2020 Armitage Weekly Round-up #26

/ July 4, 2020

The silence on my blog this week may actually speak volumes. In a good way. Yesterday I had my call with the people who offered me a new job, and the plan for our cooperation is now cut and dry. I am starting my work this weekend with a translation, but after that we are off with content written by myself. It is a new area of expertise for me and will require a bit of research, but I think it might actually be refreshing and enjoyable to write about fashion. Yes, fashion, you have read it correctly. And no, I am not offended if you are guffawing at that. I have said it over and over that I am fashion-illiterate. But as a writer I have always maintained that there is (almost) nothing that you can’t study and research in order to write about it with confidence and expertise. – Funnily enough, when it comes, it comes in droves. And after 4 months of idleness, the week I got offered this fashion contract, I was also asked to write content for a health app, and a batch of German language exam papers landed on my desk for review. That explains my silence during the last week – and may be a hint of the future. Mind you, I personally believe that my new workload may actually be good for the blog. Even though I write for a living, I still enjoy writing for recreation. In the last while, my writing was all recreational, yet somewhat felt like a self-imposed obligation. I can now look forward to having writing work that I will balance out with the lighter and more light-hearted blogging.

Change of topic. I was in the middle of writing the round-up post when someone pointed out RA’s recent “like” on Twitter. Now, I don’t follow RA on Twitter (too much excitement), so I hadn’t noticed it before. Not sure if you saw it, but I was wondering what your thoughts are on celebrities who like “bikini photos” of their fans? Or tweets that carry the weight of heavy expectations? Am I the only one who finds it problematic? Genuine questions, because I don’t want to stir trouble, yet also don’t believe that RA is above and beyond criticism. We seem to be seeing a new Twitter behaviour here, and I am not sure whether I like it tbh. (If we are discussing this in the comments, let’s try to do so in a respectful manner, though.)

Ad res. New header.

 

  1. Interesting observation by maxkiki – I only watched Pilgrimage once and certainly did not recall that…
  2. In case you haven’t seen this on Twitter, richardarmitagefanpage put together Richard’s tweets on the lack of emergency funding for arts in the UK with the replies from his blue tick friends
  3. Laugh of the day: Riepu10 has giffed Richard’s own filter fun #moustacheofevil
  4. 😭 So those muscles were all fake!!! 😉 Shirtless Thorin by thewarriorandtheking
  5. I usually don’t include reposts of work by other artists, but since we are a bit short of content this week, here is a gorgeous piece of fan art, reposted by angelpretend
  6. Some fierce Thorin, by thewarriorandtheking again
  7. Mezzmerizedbyrichard has compiled her gifs that show Richard and his fans at the red carpet etc
  8. Riepu10 has put two and two together. The scarf picture (which is now also the round-up header) was taken by Big Finish as the basis of their Rassilon edit
  9. LOL, including this here for the spot-on fan reaction. Posted by cool-stuffandthings
  10. Naughty nfcomics again… But yeah, I had to laugh at this What a Guy Wants

Here we go, ten is the number.

I leave you with a few pretty flowers. I am delighted that the morning glories and the corn flowers that I sowed in May, have finally come into bloom.

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107 thoughts on “2020 Armitage Weekly Round-up #26”

  1. My main reaction is to think of what an explosion there was when he was quoted in the press as saying he didn’t know what to do when a fan mailed him a bikini photo with her number written on it. I’d have to find the article, but I believe it came up that he read fan mail with his mother. After that there was so much fan policing about not doing anything to embarrass Armitage and certainly not in the notional presence of his mum. There’s a certain irony to him liking one now, and it’s an additional piece of support for his recent contention that concern about his parents’ response to challenges to his career on the basis of his sexual orientation kept him circumspect in public.

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    • That (first) interview came to my mind, too. While I dislike the reaction that it caused (i.e. fan policing), I understood what he was expressing. Good for him that he feels much less concerned with hiding his true self now. And I mean that without any irony. It really is about time. But I do wonder what message it sends that he is reacting to tweets that are putting pressure on him to acknowledge individual fans. Could easily backfire on him. But well, if he has ever had any Twitter strategy, then it was NOT to have any 😂

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      • yeah, my second reaction to your post was how much happier I have become since I look at his Twitter extremely rarely (and since I have reduced my Twitter usage by 98%).

