stream of abuse. He was tired of people saying mean things. Just like us, normal folks, one comment can ruin your day, so he decided to come off it. The star, who has 19 million followers, says he’ll keep the account open, but it will only share automatic updates from his Instagram page from now on.
Recently, he’s been defending himself against accusations of using a backing track during his headline set at Glastonbury. The truth of the matter is the star uses a loop pedal during his performances, which allows him to record his vocal and guitar lines, creating a layered, looped accompaniment live, on the spot.
His third album, “Divide” is the year’s biggest seller, dominating the charts and radio around the world. Of course, some people get a tad bit jealous of the star’s success. That sort of ubiquity draws out the more mean-spirited and aggressive users of Twitter- which has gained a reputation for harboring trolls. Stars including Miley Cyrus, Stephen Fry, Halsey and “Avengers” director Joss Whedon have all quit the site after suffering abuse. Some stars, including Selena Gomez and Tom Daley, have actually received death threats.
Messages of threats would have been deleted for violating Twitter’s terms and conditions. Last year, Disney chose not to pursue an acquisition of the social media network in part because it thought the bullying behavior of some users might damage the film company’s image, Bloomberg reported. Twitter has since taken action to combat abuse-giving users better tools to mute or block trolls. Lady Gaga took to Twitter to defend Ed’s decision to go offline because of cyber bullies and keyboard warriors. She posted a pic of them together, saying the singer/songwriter “deserves all our love and respect like all humans do.” She pits it down to jealousy, and yes, Lady Gaga, some people are extremely jealous. But what they don’t know is that the journey was long and it took hard work and perseverance for each successful artist to reach the top.
Haters, here it comes. Ed Sheeran says he wants to make a film, like Eminem’s “8 Mile,” but based on his hometown Ipswich. The singer says he’s already in discussions about the possibility of a project on his life and where he grew up. There are no details yet about plot lines or landmarks that my be used in the film. The singer will make a cameo in the next series of “Games of Thrones,” which premieres on July 16. Back in 2015, he appeared in FX medieval drama, “The Bastard Executioner.” Sheeran’s character, Sir Cormac, was an assistant to a powerful priest and appeared several times in the series.
Rose’s Scoop: Hope everyone enjoyed their Fourth of July! We know that Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck sure did. Even after officially filing for divorce, they spent Fourth of July together in LA alongside their children. The family kept their tradition alive, watching the patriotic parade in the Pacific Palisades.
