It was a rapture and a revelation all at the same time.
En masse, celebrity stan accounts posted tearful farewells over the weekend as X was suspended in Brazil amid a showdown between Elon Musk and a Supreme Court justice. Many of their hundreds of thousands of followers learned only then that their favorite celebrity’s most dedicated English-language fan accounts had actually been run by Brazilians.
It shouldn’t have necessarily been a surprise — “Come to Brazil” is a stalwart meme. Brazil’s CCXP bills itself as the Americas’ largest comic-con, drawing A-list Hollywood talent. The stars of the long-ended show “Everybody Hates Chris” 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.
“I came to realize how strong our digital power is in this last minute, because we tweet in English so people don’t know that we are Brazilians. But we are a lot, we are everywhere,” said Aianne Amado, a University of Sao Paulo doctoral candidate who studies Brazilian fandoms. “I think that we will be missed and it’s not going to be the same network.”
Paola Strabelli didn’t care much for reading. A few years ago, though, she saw “Vita and Virginia” and became entranced — not with its lead actors, but with Virginia Woolf herself.
She started to read Woolf voraciously, and created @botvirginia to share Woolf’s quotes, amassing 115,000 followers.
Strabelli, 26, told media that, growing up, she didn’t have many friends. In some ways, she said, her life began with online fandom — first, through Katy Perry and the show “Once Upon A Time,” 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 “Glee” actor Dianna Agron, 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 “so kind.” By 2016, annoyed with how Agron’s fan accounts operated — cropping out boyfriends, for example — she co-founded an X account that grew to more than 7,600 followers.
All along, she’s been careful to maintain a separation between her own feelings and the account’s.
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