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How Fanfictions Impact the Lives Of Real People? Ft. Wattpad, AO3, Harry Styles, And More
Fanfictions are some of the most important pieces of lore for fictional characters to make them immortal in pop culture, but what happens when theses characters aren't fictional.
Today I'm summoning those whose girlhood journies included Wattpad-induced fantasies of being sold to One Direction by their Mothers. Fanfictions ruled my life as a teenager, from One Direction to Twilight, I was big on any book that would fill my appetite for character lore that couldn't be fulfilled otherwise. Ask anyone who was in their teens in the early 2010s, and they'll direct you to their Wattpad or Archive of Our Own (AO3). While I cannot deny my love for the writers and people who would pour their hearts and passion into writing these stories, at the same time there were some negative effects of these works of fiction because their characters were based on very real people.
The Love and Hate for Fanfictions about Real Celebrities
Perhaps the most famous examples of stories based on a real celebrity are After and The Idea of You. Both of these works were originally Harry Styles Fanfictions, with the rest of One Direction playing supporting roles. After has specifically gained a huge following becoming much more than its original muse, but is that enough?
Anna Todd started first writing the now-famous franchise when she was 24 years old, living in Texas as an Army Wife in 2013. The novels soon gained a huge following on Wattpad. The 14-year-old me was obsessed with the books and the tropes, waiting for each chapter to come out. But as the original fandom of the series has up, including me, there's a certain unease about a fanfiction that is very blatantly about a real-life celebrity, so much so that when Todd's book was announced to have scored a multi-franchise deal based on the novels, there was a big backlash online.
Infact there were some rumors going around that Styles had a restraining order against Anna. Even though it was later debunked, it just stemmed to show just how unhappy the fans were. Their main issue with the author stemmed from the fact that 'Hardin' aka Harry was shown to be completely toxic, as well as the over-sexualization of the pop star didn't help. Styles on his part never really said anything about it, other than that one time when he very awkwardly admitted to knowing that the books existed at The Howard Stren Show.
Does it Make a Difference the Story Has Evolved Past Original Inspiration?
In recent interviews, Todd admitted how she was creeped out she was when casting directors suggested Harry Styles lookalikes for the role in the movie. So it can be assumed that the author might have started with the former 1D member as her inspiration but her story, and characters have evolved way past it. On the other hand, The Idea of You by Robinne Lee is another book that is about to adorn our screen soon starring Anne Hathway and Nicholas Galitzine that was loosely based off the As it Was singer.
In both these cases the authors have insisted that their story is way more than a fanfiction. After's author only started saying this a few years after her work was published, Robinne Lee has always maintained that while she got the idea for her work from Styles and 1D, it was never fanfiction to begin with. But the real question is, does it matter? According to some fans taking a real person and writing fictional stories about them can harm the Celebrity, especially if they part of a vulnerable group.
For example Styles, and for that fact the whole 1D had sexually charged fanfiction written about them when they were underage. Unfortunately, this is not only limited to them but also many more celebs have fallen victim to it. This could possibly be traumatic, or highly creepy for an unassuming adult let alone a minor.
I'd like to look to the east for a moment. Back in 2020, China banned AO3, and while they didn't officially point to a particular reason for doing so, many netizens since then have speculated that it had to do with actor Xiao Zhan's fanbase reporting an erotic fanfiction about him and his Untamed co-star Wang Yibo. Now I won't go deep into the acclaimed series or the two actors, but it can be safely assumed that the whole incident had a big impact on the 2 actors. So much so, that the duo allegedly tries to steer clear of each other at all costs in the public eye to date.
It can be argued that the negative impact on the 2 celebrities had nothing to do with the fanfiction, but rather with the fans who criticized not just the AO3 work but also the actors that were attached to it. However, either way, it has a huge effect on the Eastern world and changed how we consume certain media.
So Are All Fanfiction to Blame? No!
Fanfiction has shaped pop culture for many years now. Though there have been problematic plots and stories regarding actual celebrities, fanfiction as a whole cannot be blamed for it. Just like how in every genre you'll have some questionable books, so you just pick better a novel with a better story. Disregarding a whole community that has poured its heart into writing some of the most brilliant and imaginative lore about their favorite characters, would be a mistake. Reylo fandom might just be the biggest example of it. Ali Hazelwood, the acclaimed author of the novel The Love Hypothesis, which had a male lead that was the human personification of man written by a woman, was a part of the Reylo fandom. For the noobs, Reylo is the name of the famous Stars War ship between the characters Rey and Kylo Ren, and many might not know this but the main characters in Hazelwood's book were inspired by this ship. So it is safe to say it's about the story you choose to read and write that shapes the quality of the work.
However, fiction inspired by real people is not going anywhere anytime soon. They'll shape more movies and shows in the future, and fortunately or unfortunately maybe we'll never know what these celebrities actually feel about them. But one thing is for sure, from One Direction in 2014 to BTS in 2024, fanfictions are here to stay.
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