50 ‘Painting the Town with Parasociality’ – Doja Cat and the Emergence of Anti-Fandom

Introduction

Musical artist and public figure Doja Cat, once adored by the internet and fans, is now facing severe backlash from both her own audience and critics. Doja Cat’s dedicated fanbase expressed their disappointment after the artist shared negative comments regarding her fans online, sparking waves of criticism on social media. This essay examines how Doja Cat’s audience exemplifies emerging themes of anti-fandom and reactionary politics, highlighting the dangers of parasocial relationships to fandom and fan objects. An analysis of recent Doja Cat related fan activity on Twitter will be conducted in order to gain proper background research on the audience’s online activity. This research is solely meant to examine the nature of the audience, thematize their behaviour, and analyze the affective direction related to this particular issue.

The Emergence of an Anti-Fandom

Although not to this extent, Doja Cat has faced negative criticism for her online behaviour several times in the past. The artist has notoriously been labeled as an internet “troll” and social media “addict” by the public (King, 2023). Recently, this exact behaviour has instigated drama and controversy amongst her audience. The artist states that her previous three studio albums were “cash grabs,” and urged her fanbase, self-dubbed “Kittenz,” to get a job and to rethink their lives (para. 5). This behaviour caused a huge dip in followers for the artist, in addition to an increase in deactivated Doja Cat fan accounts on Twitter. To provide background, in 2022 the singer also received a lot of hatred after she shaved her hair, began displaying ‘satanic’ themes in her works, and allegations about her boyfriend J. Cyrus became public (Stewart, 2023). When these allegations circulated, she stated how she does not care “what people think” about her personal life (para. 2). Fans and followers felt betrayed, taking to social media to express their dissatisfaction demanding for an apology or accountability. Hatcher (2023) explains how Doja Cat instead responded towards the criticism with “I don’t even know y’all” on a since deleted Instagram Threads post. The artist even responded to individual fans in a negative manner escalating the situation. This encouraged further backlash against the artist and has since deactivated her Threads account.

Doja Cat and her audience audience are extremely vocal on Twitter, therefore the platform will serve as the main focus for this analysis. Posts were found through the replies on Doja Cat’s Twitter account in addition to mentions of her name on the platform from July to September of 2023. These posts were further analyzed to gain insights on the audience behaviour and how they are affected by the issue. One user writes how they feel Doja Cat is “ungrateful to her fans,” stating that she garnered success because of them, and that she “doesn’t deserve” fan support anymore (Figure 1). Numerous posts from fans with similar viewpoints have circulated on the platform in 2023 as the controversies continued to escalate. As studied in the ‘third wave of fandom,’ it is important to look into “conceptualizing the affective bond between fans and their fan objects” (Rodriguez & Goretti, 2022, p. 68). The affective direction of the audience is becoming overwhelmingly negative, with many Twitter users sharing their thoughts on the matter. Another user expresses their personal surprise when transitioning from the “biggest doja cat stan” to the “biggest doja cat hater” in only about “72 hours” (Figure 2). These occurrences encapsulate this audience’s behaviour, with many dedicated fans deciding to rally against the artist after the comments she made.

Its appears as though a large amount of Doja Cat’s dedicated fanbase has shifted towards becoming an anti-fandom to the artist. Specifically, this audience’s behaviour demonstrates themes of ‘disappointed anti-fandom.’ It is common to observe “anti-fandom and fandom working in tandem,” which helps explain the co-relation between fans and haters (Gray, 2019, p. 30). Many of Doja Cat’s affected fans quickly became disappointed and attempted to hold the artist accountable for her behaviour. Gray (2019) explains that some fans “aim to mend things within a text that are perceived to be wrong or broken” and when a text is beyond fixing audiences “simply tune out” as they do not “have the desire to bother fixing the text” (p. 31). With this particular fandom, it seems that some fans immediately gave up on their text, Doja Cat, as the situation may seem beyond repair to the point where they begin to dislike the text. Mardon et al. (2023) discuss how disappointed anti-fan communities feel a sense of “frustration, or irritation towards the object of their fandom” (Former Fans section, para. 2). This type of audience behaviour is exactly what Doja Cat’s audience portrays, including the idea of a “former fandom gone sour” (Former Fans section, para. 2). It is abundantly clear that Doja Cat does not feel remorse for the messages she delivers to fans, and countless people will not be considering themselves as fans of the artist any longer.

