Try as I might, I just can't get into the Kardashians. I think most of us are tired of them, actually.
But their fanbase is massive and they are pretty much the American version of the royal family. They wouldn't have attained that status without a legion of loyal fans who eat up everything they do, contributing to a massive collective social media following.
But fans of the Kardashians are just the most high-profile fanbase you might know about.
There are others you might not be so keenly aware of.
People told us all about them after Redditor dominique4thewin asked the online community:
"What’s the stupidest thing that has a large fan base?"
"Convince one depressed powerful person..."
"Scientology. Convince one depressed powerful person that you have something to offer them, get them to spill some dark stuff about themselves and other powerful people, leverage that into convincing another powerful person you have something to offer them, repeat."
mattheimlich
Their buildings are enormous. Their offices in New York in California are as imposing as you think but the number of Scientologists is on the decline.
"I find it a bit weird..."
"I find it a bit weird that politicians seem to have fans rather than supporters."
1TadTHG
Usually it's not about the person but the ideas they hold (or say they hold).
"Many celebrities..."
"The Kardashians. Many celebrities in general. They shouldn't be worshipped like they are."
[deleted]
Celebrities need us more than we need them.
"Influencers."
"Influencers. I feel like small time niche group influencers aren’t a problem. They’re great for backpacking, as an example, where they test out the gear and give the pros/cons. It’s when they start to sell their endorsements to the highest bidder."
TheCobbledTiger
Don't get me started.
Sell, sell, sell. That's what they do.
"Flat earth."
"Flat earth. How many are actual believers vs people just 'joking' though? I have only met one actual flat earther in my life."
[deleted]
Oh, there are a lot. And there are entire documentaries about them.
"The base..."
"The fan in my bedroom. The base is ridiculously big for the size of the fan and it takes up too much room and I trip on it almost every morning getting ready in the dark."
Sharkn91
I see what you did there.
Mine has a smaller base and yet I still manage to trip over it.
"Moms exploiting their children for money and popularity."
SharpSubject8314
The number of parents who have monetized their own children for social media is too damn high.
90 Day Fiance
"The 90 Day Fiancé Universe (which is a thing thanks to their billion spinoffs)."
HelluvaMan
Technically we're all living in the 90 Day Fiance universe.
"YouTube..."
"YouTube reaction videos. They're awful."
scapegoat88
I just don’t see appeal to reaction videos. It is always fake super over the top reactions.
"I'm not talking about..."
"ASMR - I'm not talking about rain sounds or even a softly spoken story being told or something. What I'm referring to is a moderately attractive Japanese woman slurping down a bowl full of jelly an inch away from a microphone. Yuck!"
SamJamHamFam
It takes all kinds I guess. Not sure how any of that is remotely appealing.
One thing is for sure: After reading all of these, you're bound to see that there is something out there for everyone.
Have observations of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!
We knew them when.
Famous people have to be from somewhere.
It feels like they're aliens and are unreachable.
But they're real and they have origins in some unlikely places.
Most towns, schools, etc, have a few people they can say... walked these streets.
Redditor VirindiPuppetDT wanted to hear about who is your town's claim to fame.
"Who is the most famous person from your hometown?"
I'm not sure who is from my humble beginnings. Just me.
Purple Neighbor
Prince GIFGiphy"Prince."
PowerfulSeat7975
"My dad used to live in Carver. I didn't find out until he moved how close he lived to Paisley Park."
Wax_Mommy
The Neighborhood
"I'll just go with two of my favorites. Michael Keaton and Fred Rogers. I lived a couple of miles from his house and went to high school next door to WGED (where he taped)."
"Our smoking area was on QED's side of the school and he'd come over and chat with us sometimes."
"It was embarrassing standing there with a cigarette in my hand while talking to him. (It didn't bother any of us to smoke in front of the Brothers) I still live in the same neighborhood and it's a catholic school, hence the Brothers."
citsonga_cixelsyd
Walk On
"I’m from NYC, so about a million people. But for my neighborhood, it’s 100% Christopher Walken."
DrVonPretzel
"The King of New York."
Demitrius
"Never knew he was a professional tap dancer!"
catincal
"Could've knocked me over with a feather when someone told me that after I saw some video short he was in dancing and then the movie America's Sweethearts."
LadyBug_0570
The Writer
"Stephen King."
Cockatiel_Animations
"Says he's from Portland, ME... pretty sure Bangor is known for him though. Especially since Derry is based off the city. I'm technically not from Bangor either, I'm from Clifton, ME."