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  2. I am happy for the fan that got the attention he craved. I can’t say I’m not somewhat jealous. After all, I’d love for RA to like something I tweet.
    I feel like in a way, it’s one more step in RA’s journey of coming out of the closet.
    But there is something about this choice which feels a bit icky. Not because of the sexuality of either party, but the idea that RA mostly ignores people’s appreciation of his work, but gives attention to the (albeit totally relatable) drooling of a fan.
    I don’t know. Maybe it’s the jealousy, which in no way am I going to deny, but I’m a little disappointed.

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    • I think you are right in many respects here. I don’t really feel jealous per se (because I never really tweet @ RA anyway – I just can’t deal with the disappointment that inevitably comes with waiting for an acknowledgment by him, and so I don’t tweet at him at all. No expectation = no disappointed.) But I am a bit disappointed on behalf of so many fans on Twitter who have been steadfast in their support for him, yet never get a like from him.
      This is, if I am totally honest, a really difficult topic to discuss openly. I feel that criticism will inevitably be interpreted as homophobia. Yet that is not what why I am uncomfortable with this tweet acknowledgment. (RA’s sexual orientation has long ceased to be of interest to me.) I am just flabbergasted that RA, who has *always* ignored thirst tweets, suddenly reacts… and what kind of message that sends…

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      • I agree with you. I no longer care about his personal prefetences but felt that the young mans tweets were a little tacky. Richard could just have been kind who knows. However he needs to remember he is playing in the big pond now. Also how would the other half in his
        relationship feel. A few thoughts that’s all. Glad to hear about your work.

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        • I suspect that that is basically what it is – RA (as usual) didn’t think at all and just sent a kind “like” on the spur of a moment. Maybe it’s just another one of his erratic Twitter moments. 🤷🏼‍♀️

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  3. My feeling is the person who got the like is attention seeking as subsequent to that tweet he tagged RA again ( on a roll apperently). I’m happy that RA feels happier and more at ease re his sexuality but I feel he may have set a dangerous precedent here and it could backfire in the long term. I’m surprised he did it.

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    • Oh, I think the tweep has been seeking his attention from the moment he appeared on Twitter a few weeks ago. He has been quite vocal. There is nothing wrong with it, of course, or with salacious tweets. I have tweeted my fair share of those, too (although as a rule without tagging RA in the thread). The difference is that suddenly RA acknowledges a thirst tweet. In light of the fact that he hardly ever acknowledges *any* fan tweets, it could easily send the message that he either doesn’t give a damn about all the *kind and supportive tweets* from his fans, or that you can only get a response from him if you push and push and push. (I’m not even going to go into the whole gender/SO swamp.) While I never particularly liked RA’s MO on Twitter, I always thought he was smart in adhering to a strategy that avoided creating favourites by blanket ignoring everyone. Possibly frustrating – but at least it was frustrating for *everyone*. This seems somewhat out of character…

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      • You’ve summed it up quite well. Thanks. It’s not the identity or orientation of who RA likes but rather the physical objectification message. Young adults, regardless of identification, already experience body image pressures. Does this reinforce these body image pressures rather than “all the kind and supportive tweets”? 🤷‍♂️
        Guylty please delete this if this is wrong in posting. Thanks.

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        • I have just now seen someone comment on how RA liking the guy’s tweet and thirst is “so much better than the simpering” tweets, and that just annoys me.
          The idea that if I write about my appreciation of his work I am simpering, and implying that I am pathetic, where as “obviously RA would appreciate cheeky thirst tweets better”.
          It is basically a fan policing me but in a different way – telling me I should write thirst tweets if I want him to acknowledge and appreciate me as a fan, rather than express my thoughts on his talent and personality (as much of it as I know).
          I might be overreacting, but now it’s not even a matter of what RA meant with regards to the tweet he liked, but what that caused other fans to express. I hope I’m being clear here…

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          • Oh bravo, ok, so now we are turning fan on fan again? Jeepers, I don’t get why there are these expectations that *all* fans have to act exactly the same way? I mean, I am not into tweeting/replying directly to RA, be it simple compliments or more obvious come-ons. But if others want to do it – fine with me, if that is what they like, then good for them. I’ll fangirl my way, they can do it their way. There is enough space for all of us, whichever way we want to express our appreciation for RA.
            But meh, that is the sort of toxic fandom that only a short messaging platform such as Twitter can create. I think we will do best if we just ignore such attempts at telling us how we should or should not interact. Breathe deeply, armitagefan, and just mute anyone who is trying to make you feel bad on Twitter!