The Audience as Reactionary Fandom

To provide further context, it is important to recall other events in the previous year which may have prompted Doja Cat to jump to such extremes. In 2022, Doja Cat shaved her hair and eyebrows after being exhausted to “look conventionally feminine” which led to many people, including her fans, to become hostile towards her latest looks (King, 2023). As she slowly declined from appealing towards a male gaze, parts of her audience began shifting their attention elsewhere. Misogyny plays a significant role in this recent controversy, specifically in relation to Doja Cat’s male audience and the expectations which are set for her. When fan behaviours such as harassment or aggression become prevalent for unwarranted reasons, an audience may be thematized by toxic fandom (Stanfill, 2020). This is best reflected when it became a trend of sorts for Twitter users to express their sadness for the path Doja Cat has taken with her career and style choices. One Twitter user writes, “i miss the old doja cat” followed by older photos of the artist with long blonde hair, makeup, and wearing a pink coloured outfit (Figure 3). Not only does this once again showcase themes of disappointed fandom, but it also highlights toxicity and how audiences can become overtly negative or problematic.

Male audience reactions towards Doja Cat’s new appearance certainly showcase the toxic effects of the male gaze which reinforce themes of hegemonic masculinity. It is estimated that fandom is not yet progressive around gender and sexuality as previous research depicts, suggesting that gender and sexuality are still “policed” in various fandoms (Stanfill, 2020, p. 129). A man typically would not receive hatred for having no hair, hence why the fanbase at the time of these initial events displays toxicity with the use of double standards and misogyny. To provide a recent example, Doja Cat received a reply to her tweet stating that she uses “female logic” and explains how this thinking is why women “are not given leadership positions” (Figure 4). This tweet is inherently toxic and showcases the ‘ugly’ aspect of fandom. The tweet does not focus on the controversy at hand, rather it uses this as an opportunity to generalize women in a discriminatory manner. Ponterotto (2016) explains how the male gaze allows the female body to become a “territory,” with socially and culturally defined ways in which “the female body is expected to conform. (p. 147). Many people are taking advantage of the singer’s recent comments, instead focusing on her looks and the fact that she is a woman. It is possible that this initial style change was the catalyst for Doja Cat’s unfavourable perception and that backlash could be part of what led to the singer’s comments in the first place.

The acts of changing her appearance were followed by even more controversies unrelated to her social media comments. After attending Paris Fashion Week in an all-red jewelry-encrusted look, the singer was labeled “demonic” by some of her fans (King, 2023). These satanic allegations were furthered when Doja Cat got tattoos of various mythological monsters and begun to dress in devil-themed attire and included satanic symbolism in her recent music video releases. Doja Cat denies these allegations stating, “your fear is not my problem” (King, 2023). Thus began a bandwagon, with many fans and casual listeners no longer supporting the artist due to her new ‘satanic’ image. Stanfill (2020) describes the connection between reactionary politics and fandom. The author emphasizes that reactionary fandoms, whether progressive or regressive, can be inherently toxic in reaction towards politics. It is notable that both progressive and regressive forms of reactionary fandom are prevalent within Doja Cat’s anti-fan activity on Twitter. Some Twitter users progressively argue the singer is ungrateful to her fans; others regressively comment on the physical appearance and ‘satanic’ nature of the artist’s recent works. Stanfill (2020) also documents “the partial overlap” between anti-fandom and toxic fandom (p. 125). Likewise, there is a fine line between what constitutes as toxic or anti-fan behaviour, which holds true for much of the Doja Cat commentary.

The initial style change backlash against Doja Cat is reminiscent of another pop star, Britney Spears, who dealt with similar mistreatment by fans. Wang (2021) delves into what lead to the ‘downfall’ of Spears in 2007, explaining the media’s role in the artist’s fame and perception. Similar to Doja Cat, Spears shaved her hair at a pivotal moment in her life. After these events, Spears was criticized by the media and labeled as mentally ill, ultimately affecting the artist’s wellbeing. As time has passed, it becomes clear that Spear’s controversies were exploitative and fueled by “crazed and hungry paparazzi” (para. 2). Although, Spear’s instance of reactionary politics amongst fans is different than the nuanced dualities which Doja Cat is facing with her controversies. Doja Cat’s audience is far more fractured, with fans choosing sides on the matter. A Twitter user writes how it is strange that when the artist stopped catering to the male gaze people claimed that “she’s on drugs,” and no one should be “entitled” to controlling women’s bodies or appearances (Figure 5). Many fandoms jump to bold reactionary conclusions based on sets of information and Doja Cat’s audience is no exception.

