The sometimes weird and wacky world of show business occasionally throws us for a loop with an unexpected zinger that reminds us how strange and even bizarre the relationship between celebrities and their avid supporters can be.
It has hit actor Jake Cuenca who, last week, had to rush to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to placate an aging fan who had flown in from the province to meet up with him. In her perfervid mind, he and she had come to a romantic understanding, so it was time for her to leave her family and fly to him to claim her amorous destiny.
How had she come to the absolutely certain conclusion that Jake had pledged his troth to her despite the great difference in their ages? She said he had “written” to her, and had also wooed and won her via the romantic dialogue that he so soulfully intoned in the love scenes of his teleseryes.
Make-believe
Even after she was told that those “letters” or tweets were sent out to all subscribing fans, and that the teleserye dialogue was all make–believe, the poor infatuated soul still refused to return to her usual life and relationships.
People smile and even laugh at this latest display of benign fantasy, but show biz is full of other stories that are less cute and funny.
For instance, when screen idols like Rudolf Valentino and Elvis Presley died, some of their female fans grieved so much that they too ended up giving up the ghost, just so they could still be with their adored screen lovers in the afterlife.
Violent act
Or, take actress Jodie Foster. There she was, quietly attending to her career and college studies, when a demented fan, John Hinckley Jr., shot US president Ronald Reagan—and “offered” his violent act as his tribute to his most admired and beloved movie star—Jodie Foster!
Lessons
Are there lessons to be learned from these extreme instances of fanatical devotion?
First, get a life. Don’t believe the fantasy of stars’ performances that make them so personally empathetic and accessible to you. They are the performers, you are the audience, and that great divide is there not just for aesthetic distance—it’s how things should be, and how they should remain.
So, the only thing stars owe their public is a good performance, period. Expect or give more than that, and you’re setting the stage for reality and fantasy to impinge, collide and otherwise intrude into each other’s spheres, which should be rigorously separated, to keep all those beastly bipolar monsters at bay!