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        • I hadn’t even thought about the implication for body image and beauty ideals. But I think that is a point worth making, too, not to mention the general sexualisation of everything.

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          • There’s already another “like” to an attention seeking fan. More sedate tweet, but are we seeing a pattern? What’s he trying to do here?

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            • I have no idea what he is trying to achieve with this. A more lighthearted, fun Twitter-image? I still think that the implication of these likes is a rejection of anyone and everyone who has ever tweeted nicely at him before and received zilch. If I was one of the regular tweeters, I’d feel rejected.

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      • Your answer sums up how I felt. I’ve enjoyed, liked and replied to some of the tweets by the lucky recipient. He is a refreshing, male, voice and I feel a certain like-mindedness with our Armitage fetishising. It must have been incredibly exciting to receive an acknowledgement from Him, and I am pleased for the guy, but I am surprised by RA. He normally only ‘likes’ tweets of integrity, e.g. current affairs, or from show-promoters and Blue Ticks – and not those that reference his looks. I too respected his fair strategy of ‘blanket ignoring’ all other tweets and feel that this new action seems like a kick in the teeth to, as you say, kind and supportive, as well as long-standing and generous fans he has disregarded in the past (not sour grapes by me, I hasten to add, as I only ever gush over his looks, or make silly jokes at his expense, so I don’t expect him to respond). It does seem more understandable though to see it as a gesture of support to a rare, gay, male voice in that particular RA twitter fandom. Ever confounding, our RA, I wonder what he will do next with his surprising guerrilla-‘Likes’ !

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        • I was trying to figure out why I was upset (or rather uncomfortable) about the like. But now, I finally realised the reason – like you said, I’m happy for the fan, and it may just be trying to acknowledge and support his gay voice, and I couldn’t put it into words before. So thanks. And I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one who didn’t feel comfortable and was disappointed.
          Doesn’t change my admiration for RA’s performances and acting skills, but I think it may have changed how I percieve him as a man. It reminded me that I don’t know him, and therefore shouldn’t expect certain behaviour from him.

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          • Fwiw: The longer my fan journey goes on, the more I am moving away from adoring the man RA, towards appreciating his talent and acting only. I think it’s a natural progression, tbh. I have followed this guy for 8 years, and while I don’t know him at all, the way he presents himself and behaves in public, allows me to create some sort of idea of himself. At the beginning of my fan journey, I loved everything he did and felt he was an extraordinary human being who did very little wrong. Um. Well, 8 years in, I think he is still a human being, but just one like everyone else – with flaws. Some of which I don’t really like so much. I’m not so keen on extolling his personality any more. But I still admire his talent and the characters he has created. And that’s enough.

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        • I have only seen a few of his tweets, but my reaction to those that I *have* seen tells me that I am too prudish and old for the general gist of his tweets 😁. But that’s fine. As is his joy over having been acknowledged by his favourite celebrity.
          Yeah, I mean, I don’t really care that much about acknowledgment by RA myself. If I did, I’d reply to his tweets or tweet at him, but I almost never do. However, that in itself is a reaction to his Twitter strategy until now. It just seemed futile to tweet our auctions results at him because he never *ever* acknowledged them. That has never disappointed me as such because I have always felt that we are doing our fundraisers for *ourselves*, and for *our* entertainment, not his. And for the causes that *we* want to support (even if championed by him). So his acknowledgment was never the overriding goal for me, but only a possible bonus. Having said that, I have to admit I feel slightly put out that you can get a reaction by expressing disappointment when expectations aren’t met. For the upcoming auctions, maybe I should change my approach. It has always disappointed me that fans contribute and donate *in his name*, collecting a huge amount of money, and that isn’t even worth a mere “like”. (I promise I won’t illustrate my tweets at him with a nude of myself 😂)
          I am already quaking in my clogs as regards his next guerilla likes, as you called them.

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  4. Congrats on new jobs! 👍👍

    My initial thought was similar to yours re ‘Bikini photos’ as i thought it’s not a good precedence to set. 🥺 Just encourages more extreme photos which may not be welcome! 😱🥴

    I thought further on it however, and also about the situation of the young person (man in this case) who has tweeted about some rejection from some of his family since coming out. (Sad! 😪)
    So some ‘support’ from someone who might be able to empathise (actors have high emotional intelligence, irrespective, or perhaps including?, personal background), so I’m happy that this was the correct side of the line to choose (on this occasion).

    But is all nuance and fine judgement? The further ‘publicity’ may make similar responses less likely?