Cockatiel_Animations
"Bangor represent!"
Junior-Lie4342
Normies
John Waters Smile GIF by Locarno Film FestivalGiphy"Michael Phelps for the normies, John Waters for everyone else."
sanibelle98
"John Waters is the best. Dude donated to a museum and asked them to name the bathrooms after him."
dismayhurta
John Waters. Saint. I want a bathroom named after me.
From Nowhere
Oh Yeah Lol GIF by Focus FeaturesGiphy"Brad Pitt. Springfield MO."
NitramXb
"I always wondered how somebody from the middle of nowhere ends up a Hollywood movie star. There's literally zero opportunities for that so how the hell."
PlzRemasterSOCOM2
Just Smile
"Michael J Fox, Burnaby BC. I grew up in Vancouver and heard many stories from friends, back in the day, of him being drinking in clubs, sitting alone, with a dumb happy smile on his face. I never ran into him, but was always on the look-out! lol. I've always had a special spot in my heart for him."
Ubba-Ga
Love Her
"Carrie from Portlandia went to my high school but there’s like 4 towns that claim her because her family moved around the local area a few times."
MadisonPearGarden
"I went to a barbecue at her house in Portland once. It was before Portlandia when she was that woman from Sleater Kinney."
mackelnuts
"I love she is known more for Portlandia than her music. Oddly, I think she might appreciate this."
TheDeadlySquid
On a brighter note...
"Jerry Springer…was our mayor…"
vajayjaybird
"He actually paid a sex worker with a bad check, and she took him to court for the bad check. He was RE-elected after this happened. I feel sad for all of us. On a brighter note... Sarah Jessica Parker, born near, but lived here for her school years George Clooney, which is not true he was actually raised in Kentucky. But his father was a newscaster in Cincinnati which is why he gets tied here."
"Nick Lachey. Doris Day. Steven Spielberg, moved from here when he was very little."
KPinCVG
In the Zone
Season 3 Episode 24 GIF by Paramount+Giphy"Rod Serling. The dude who created that odd show called Twilight Zone. A character mentions the name of my hometown in one of the episodes."
Love Him
"Martin Short."
GloomyCamel6050
Have you seen his Larry David? I thought this was the man himself for over half a decade, and finally looked at the comment section. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PbZdhl5NI6Y"
doned_mest_up
"Or Eugene Levy. The community centre my grandparents would go to would have a contest for a date with Eugene Levy."
Gaslitfromwithin
The VP
"Mike Pence. My dad 'borrowed' his car when he was a teenager. Not much to tell. My dad was friends with one of Mike's younger brothers and used to take it on joyrides in the middle of the night. One night Mikes brother didn't wanna go so my dad went anyway and got caught."
Bucketofbolts559
Breaker High
"Ryan Gosling."
cjpotter82
"My friend went to high school with him in Burlington. Was annoyed about how the teachers bent over backwards to accommodate his Breaker High shooting schedule and to this day will not watch a film he is in lol."
1_art_please
"I grew up near Burlington and would see him and his Breaker High friends at the theatre often. My friend had a crush on him. Another friend of mine helped her dad paint Ryan's bedroom as a kid too."
TheDrunkyBrewster
Bad Religion
stan marsh pictures GIF by South Park Giphy"L. Ron Hubbard. Unfortunately."
BadDiscoJanet
"Agreed. He brought a horrible plague with Scientology. However, Battlefield Earth was an incredible novel. One of my favorites, in fact."
JonSmith12345
Founders
"Probably Les Schwab, the founder of Les Schwab Tires. It's a large chain in the western states, started in tiny little Prineville, OR."
rock-hound
"They would do February Beef Month (?) when I was growing up and in Eugene there was a local bicycle shop that would do February Tofu Month with a purchase of new wheels. Always loved it."
weareborgunicons
"I work for the company and the new owners have left us alone for the most part on the store level. Store quality really depends on the management team that's running it. I've seen clean orderly stores that put a big emphasis on customer service & quality of work and others that are just shit shows."
_lentes
Lead me back...
"Taylor Dayne? She sat in front of me in French class."
M_Looka
"Man her songs were so underrated."
Fomalhot
"I'd forgotten about her! To the YouTube."
LaComtesseGonflable
Creepy
Crow Killer Blues GIF by Rob ZombieGiphy"Rob Zombie."
drycleaningisntdry
"The 1st time I ever heard him talk he was faking a trash English accent and for the next 10 years I thought he was British."
