Dissing your fandom's name? Being two hours late to your own concert?
Signing profanity instead of an autograph? You'll never believe how
these musicians have treated their fans like trash! Keep watching to find out!
Once upon a time, back in 2014, everyone was a Belieber — the affectionate name Canadian pop
singer Justin Bieber calls his fanbase. Between singing, playing drums, and rapping, it was hard
not to be fascinated with the little kid who, seemingly out of nowhere, popped up and danced
alongside Ludacris and Usher. Everyone had Bieber fever, and then suddenly, something changed.
In 2016, Bieber socked a fan in the face before a concert in Barcelona, Spain. According to video
footage published by TMZ, the Biebs was in the backseat of an SUV being escorted to his
tour stop in the city. That same year, Bieber was captured at a tour in Birmingham, England,
telling his fans not to be so excited to see him. According to People, Bieber asked the crowd,
"Can you guys do me a favor? Can you guys just relax for about two seconds? I get it,
I get it, but I'm like two feet away from you. And I can hear you. I appreciate all the love,
it's amazing. But can you show it in a different way? Screaming is just so obnoxious."
Then there's Bieber simply not learning the words to a song before a concert. Back in 2017, he found
himself dodging objects from fans during his performance at the Summerburst Music Festival in
Stockholm, Sweden, after admitting to not knowing "Despacito" because he doesn't speak Spanish.
Although she always comes with receipts, there seems to constantly be a rift happening
between Ariana Grande and her millions of followers and God knows how many friends.
There was that time in 2014 when, according to Daily News, she was allegedly overheard saying
she wished her fans would, quote, "all f---ing die." And, while she's since cleared up the rumor,
it does not help Grande's case when she openly disses her massive fanbase on a regular basis.
Once, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the singer said she never came up with
the name of her fandom, Arianators, even joking with Kimmel about it:
"They gave themselves that. I, um, I originally was calling them The Ariana Army, and then I was
calling them Tiny Elephants, I don't know how that came about, but it stuck for a while."
Kimmel continued with the joke and added his own thoughts:
"I think Ariana Army was better actually because
Arianators sounds like something you'd buy at, like, the AutoZone."
Then in 2020, she flat out admitted to disliking the name
in her "Positions" album thank you notes. It read:
"Thank you to the most loving, incredible fanbase of all time with the ugliest fandom name
ever created. Seriously, no thank yous for whoever coined the phrase
'Arianators'. You get no thank you. Jk. Love you all."
Kanye is infamous for a lot of things. One, in particular, is his rant during a
2005 Hurricane Katrina telethon — you know the one. Well, in borrowing his own words:
Kanye West does not care about his fans. In fact,
if there were ever an argument for anyone who probably hates their fanbase,
West would have to be at the top of that list. One has to ask, does he ever appreciate his consumers?
In 2015, according to E!, West explained at The Daily Front Row awards show
that "not smiling makes [him] smile" and that it was something he picked
up in a historical book he came across. He added,
"I looked at all these people's photos and they look so real and their outfits
were incredible and they weren't smiling [...] cause it just wouldn't look as cool."
This explanation most likely suffices, right?
Then there are Ye's political views. Sure, vote for who you want and subscribe to whichever
ideological belief that fits you best. Yet, the "Stronger" rapper, after stating he would
have voted for Donald Trump had he voted and meeting with the then-president-elect
to discuss, quote, "multicultural issues," appeared at the TMZ headquarters to say:
"When you hear about slavery for 400 years [...] That sounds like a choice."
The lack of sensitivity for a group of people who've been in his corner for the majority of
his career is telling of how much he considers his supporters — much like the prices of his clothing.
When you think of powerhouse singers, Christina Aguilera is at the top of
most lists. The Grammy winner, at this point of her career, is R&B and pop royalty and,
for the most part, has nothing else to prove for the rest of her career,
which is probably why she turns up her nose at talent that doesn't match hers.
In her five years on The Voice, the "You Are Beautiful" singer grew a reputation for
her often less-than-thoughtful criticisms of The Voice contestants. According to reports,
the former judge once scolded a contestant for allegedly not paying super close attention to
her and even reportedly asked a male singer to take off his pants. And it apparently
doesn't matter if you're a fan of the show or an admirer of her music as a fellow A-lister.
Actress Valerie Bertinelli, when recalling the time she met Aguilera backstage on Watch
What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, has had a bad fan experience as well.
"I was a fan at that time a long time ago, and I went up to her,
'cause she was at a Van Halen concert, and I said, 'Oh my God, I think you're a beautiful singer.'"
Bertinelli said Aguilera brushed her off and, quote, "gave me the cold shoulder."
"And I thought, 'b----, I'm a fan. You
can't be nice to me?' You know?” “Have you seen her since?”
“I have not.” “Oh.”
“No. But you know what? She might have gotten better but I heard she hasn't."
Gene Simmons is a product of hard rock. As frontman of the legendary band KISS,
there's a certain culture that went along with his brand of music that, in retrospect,
along with many things that went on in the '80s, is not so acceptable now.
