What stars ‘owe’ their fans

WHENEVER we’re asked by show biz fans what the stars they idolize “owe” them, our “patented” answer is, “The only thing an actor owes to his audience is a good performance.” OK, but what else should  fans expect their idols to give them?

First, there’s an unwritten contract between stars and fans that the luminaries will always remember to be grateful to their droves of followers.

After all, as stars keep saying to the point of its having become a cliché, without their fans’ avid, loyal and loving support, the luminaries would have remained nobodies, like most other hopefuls who try to attain popularity and stardom, with all of the fame and fortune that goes with it.

On the other hand, there are fans who think their chosen idols owe them everything, and should even allow them to interfere with their personal lives—and loves.

In the past, many screen “love teams” ended up marrying one another, to make their fans deliriously happy.

These days, that’s no longer quite the case, but some love teams still end up being sweethearts in real life, like Daniel Padilla-Kathryn Bernardo and, more recently, James Reid-Nadine Lustre.

Aside from affairs of the heart, some fans also feel they should have a say about their idols’ career choices.

In exchange for this, they go out of their way to support their favorite stars’ productions, with some fans even watching their idols’ movie starrers many times over, to make sure they become career-boosting hits.

A few well-heeled fans even foot the hefty bill for a special screening of their idol’s latest film. How “supportive” can you get?

Some of these gambits and favors come with strings attached, so a number of stars worry that they may be expected to “give back” more than they want to do!

After all, they didn’t force their fans to “love” them, so why should they be compelled to obey their fans’ preferences and dictates, especially when they find them onerous?

A bone of contention these days is how much fans can expect to be told about an idol’s love life—especially this season, where so many star couples are breaking up.

Most stars don’t reveal the real reasons for their breakups, and this really ticks some fans off, because they’ve invested so much empathetic “emotional capital” in their idols’ romances.

They’ve lived and loved vicariously through them, so when sweet turns to sour and bitter, they want to be enlightened and assuaged, as well.

Still, most separated stars refuse to spill the beans, so frustrated fans and other intrusive empaths will just have to like it—or lump it!