Fomalhot
For the Music
"Cliff Burton is probably the most famous. The high school even has a music scholarship which his parents fund with then royalties they receive in his name."
leftshoesnug
"As a newborn until age 5 I lived in Castro Valley, from 60-65, and my parents had friends named Burton. I just wrote my sister to see if they were the same Burtons. I’m not a big Metallica fan, and never realized he was from there."
Emergency_Market_324
People come from everywhere. Good to know anyone, from anywhere can be anything.
Do any celebrities come from where you grew up? Let us know in the comments below.
The term "fan" is believed to be derived from "fanatic" or "fanatical.
Meaning "a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal".
Indeed, some fans simply can't hide their excitement for their favorite franchises, sports teams, recording artists, or political figures, no matter how hard they try.
Resulting in the birth of such monikers as "Trekkies", "Beliebers", or "Cumberb*tches."
And while these passionate, some might say obsessive, fan bases often find compatriots at conventions, premieres and meet-ups, those unfamiliar with the apples of their respective eyes might be confused by their level of fandom, if not down right annoyed.
"What is the most annoying fan base?"
Crime Enthusiasts
"This will probably get buried, but back in 2012-2015 I was in the Creepypasta Fandom."
"The people in that Fandom were psychotic, it was crazy."- ElenoaL
"Serial killer fans."- xcxaxsxpxexr
Bring On The Clap-Backs...
"The fanbase of Rupauls Drag Race is pretty notorious for sending death threats to the hard working talented people they’re supposed to be a fan of."- rubenblom
Rupauls Drag Race Reaction GIFGiphyAll Of Them. Literally, ALL OF THEM!
"Any fan base if you go deep enough."
"Just go to one of those subs for a small Netflix show you’ve binged in a day."- qwerty12qwerty
"Evil Is Out There"... It's The Fans!
"Coming from a genuine fan of the show, I think that the Supernatural fanbase needs to pipe the f*ck down."- AaryanKearns
My Favorite Group Is Better Than Yours!!!
"Kpop fans who take things a bit too far."
"I had friends who'd have fights over who is 'worthy' to be called the wife of one of the kpop idols, no they weren't joking."- Caprisal
K Pop Reaction GIFGiphyHence The State Of American Politics...
"Politicians' fan base."- NikinhoRobo
You Know They've Gone Too Far When They Name Themselves...
"I'm put off by any fanbase that has a collective name."
"'The B-Hive' and so forth."
"In almost every case it feels really forced."
"Football (soccer) Twitter is full of d*ckheads too.'
'The further away from the team's home ground they live, the worse they get.'
Euro 2016 England GIF by SporzaGiphyTechno Wars
"Playstation VS Xbox ."
'iPhone vs Android."
"Those people."- L33HDX
There's nothing wrong being a fan of someone or something, no matter how fanatical you get.
Though it would be in everyone's best interest to learn how to temper those feelings around others, as not everyone will share your passionate feelings.
Just ask any Yankees fan who's dared to wear their team's cap in Boston...
All of us have something that we tend to "geek out" over.
This could be a book, television show, actor, singer or sports team.
But some shows or celebrities have a considerably wider fanbase than others, as evidenced by the terms "Trekkies" or "Beliebers".
Some times, members of these fan bases are so passionate, that they often come off as obnoxious or aggressive, possibly even hurting the reputation of the people or product they go wild over.
Redditor vejack was curious to learn which fan bases the Reddit community tends to find the most off putting, leading them to ask:
"Which is the most toxic community/fan base that you know?"
Everyone has an opinion...
"Reddit."- tall2022420
"Reddit and Quora."
"Haha."- emriverawriter
Oof, that's bad...
"It's not a big community, but there are items in the dilapidated bowels of the Chernobyl nuclear plant that are less toxic than the Super Smash Brothers Melee fan base."- CorgisDie
When the creators tell you to back off, take a hint!
"'Rick and Morty'."
"Even the show's creators have had to clash with them and their toxicity."- JeremyZenith·
Rick And Morty Facepalm GIFGiphyI like it, in small doeses...
"Kpop fans."
"I love really enjoy Kpop and am a fan myself, but damn. I sometimes just can't."- Ok-Enthusiasm-6975
"Kpop."- Impressive_Dot_7631
Love the animation, the fans, not so much...
"Some anime community’s."- thomas_da_tra1n
It's just a TV show... tone it down a bit...
