The rise of social media over the past decade has normalized the oversexualization among actors and influencers, as it allows fans to feel connected with them without any personal connection. As a result, this has also increased the amount of parasocial relationships. Parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships formed by people with fictional characters or celebrities who don’t know who they are or aren’t aware of their existence. This increase comes as a result of hardcore fans pressuring public figures for private information about their relationships and personal lives.. Those affected by obsessive parasocial relationships have felt the impact through media outlets and fan harassment.
Walker Scobell, a 17-year-old actor, portrays Percy Jackson in the new Disney+ series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” that premiered in 2023. On Saturday, April 12, he posted on Instagram that he would not be attending his high school’s prom because death threats were being sent to girls in his area who could have potentially been his prom date.
“Please stop sending death threats to EVERY teenage girl who could remotely be associated with me based on their proximity to where I live,” Scobell wrote on his Instagram story.
This message comes after obsessive behavior and even impersonation online. There are many fan accounts dedicated to Scobell or “Waleah,” the coupling of him and his “Percy Jackson” co-star, Leah Sava Jeffries. This was not a real relationship, rather one created by wishful fans. Some fan accounts, however, condemn this obsessive behavior. A public TikTok posted by user @thatdampjoeditor criticized the invasive actions others have taken.
“I’ve always feared that the normalization of fangirl culture will eventually lead to the justification of acts like this,” the user said. “He’s a kid. He’s an artist! I don’t care if you’re his age, I don’t care if you’re younger, I don’t care if you think he doesn’t care, specializing him and obsessing over him is the weirdest thing ever.”
The fascination with this young cast of actors has been seen before in shows like “Stranger Things” and movie franchises “Harry Potter,” which also featured groups of child actors as they grew up. Emma Watson, the actress who played Hermione Granger in the original “Harry Potter” movies, dealt with a disturbing countdown to her 16th birthday, where certain media outlets, including The Sun, counted the days until she reached the legal age of consent in the United Kingdom. Similarly, an even more severe incident occurred on her 18th birthday when a paparazzi attempted to take upskirt photos of her.
Whether or not a celebrity intends to appeal to the sexual desires of their audience members, it is unacceptable and too common to see excessive sexualization of public figures. This parasocial treatment from fans can lead to an unfair objectification of people who just want a career in acting or social media.
