This article was written by a student writer from Her Campus at USF.
American rapper and singer Doja Cat has been the subject of a lot of controversy lately due to her perceived hatred towards her fans and the efforts she has made to anger her fans. But is she really the villain here? I think the real problem is that fans think she owes them something, as if she has a personal relationship with them. Parasocial relationships seem to be an increasingly troubling issue in modern society, leading to similar controversies.
A parasocial relationship can be described as a one-sided relationship where a person invests time, energy and strong emotions into someone who is completely unaware of their existence. This is most common among celebrity fans, as is the case with Doja Cat. Fans invest time, emotion and energy into a “relationship” with her that literally doesn’t exist. Fans who cannot separate an artist’s music from his personality become highly interested in the artist’s personal life and feel that the artist has a personal relationship with them.
When it comes to music, fans can identify with the music an artist creates; they may feel that the experiences they express in their lyrics are shared experiences, as if the artist is speaking directly to them and identifying with them. This is why we have either ourselves or seen others feel that an artist’s music has “saved” them. As social media continues to open up our lives to others, this can become a growing problem. In an age where we are expected to share literally every aspect of our lives online, it can be difficult for celebrities to have any sense of privacy. Even aspects of their lives that they choose not to share, such as romantic partners, are revealed by fans who make it a point to view photos, connections, and discover who the artist is outside of their social media pages.
Thus, parasocial relationships can become very intimate, which can result in fans feeling close to the artist when in fact they are the only active participant in the relationship, let alone actually knowing anything about the artist personally. This can create a sense of entitlement when it comes to knowing about an artist’s life and what they think an artist should and shouldn’t do. While parasocial relationships can actually be beneficial for the people involved, they can be harmful to the person receiving them, as in the case of Doja Cat.
The singer recently found herself at the center of controversy due to comments she made about her fans, as well as her rebranding. Doja released her fourth album. Scarlet, towards the end of September. In the lead-up to this release, she wrote a series of controversial tweets that were subsequently deleted. “But I don’t know because I don’t even know you,” she wrote in response to a fan who asked Doja to say she loved them. Her comments were met with disapproval, as many fans felt that Doja owed them something, given that celebrities’ fame depends on the continued support of those who admire them. She has spoken in the past about how she doesn’t like the music she’s put out into the world, calling her previous albums “money grabs,” although many have questioned how true that is given that many people think her new music sounds like this same memorable. like her old music. Right in front Scarlet After her release, she lost a significant number of followers and celebrated on Instagram. This is the opposite reaction that one would expect from a celebrity who has lost most of his fans.
Doja also changed her look a while back, shaving her head and eyebrows on Instagram Live a little over a year ago. Since then, she has adopted a new, edgy look that contrasts with the way she dressed and acted before. Although she used to dress in a way that I can only describe as supporting the male gaze, she has since become “ugly” in the eyes of many for dressing more alternatively. I will add that her outfits are no less suggestive than they were before, but she now seems to be dressing provocatively for herself rather than sexualizing herself for others as she used to do by dressing traditionally provocatively. She’s showing as much skin now, but she’s getting hate for her new look because it’s alternative, because she decided to stop wearing wigs, because she controls the image she’s now portraying to the world.
In my opinion, “The Fall of Dodge Cat,” as people on the Internet call it, has a lot to do with the way parasocial relationships are structured. It is important to note that Dodge the Cat has demonstrated incredibly problematic and eccentric behavior in the past. She has been accused of abuse in the past, as well as being involved in racist behavior and associating with other problematic people. But despite how serious some of these accusations were, “cancel” never really caught on, much like cancel culture in general. So why, even though she has been accused of extremely questionable things in the past, is she now losing all support?
I think this has to do with how the public expects an apology for her questionable behavior. In previous incidents, Doja has released statements apologizing or clarifying any allegations that have been made against her. Once she seemed to realize that she was too famous to truly be canceled and that she couldn’t please everyone, she stopped apologizing for her behavior and started acting the way she wanted. I think her current attitude towards her fans is a reaction to the idea that she belongs in some way. When fans spark a parasocial relationship with her, they demand something from her (like an apology for her behavior), and when they don’t get it, they stop supporting her because they feel like they don’t know her (when they never do did). This is confirmed by the reaction of fans to her new image. As stated earlier, she doesn’t dress less provocatively, but because she doesn’t look the way people want her to look, because she doesn’t sexualize herself the way people want her to, her appearance attracts criticism.
I believe this is the problem with parasocial relationships. It’s nice to feel someone’s music and feel like you know it. But when we assume that in reality do Having known them, we begin to expect something from them. This can create an unhealthy attachment on the part of the fan and can be just as harmful, if not more so, for the artist who feels trapped by their image. Doja Cat is only 27 years old and people already have the image of her that they wanted to see for the rest of her career, which is scary since she is still so young and at the beginning of her career.
I’m by no means saying that Doja Cat hasn’t engaged in some truly problematic behavior, and her harsh reactions to fans are unwarranted in some cases. I do think that while society as a collective makes celebrities famous, celebrities do not exist to satisfy all of our needs or to connect with fans. They don’t owe us anything because they are still people and I think they deserve to be people and express themselves without constant criticism from fans. In these cases, parasocial relationships become dangerous for fans and celebrities alike, and I think it’s important to think about why she reacted the way she did.