"I expected to find this but haven't yet."
"The Supernatural Fandom."
"Other than the whole populous of it are cringe and over the top, getting tattoos of a show detail etc."
"They've literally bullied the show to continue the show past the natural ending, season 5, and for literally half a decade made them try to poop out content that topped the last season, with no where to really go to at that point."
"The consistent push on 'shipping' characters together that make the actors visably uncomfortable."
"The fan base is full of edgy people who gatekeep everything.'- develyn507
All of them!!!
"Are there any non toxic fan bases anymore?"
"The whole idea of people getting together and arguing with anyone that disagrees with them just breeds discontent."- KingGuy420
Stop It Neil Patrick Harris GIFGiphyAt least they get them excited about reading...
"YA writers."
"No specific authors, but the community of them."- D-Rez
Play Nice!
"Roblox."- YoussefAhmedSaied
Best in Small Doses
"SML Wiki and other SML Related stuff. including SML channel itself in the Community Tab."- Owl-Fighter2601
scooter sml GIFGiphyThe force is not strong with everyone.
"Star Wars."- SilasUnmuth80
"'Star Wars' community, mainly the adults, they have a habit of complaining like children and harassing the actors/actresses for their rolls."- Unstoppable-dirtball
YouTube reaches a wide audience...
"Dream the mincraft guy."- me_playz
When does it stop being "art"?
"In my opinion the grappling martial arts community."
"Jujitsu, wrestling etc."
"I'm saying this because a some pure grapplers find striking martial arts a 'waste of time' and some even say that ground and pound is somehow a good striking martial art substitute."- PerfectWin912
keeping up with the kardashians karate GIFGiphyMaybe time to unplug?
"Fortnite."- Mordesi-Kai_Roth
At least when you inflict it on others
"Christianity."- Antipotheosis
Whatever happened to good sportsmanship?
"Cleveland Browns fans."
"Literally ran the only QB to win them a playoff game this century out of town."- sometimeswelaugh
There's nothing wrong with being passionate about something we love.
But when that passion starts to become competitive, even unsafe, can you even still call it a fanbase "community"?
Ever since Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope opened on May 25, 1977, a devoted fanbase developed.
And that fanbase has opinions.
Lots and lots of opinions.
Redditor Ebo8000 wanted to know:
"What is your most controversial take on Star Wars?"
Doors
"LASERS LOCK DOORS. LASERS OPEN DOORS. LASERS KNOW WHAT YOU WANT THE DOOR TO DO."
- SlamVanDamn
"But if you get past the door and close it behind you and you don’t want anyone to follow you through it…"
"…you shoot the bloody door panel!"
- treeonwheels
Giphy"Also, f*cking hell, we're in the future (or in the past), whatever, and people have better technology."
"Why put the door control RIGHT NEXT to the door? Put the door control system in a breaker box."
"Build every door so in case of malfunction they all shut closed (after all, they're in space and you don't want to lose air in decompression, do you?)"
"Shoot the breaker box, now the whole floor is closed until someone can figure out what happened."
"Almost look like those doors just exist as dramatic elements..."
- smegma_yogurt
The Past
"I’d like a film about when the Republic was at its height. 1,000 generations is 25,000 years and we’ve had 9 movies about the last 60."
- Musickat18
GiphyThe Future
"Not sure if controversial but they need to take the franchise and yeet it 200 years in the future."
"I'm tired of the Empire era where they need to justify why more than 2 Jedi and 2 Sith exist at one moment alongside knowing everything is pointless until Luke leaves the farm."
- Alandrus_sun
Design Fail? No!
"The Death Stars weren't badly designed they were just badly managed."
"Yes, designing them assuming large scale assaults was stupid given the political state of the galaxy but the second Death Star wasn't even finished so that doesn't count, it's all Palpatine's fault. As for the first one that was finished, the Alliance made three runs on the exhaust port."
"The first was called off before they made it to the trench, the second failed and the third was carried out by space Jesus which isn't exactly fair."
"All in all it sounds like a fairly effective defence when you consider the design philosophy."
- Engeneus
GiphyCool Factor
"The entire universe has a cool factor that outweighs the atrocious storytelling."
- Ozty
"Bro imagine the following movies, but if they were in Star Wars universe."