Doja Cat’s audience, especially her ex-fans and haters, have become politically engaged implementing themes of ‘forensic fandom’ and ‘cancel culture’ into their online behaviour. Forensic fandom is a categorization of fans who are encouraged to “dig deeper” to “understand the complexity of a story” (Reinhard et al., 2021, p. 1159). With the recent allegations, many people have been actively searching for evidence to prove that the artist is in fact ‘problematic.’ This type of forensic audience behaviour also be fueled by the newfound disappointment or betrayal felt towards the singer. After the careful examination of online activity, it is revealed that a substantial portion of Doja Cat’s audience is hastily attempting to ‘cancel’ the artist as a form of cancel culture. Ng (2020) defines cancel culture as how content circulation on planforms such has Twitter facilitate fast “large-scale responses to acts deemed problematic” (ng, 2020, p. 625). This is not the first time the artist has been ‘canceled’, however it does seem to be the most notable occurrence. Some fans stopped supporting the artist in 2022, many others are only now holding her accountable, and some continue to support her with little to no criticism. This illustrates how the audience is currently very fractured and unconnected, with many fans embodying different distinctive viewpoints and opinions.

The Dangers of Parasociality

Doja Cat has always been known an avid social media user and internet ‘troll’ since the inception of her career. Her songs ‘Mooo!’ and ‘Say So’ became extremely popular on YouTube and Tik Tok respectively, launching her into stardom and the public eye (Luscombe, 2023). Doja Cat’s social media relevance is heavily because the artist has been known to frequently create, circulate, and engage with memes online. Doja Cat’s fans often interact with these posts or memes, circulating them and even creating new ones. Fans tend to create memes to “normalise a celebrity” and even develop a “sense of closeness” with famous people (Nielsen & Nititham, 2022, p. 160).

The sense of closeness that fans feel towards Doja Cat can be explained through parasociality. Click et al. (2015) defines parasociality as how fans “increasingly experience” their relationships to celebrities as “real and authentic” which allows them to feel as though they truly ‘know’ them (p. 608). These relationships are often one-sided and typically involve more audience participation than there is interaction from the fan object. Another group of authors describe parasocial relationships as “imaginary relationships with media performers” which are instigated through media consumption (Reinikainen et al., 2020, p. 281). This holds true for Doja Cat and her audience, as the relationship which fans feel towards her is only a as a one-side experience. Through these methods, Doja Cat had unintentionally orchestrated a strong parasocial internet community of like-minded people through the circulation of memes, short-form text content, and her musical endeavours.

Doja Cat appears to be exhausted by the parasocial relationships which her fans are creating with her and is attempting to deconstruct and reject the idea of these unhealthy connections entirely. Fans have taken to social media expressing their disappointment with Doja Cat tweeting that she does not ‘know’ her fans (King, 2023). While the vast majority of comments pertaining to this issue are negative, some fans rally in support for the artist. One Twitter user writes how they “will forever admire her for not enabling” prosocial relationships with her fans, stating it is “weird” to seek validation from someone “you do not know” (Figure 6). Parasocial relationships and interactions can become extremely powerful, potentially affecting the lifestyle, attitudes, behaviours, and identity of audience members (Reinikainen et al., 2020). With parasocial relationships, fans begin setting expectations for celebrities and will expect the same kind of love and interest that they deliver to be reciprocated. Another tweet argues that artists do not “owe” their fans anything in return for their support, explaining how it would be different if fans were to pay a celebrity and get nothing in return (Figure 7). This statement is interesting as it highlights the exploitation of media performers, reinforcing the idea that influencers do not ‘owe’ anything to their audiences, especially if they are not being paid for those instances. Likewise, the same could be said about audiences and how they do not owe attention to influencers because they are willingly giving support out of personal interest. Perhaps Doja Cat is intentionally working against parasociality and the negative effects it has on audiences.

Newfound Success and Hate-Watching

After the events of this controversy, Doja Cat still remains successful in the music industry. Her song ‘Paint The Town Red’ broke records in September 2023, where the song reached Number 1 in over thirty different countries (Stewart, 2023). Although it is factually evident that Doja Cat lost an extreme number of fans and followers because of her controversies, it is clear that fans and possibly even haters have been tuning in. Although the artist still has many dedicated fans, the anti-fandom for this artist seems to have become quite extensive. It is quite possible that people are employing a form of hate-watching when consuming her content, more specifically when engaging with the artist and not the music itself. Hate-watching is an aspect of anti-fandom where someone may consume content simply because they hate it (Gray, 2019). It is important to note that hate-watching is “distinct from enjoying a guilty pleasure” where an object is inherently bad and still enjoyed regardless (p. 34). Although many might consider Doja Cat’s content to be their ‘guilty pleasure’ it is clear that some consumers consider their habits to be hateful in nature. One twitter user writes how those who turned their back her Doja Cat are “silently streaming after all” (H3B2J7, 2023). Although ex-fans exclaim how they hate the artist, many cannot stop themselves from engaging with her content.

