I always expected that one day I’d have some fans that were a bit odd, maybe made me mildly uncomfortable, but still generally harmless and well intentioned.
Nothing prepared me for the harassment I’ve experienced or the weight of having people use me as a dumping ground for genuine, and sometimes exceedingly dark, psychological problems.
It has become very hard to balance wanting to have a close relationship with the incredible community myself and ATC have somehow have been so lucky to have while also feeling the need to scrub myself with bleach from feeling so abhorrently violated by a select few. I’ve slowed down meeting people after shows, etc. because of how wildly uncomfortable and sometimes unsafe some people have made me feel.
Please remember, at the end of every single tweet, comment, message you send is still a very real person no matter how famous or not they are. Everyone deserves to feel safe and maintain privacy and boundaries.
It’s been happening for a very long time, but it’s not something I think I’ll ever get used to.