"Magnificent 7 - A Jedi, Bounty Hunter, Ex-Imperial, Pilot, Wookie, a Droid, and Lawman team up to defend a town against pirates"
Giphy"Dredd - Two Jedi climb up an apartment block to confront a new dark side user who has mental control of the entire apartment block"
"Supernatural (T.V. Show) - A Jedi and their apprentice go around and solve and defeat Dark Side Force spots—where the Force consolidates from emotions and creates foul creatures to fight"
"Top Gun - But it's you know, Wedge or something"
"Ford versus Ferrari - But it's podracing or swoop racing"
- BoutsofInsanity
GiphyShips
"Something about the ships in the original series always felt more like real ships than in any of the later movies, despite the objectively better effects of the later films."
"Some of this is probably the use of models (i.e. actual three dimensional objects), but I think there is some critical difference in the design that makes them feel more real (probably because they were designed to be things that would actually work as models)."
"Whatever it is, I LOVED the ships in the original series and never really liked any of the new ones."
- UnspecificGravity
"The original trilogy changed the world by showing a universe in space that was dirty and lived in. The special effects from the later movies did not recognize this."
Boba who?
"Boba Fett is an oddly overrated background character, and even after watching The Book of Boba Fett, I don’t really care about him."
- imidoesonlyfans
Giphy"He was never a character. He was a cool helmet."
- JimPlaysGames
"He was a cool jetpack too."
- RipperFromYT
GiphyTime for the weather...
"Han is actually older than Obi-Wan due to Time Dilation."
- Snowbofreak
"Time dilation in a universe where every planet and moon has the same gravity and atmosphere?"
- suman_issei
"And just 1 biome."
- DogShampoop
Giphy"That way they only need one Weather Channel per planet."
- The_Most_Superb
"And over to Klaatu for the Tatooine weather report. Klaatu?"
"It's still sunny."
- Budsygus
GiphyThese are the droids we're looking for.
"Star Wars is actually the life story of C-3PO—think about it."
- jonguy77
"I disagree. I think its R2-D2's story. He had a much greater presence in Episode 1, 2 and 3, and got the same amount of screen time as C-3PO in 4, 5 and 6."
‐ MacGregor_Rose
GiphyMeh...
"Star Wars was never 'good' from a movie criticism standpoint."
"It's not meant to be super in depth, and it relies on cool visuals and action, which is completely OK."
"Like Harrison Ford said, 'it's not that kind of movie', and it shouldn't have to be."
‐ CMT-Dibbler
Giphy"When I watched 'Star Wars: A New Hope',I thought the acting was pretty bad and the writing wasn't great."
"It's the action and special effects that saved the movie. The next two were much better acted."
- Duluthian2
"To be fair, none of the actors were seasoned at that point. Carrie and Harrison had done one film each and a bunch of small TV spots. It was Mark's first film."
"Alec Guiness and Peter Cushing were the most seasoned actors, and I know the former hated being there."
"Plus I think that Lucas is really bad at getting good performances out of his actors. The best acting was always in the two that he didn't direct (Empire and Jedi)."
‐ emueller5251
GiphyJedi Luke
"Return of the Jedi is my favorite SW film. Whenever someone says the words Star Wars my mind immediately goes to any particular scene in that movie.
"People say the movie is disjointed but every scene is memorable at the very least."
- SovietWalrus1
"I always think Luke in the Iconic black outfit with the green lightsaber."
- washyourhands--
Giphy"That whole act oozes bada**ery.
"Show up in a hood like a Jedi but dressed in black like you got some dark side too, force choke a couple guards, try to deal with Jabba, kill a rancor, make Jabba an offer he can't refuse, and just as he's about to kill you, we immediately realize this was all to plan just a second before finally getting the f'king Jedi sh*t we've been waiting three movies to see."
- PromptCritical725
GiphyDroid Emancipation
"It is shown on multiple occasions that droids are very much alive with their own personality (C3PO, R2D2, L3, K-2SO, and more)."
"It's clear robots are as alive in the Star Wars universe as any other alien race, yet they are treated worse than slaves by both the good and bad sides. C3PO and R2D2's memory being erased like its nothing, given away like slaves."
"It's quite hypocritical from the good side to treat droids like slaves yet be all goody two shoes about helping the flesh bodied creatures of the universe."
- wulfnstein85
GiphyThe Big Score
"John Williams is more responsible for the success of Star Wars than George Lucas."
- BigYonsan
GiphyFan is short for fanatic.
"Fans ruined the whole franchise."
- SeaworthinessNo5209
Ouch...
So, did your controversial Star Wars opinion make the list?