It was a rapture and a revelation all at the same time.
En masse, celebrity stan accounts posted tearful farewells over the weekend amid a showdown Many of their hundreds of thousands of followers learned only then that their favorite celebrity鈥檚 most dedicated English-language fan accounts had actually been
It shouldn鈥檛 have necessarily been a surprise 鈥� 鈥淐ome to Brazil鈥� is a stalwart meme. Brazil鈥檚 CCXP bills itself as the Americas' largest comic-con, drawing A-list Hollywood talent. The are beloved. Brazil does fandom like no other, the avalanche of goodbyes unearthing a wide array of accounts for Taylor Swift, C-list celebrities and the long-dead alike.
鈥淚 came to realize how strong our digital power is in this last minute, because we tweet in English so people don鈥檛 know that we are Brazilians. But we are a lot, we are everywhere,鈥� said Aianne Amado, a University of Sao Paulo doctoral candidate who studies Brazilian fandoms. 鈥淚 think that we will be missed and it鈥檚 not going to be the same network.鈥�
Meet the fans
Paola Strabelli didn鈥檛 care much for reading. A few years ago, though, she saw 鈥淰ita and Virginia鈥� and became entranced 鈥� not with its lead actors, but with herself.
She started to read Woolf voraciously, and created @botvirginia to share Woolf鈥檚 quotes, amassing 115,000 followers.
Strabelli, 26, told The Associated Press that, growing up, she didn鈥檛 have many friends. In some ways, she said, her life began with online fandom 鈥� first, through and the show and then Woolf. Online friendships translated into real life, and, for a year, she dated a girl she met through their shared passion.
The law student behind @agron_updates, dedicated to never reckoned on disclosing her nationality. The 32-year-old from Brazil's center-west region requested anonymity for privacy, as she pursues government jobs. She was drawn to Agron because she thought the actor seemed 鈥渟o kind.鈥� By 2016, annoyed with how Agron鈥檚 fan accounts operated 鈥� cropping out boyfriends, for example 鈥� she co-founded an X account that grew to more than 7,600 followers.
All along, she鈥檚 been careful to maintain a separation between her own feelings and the account鈥檚.
鈥淪ometimes I will watch a movie and I think it鈥檚 terrible, but I鈥檒l go on the account and say, 鈥楪uys, it鈥檚 amazing,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 hoping to have to come out as a Brazilian.鈥�
Then there鈥檚 @21metgala, run by two 18-year-old college students, Maria and Tamara. it's gained more than 175,000 followers and, unlike many stan accounts, covers general celebrity news (though they have a soft spot for Rihanna). Maria, who cited privacy in not wanting to publish her surname, said via WhatsApp that she was taken aback by the response to their departure.
鈥淢ost of our followers didn鈥檛 know we were Brazilian, so it was a huge shock when we announced it,鈥� she wrote. Even Cardi B with distraught emojis.
Amado attributed Brazil鈥檚 fervor for foreign entertainment to and the , noting its high consumption of Japanese otaku culture and its large population of Japanese descent.
Fandom is hard work
Fandom can often be derided with a condescension that belies the that goes into maintaining these accounts.
鈥淎t first, I thought that fans were crazy. And, like, psychologically, I don鈥檛 know, sick? ... And now, I鈥檝e come to see that it鈥檚 all about passion and effect and it鈥檚 a very human behavior. Everybody鈥檚 interested in something,鈥� be it cooking or canines, Amado said. 鈥淏ut for some reason, when you鈥檙e interested in something in pop culture, people tend to think that is less than.鈥�
An academic from Belo Horizonte, Sabrina Spolidorio has studied fansubbing 鈥� where devoted viewers come together to subtitle. She has a simple theory for why Brazilians are such engines of fandom, using a word that came up in interview after interview: Brazilians are just 鈥減assionate.鈥� They're also looking for a sense of belonging, she said.
Despite being grassroots efforts that drew no profit, fansubbing groups had 鈥渧ery strict rules鈥� requiring volunteers to work overnight, Spolidorio said. A 40-minute episode required at least four people to subtitle and two to review 鈥� there were style guides, too.
That commitment can exact a price. Before X鈥檚 suspension, @agron_updates had an expiration date of Dec. 31. Running it was affecting its administrator's entire life, even leading to a breakup.
鈥淥ne of the reasons was I was always on the phone, always checking for content,鈥� she told the AP. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like a drug, it seizes something in your brain. You want to be first to post it.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e been unemployed for the past two years, and I have to study, I have to do something with my life,鈥� she added. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way I can keep my life revolving around keeping a Twitter account for someone who 鈥� I love Dianna, but she doesn鈥檛 work.鈥�
What鈥檚 next
In the past week, has boosted its base by one-third, adding 2 million users, CEO Jay Graber told the AP. Around 90% are Brazilian and most activity is in Portuguese, she said Monday.
Brazilians using virtual private networks to bypass the suspension but @21metgala has been able to continue posting sporadically.
鈥淪ome Wi-Fi providers haven鈥檛 fully blocked access yet, but it鈥檚 very unstable,鈥� Maria wrote Monday. While they are on other platforms, @21metgala will certainly be back if X is unsuspended.
鈥淭witter was faster for posting photos, and Bluesky doesn鈥檛 allow video posts yet, which is a bit of a challenge. We鈥檙e not huge fans of Instagram because accounts can be easily taken down due to copyright issues,鈥� she wrote. (Video is coming to Bluesky, Graber says, 鈥渄efinitely sooner than months.鈥�)
For CCXP, the suspension doesn't pose much of a threat to the convention's success. In a statement, vice president for content Beto Fabri said they'd already 鈥渇ocused on valuing and building relationships with the geek community鈥� on WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook and their own platforms.
Not everyone plans to pivot. Despite having nearly 16,000 followers at @GALITZINEFOX, 23-year-old Alana Souza is relatively new to stanning actor The advertising student from Recife became devoted after watching last year. Given the amount of time she鈥檚 spent on X, she鈥檚 doesn't want to start over.
鈥淚f X doesn鈥檛 get unsuspended in Brazil then that鈥檚 gonna be the end of it,鈥� she wrote in an email, later adding that her absence 鈥済ives me the feeling of being disconnected from what鈥檚 going on in the world.鈥�
Since Musk bought X, Strabelli has found it less fun. But it still had a cachet that, for her, can鈥檛 be replicated. While she appreciates Instagram for letting her start over 鈥� she can reuse quotes instead of scouring the internet for lesser-known scraps of Woolf鈥檚 writing 鈥� she finds it impersonal. There are many things she will miss about X, including her 鈥済ringo friends that are tweeting.鈥�
鈥淚 felt famous and wanted,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd when I saw the replies, I don鈥檛 know, I鈥檓 not going to lie, this ego bump was really nice.鈥�
___
Sen reported from New York. Associated Press journalist David Biller contributed reporting from Rio de Janeiro.
Mallika Sen, The Associated Press
