Hey Folks, thought I would pop on by here just to say hi and update you on a few things prior to the start of the second season of the show we all love so much. After a work shakeup that had me working every day, I was able to finally get a day to write a few words on a subject that has been bothering me lately.
Over the Christmas holiday, I was able to get on to my twitter and face book accounts and actually see what was going on. Boy was I surprised. #Withoutlander has really made some of you nuts. I get that, I’m going through a bit of withdrawal too. But there are those of you who are becoming a little over the line in the obsessive nature of your fandom.
First, I’m a fan of the show, but I’m a bigger fan of the books. They will always be my first love. Is Sam Heughan the way I pictured Jamie? Not really, but he’ll do. Was Caitriona who I pictured as Claire? Not really, but she’ll do. Over the course of sixteen episodes, I found myself falling in love with them, their chemistry together, their acting ability, and the way they dealt personably with fans. Hell, a lot of the success I had with this blog is because of Sam Heughan, and I will be forever grateful for that.
But as a fan, I know there are boundaries in what I can and cannot say in social media. As an actor myself, on stage and the small screen, I have had some small indication of what actors go through on a daily basis when interacting with other folks. For the most part, these interactions are nice, brief affairs with only a few kind words. I have never had the instances of behavior I have seen sent toward Caitriona, Sam, and the rest of the crew.
In the beginning, we had all kinds of negativity thrown at Caitriona for her looks. To which I say, “Are you the most beautiful human being on the planet? No? Then shut up!” Guess what: She is laughing all the way to the bank riding on a cushion of supermodel money, while you’re on a computer slinging stones. I think she’s doing okay, thankyouverymuch.
We heard the same with Sam, how he didn’t look like the Jamie we all know and love from the books. And where is he? Climbing rocks and living the life with blond actresses like a young man about town. And he deserves it. He has worked very hard for his success. He helps children realize their dreams all over the world through his charities. How about you? Give to the salvation army this Christmas? No, I don’t think so. Again, stop casting stones.
Oh, and to the ones that say, “You should change your public behavior. If I was your mother, I would be ashamed of seeing you frolicking with bikini blondes in pools.” Guess, what, Mrs. Twitter queen. YOU. DON’T. GET. TO. TELL. SAM. WHAT. TO. DO. PERIOD. He is a personal man and he wants it to stay personal. He doesn’t have to take orders from you. Trust me, when I was his age, I was single and living the life too. Admittedly not as exciting as Mr. Heughan, but fun nonetheless. You are not his mother, girlfriend, lover, or confidant. Wht he does in his personal life is what he does, not you.
Oh, and to all you twitter queens that wake up in the morning and tweet things like, “Good morning @SamHeughan” please just stop. He doesn’t respond to that. Really, he doesn’t. I would venture to guess it’s more of a bother to him than anything else. All you’re doing is fishing for a response from your imaginary boyfriend so later you can post pictures all over your site as to how the great Jamie Fraser acknowledged you in your piece of the universe. Guess what, he has over 700K followers, and while he appreciates every one of us, he has little time to engage in frivolities with each and every one. He has a social media manager now, anyway, so odds are, you’re not going to get anywhere close to the top of his feed.
Caitriona is already off of twitter except for a few instances here and there, probably becaue she got so irritated with the next group of people I’m going to talk about. You Shippers.
Shippers: The fans who desperately want the leading actor and actress to have a relationship in real life.
Yes, you folks that want the actress and actor of a romance to be in lurve off camera. Stop that. Please. Caitriona and Sam are friends. That’s it. They act together on a hit TV show. That’s it. The actors all have significant others. That’s it. They respect each other as professionals. That’s it. They are not, will they ever be in a real life relationship. they will never get married, and they will never have miracle Outlander babies that look like Bree. Please, stop trying to make this happen!
Every time I see something about this actor and actress are in a certain area together and they aren’t filming, you’ll see, “Squee, they’re dating! See? We were right!” No you’re wrong. No they aren’t dating, they’re probably on a publicity junket for a new market. This kind of behavior makes other outlander fans do this…
It’s also an invasion of privacy. Don’t you folks have more important things to do than scour the internet for the latest gossip about your favorite two people in the whole world? Like jobs, for instance, or kids, or your significant other? Take a break, read a book that isn’t outlander. I’ve done that. I’ve stayed away from twitter and social media because it’s just too much work keeping up with the stupid that goes on there. And when I do check up, from time to time I find something that makes me sigh.
So please, all of you who are doing this, respect the boundaries of the actors. I know you’re a fan, but don’t be like Annie Wilkes, please. The last thing Sam and Cait need are over obsessive fans ruining their lives by needless intrusion. Watch the show, and leave them alone. Everyone will be happier as a result.
Thank you.
Also, I know some of you might be fuming right now, and I respect that. I wouldn’t have said anything if I didn’t think I could take the heat. I thank all of you for your kind words, and I will also respect any negativity that comes as a result of this missive. So go ahead, as the black knight in Monty Python says, “Do your worst!”
Jean-Paul Pare' Author 
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