The AV Club reviewed Peter Criss' autobiography, Makeup to Breakup:
My Life In and Out of KISS — and it can give you a good idea of the antics that went on.
"The band went from smoking weed and chasing girls to f---ing 19-year-olds in their signature make-up
and costumes (the ultimate form of rock-star narcissism), doing mountains of blow, destroying
hotels, [and] hurling lunch meat on naked groupies then shoving them in hotel elevators."
The thing is, the rockstar lifestyle doesn't exactly favor the fans.
When speaking on mental health issues and depression to Songfacts in 2014, Simmons said:
"I'm the guy who says 'Jump!' when there's a guy on top of a building who says,
'That's it, I can't take it anymore, I'm going to jump.’ Are you kidding?
Why are you announcing it? Shut the f--- up, have some dignity and jump! You've got the crowd."
The whole Lucifer-loving, sex-crazed group of guys that live outside the lines shtick
is not cute when it involves dismissing possible fans who suffer from mental illness.
Madonna is an icon. Period. But when you've been a legend for a whopping four decades and counting,
it's to be expected that some unflattering moments surface. After all, she is human.
It just so happens that the "Die Another Day" singer's moments happen to be with her fans.
One Reddit witness says they allegedly saw Madonna write "f--- you" instead of
signing an autograph for a fan. Similarly, the Daily Mail reports that after showing up
late to one Manchester, England, concert in December 2015, she told an agitated crowd:
"All you b----es who keep complaining about it can shut the f--- up. If you
diva b----es want to keep complaining about it don't come to my show."
Then there's the admission from her former close friend Darlene Lutz. In a sworn deposition
obtained by Page Six, in legal cross-examination about her attempt to auction off the Material
Girl's memorabilia, she says the Queen of Pop doesn't care about her fans. Lutz said,
"Madonna didn't handle her fan mail. She didn't care."
That being said, according to Madonna in an accompanying affidavit filed in the case,
"I trusted her not only as a friend but also as someone who assisted me with private matters,
including packing up my personal belongings in my residences."
Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill has quite an interesting relationship with his fans. On the
one hand, the "Dreams and Nightmares" rapper has no problem showing off his loot. He even started a
#BelieveChallenge, calling on his fans to, quote, "post your progress no matter how far you came."
However, don't expect the star to help you out. Simply put, the money is for show, not sharing.
In 2013, for example, fans reported that he was allegedly charging over $100 for pictures,
per GossipOnThis. According to one fan, Meek said, "no money, no picture!" Similarly, back in 2017,
Meek caught heat online after posting a video showing him demanding a homeless man
do pushups in exchange for $20. According to the source who shared the information to Daily News,
he was allegedly explaining that he didn't want to be, quote,
"giving out no free money." As he said in the video,
"No, no, no, give me 10 pushups and I'll give you $20 right now. [...] Go ahead."
$20 appears to be Meek's threshold, as a similar situation happened with him in 2020.
A now-viral video show's the "Expensive Pain" rapper only giving $20 to a group
of kids selling water bottles in Atlanta. When asked about it, Meek Mill replied on Twitter:
"I ain't giving no young boys no money to go buy no weed"
One could say that he's teaching them financial responsibility?
Whatever happened to southern hospitality? You don't get too many chances with country music
star Toby Keith, who has confronted fans face-to-face at concerts and
is on record showing up drunk to performances, to his fans' dismay.
According to TMZ, the fan confrontation happened in Pikeville, Kentucky back in 2009,
when Keith "confronted" a fan face-to-face after he reportedly flipped him off and then hurled a
beer at him. After chewing the fan out, the concertgoer was escorted out by security.
Toby apologized for the incident immediately after it happened,
no arrests were made, and the rest of the concert went off without a hitch.
The second incident occurred at El Dorado's Dam Music Festival in Kansas,
where Keith displayed yet another lack of professionalism by showing up drunk,
according to The Wichita Eagle. If Keith has shown one thing,
it's that his shows are going to go how he wants them, regardless of who's there or not.
46-year-old Grammy award-winning singer Lauryn Hill has developed
quite a reputation for showing up late and leaving early at her shows.
The "Doo Wop" singer and rapper has even doubled down on the behavior several times.
There was her Atlanta performance in 2016, where she attributed her tardiness to "aligning" her
"energy," before performing for 30 minutes and leaving. There was the European leg of her tour
in 2018, when she caused a stir for showing up to her Brussels and Paris shows two hours
late. She even defended her actions in a feature appearance on Nas' 2021 record titled "Nobody."
If one thing is clear, Ms. Hill is going to show up when she shows up. She raps on the 2021 track,
"My awareness like Keanu in the Matrix / I'm savin' souls and y'all
complainin' bout my lateness."
Then there was her half-apology on Facebook back in 2016
when she reportedly didn't show up until 10:20 pm at an 8 pm show:
"I don't show up late to shows because I don't care. [...] I have nothing but love and respect
for my fans. I am at my best when I am open, rested, sensitive and liberated to express myself
as truthfully as possible. For every performance that I've arrived to late,
there have been countless others where I've performed in excess of two hours."
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