There are many forms of hate-watching, and a lot of fans hatred for the artist is born from past admiration for her. Hopeful hate-watching details how someone may watch content they hate as they “hope it will get better,” where the original premise of a text was “enticing” but has disappointed individuals in some way (Gray, 2019, p. 35). Music aside, some of the public wanted nothing to do with the singer after shaving her hair, sporting ‘demonic’ tattoos, and dressing up in devilish attire. However, as previously stated people appear to miss the ‘old’ Doja Cat suggesting that people hate-watch the artist in a hopeful, conflicting manner. An article by Vosen et al. (2023) which discusses hate-watching in connection with WWE wrestlers, and how hate-watching is a way to relive the past through ‘restorative nostalgia’. The authors relate hate-watching to romantic relationships explaining the ways in which time or energy investments increase commitment. They also report that if someone does not find “better alternatives” to a text, they may remain in “unsatisfying” relationships (Hate-Watching to Relive the Past section, para. 6). It is possible that people feel this way about Doja Cat, who’s music blends the rare combo of hip hop, R&B, and pop rap in strikingly unique way (Stewart, 2023). Even though people may be repulsed by the satanic imagery and sounds of her recent works, they may not feel interested in any other alternatives. Regardless, many anti-fans are still heavily engaging with the artist’s latest content.

Public Relations, Audience Behaviour, and Subjectivity

Examining the characteristics of public relations will be useful in determining the nature of the controversies and audience behaviour. Ravell (2023) discusses the concept of ‘The Death of the Author’ in relation to controversies surrounding author J.K. Rowling. The concept explains how texts are understood independently from an author’s intention. This is especially true with the overlap of public relations and social media being very unexplored, and the ability for sites such as Twitter to provide a platform for “fan/author interactions in addition to fan activism” (p. 2). The fans who continue to support Doja Cat clearly interpret the artist’s messages differently than most others. While some immediately take offense to Doja Cat lashing out at fans, others are more understanding and feel that it comes more from a place of shutting down potentially toxic social relationships. Audience behaviour shows that her fanbase is very distributed amongst varying levels of engagement with the artist. Some still admire Doja Cat and wish to continuously support her, others are understanding of her motivations, some are indifferent, some participate in hate-watching, and others want nothing to do with her anymore. These components are dependent on the subjectivity of people’s pre-existing world views, and their personal affective attachment to the fan object (Rodriguez & Goretti, 2022).

While many fans have the right to feel betrayed by the artist, it is evident how the artist has also fallen victim to a sort of exploitation or mistreatment by the media. These types of occurrences are quite common among female celebrities, constantly being put on pedestals and are given high expectations which no person can live up to (Stewart, 2023). Audiences can be quite harsh when fan expectations are not met, and fans and anti-fans of Doja Cat are no exception. This fandom is very vocal about their opinions, especially considering the affective relationship between the fans and their fan object. It does not seem warranted for Doja Cat to receive hate simply because she chooses not to have hair, or that she wears devil themed outfits. Moreover, it is understandable if Doja Cat herself feels betrayal from her own fans with these initial instances. These occurrences show that this fandom may react negatively regardless of the perceived issue, especially if it does not align with the affective direction of fans. It is possible that she purposefully leaned into demonic imagery and snarky online comments because she knew it would upset trolls, as she has been labeled as an internet ‘troll’ herself. With potential exploitation prevalent amongst the artist’s now anti-fans, it becomes clear that a unified toxicity is present within the fandom regardless of her comments.

Conclusion

The analysis of Doja Cat’s audience behaviour reveals a shift from a devoted fanbase towards a fractured, politically engaged, reactionary audience. With the artist’s controversial statements, fans have become extremely reactionary in nature. While hate-watching and nuanced audience reactions highlight the complexity of fan dynamics online, the rejection of typical fan expectations calls into question the one-sided nature of parasocial relationships. Doja Cat’s audience exemplifies what it means to be part of participatory fandom, whether it be through holding the artist accountable, spreading toxicity, or defending the artist whole heartedly. This fandom is currently negatively fueled by the controversies, with a purpose to have their opinions vocalized in a reactionary manner to show their disappointment. By thematically highlighting the influence of social media on fan activity, the analysis of Doja Cat’s affected audience sheds light on the complex interactions that exist between celebrities and audiences in the digital age.

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Appendix

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