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    • That is a different way of looking at it, you are very benevolent with your interpretation. I admit that that did not come to my mind at all; in fact what stood out to me was that he validated an openly sexualised attempt at communication. But what you say sounds entirely possible. If so, it may be well-intentioned – I just hope that he hasn’t created expectations, both in the young man and in other fans, that this is the new normal. Or hey, if this *is* the new normal, hooray, I look forward to many of our fellow fans finally receiving the acknowledgment that they deserve. So much wonderful fan art out there that has been made for him, so much support by tweeting about his projects and spending money on his audio books and films, so many individuals who have donated to the causes he has championed. That would indeed be wonderful.

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      • Annnnd I don’t know what “thirst tweet” means either. While I appreciate your attempt to keep me in the club, don’t bother. I’m hopelessly behind, don’t care, and don’t wish to spend a second “learning” this crap. From the agitation displayed by others of you, maybe ignorance really is bliss when it comes to social media. I will crawl back into my 19th-century cave now. Thornton, I’m coming!

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        • 😂 in this case: Raymond de Merville, I’m coming! not using social media as a rule because of all the privacy issues and reading your comments I was of course still wondering about the photo that brought on this discussion (first I read “bikini photo” and in my mind’s eye had the image of a woman, then someone wrote “young man” and this merged into a picture of a man in a bikini and then Borat in his mankini and so on and so on 😉 grinning like a fool now writing this because I still don’t know the real pic, but I am curious you know… just not curious enough to go in twitter for something like that 😊

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          • LOL – a Borat mankini. Now, that would’ve been a tweet I would’ve liked myself 😂.
            And yeah, don’t go in there. I’m half regretting opening this can of worms…

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      • Oh honey, it’s the giant artery in your neck where you can feel your own pulse. The one the tv detectives touch when they announce, “Yup, that one’s dead.” Or for those of us with, ahem, different references: the raised line you see pounding away when Porter and Lucas drop their heads back, after already being prone. I know you can Google “prone,” so instead I will toss this to Kathy Jones. Got any words that rhyme with “prone,” Kathy? Or, here’s a tip: Carotid sorta rhymes with garroted. Huh? Huh?

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  7. There are several reasons why I’m dismayed by RA’s “like.” Would Mr. Sensitive have liked a tweet from a young woman so desperate to get his attention that she announced she was stripping off to post what she hoped would be a provocative photo for him? No, I very much don’t think he would, and not merely because it wouldn’t be provocative to him. Hopefully he would have enough sense to understand how exploitative that would be on his part.

    And just because the OP is an out man and RA is a sort-of out man, that doesn’t make his action any less unsavory. To me, it reinforces an unpleasant stereotype about vain, older, gay men seeking much younger men. But I would feel the same disappointment and sadness if it were Ellen Degeneres liking a thirsty bikini tweet from a much younger woman, or whenever I see what new, twentysomething model Leonardo DiCaprio is dating in real life. And this particular tweeter has made several insightful comments about RA’s career and acting ability. He couldn’t have liked one of those? He had to like a tweet purely about sex and intended to make him feel guilty? So sex and guilt are the way to RA’s thumbs, so to speak? I just want to smack the pair of them upside their lovely heads and say, “Really? Really?! You’re both better than this.”

    I’m trying to be tactful but it is difficult, so please try to forgive me my failings, as I try to do for our beautiful man, who truly does belong to ALL of his fans, as is right and proper. I just think that as a newly out queer man, he has done himself a major disservice and weakened his hopes of being taken seriously. However he chooses to act in his private life is absolutely none of my business, but this tiny action by his lovely thumb feels to me like a stunning lack of judgment by someone who likes to portray himself as serious, thoughtful and always considering the bigger picture.

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    • My reactions go very much along those you expressed so eloquently above. I hasten to add that I am actually not at all upset with the OT. His enthusiasm is refreshing (although I, as an old fan, somehow have moved on from that phase of being madly in love with the OOA. I understand it, though, so this is no judgment, just statement of fact). The desire to be acknowledged by one’s favourite celeb is understandable. Personally I wouldn’t go down the bikini route (yeah, you can thank me all, later), but when it comes down to it, that is hardly any more objectionable than my salacious comments.
      What I find problematic is indeed RA’s reaction. He deliberately and ostentatiously ignores 99% of all tweets directed at him – including gorgeous fan art dedicated to him as well as people expressing support (sometimes in the shape of donations) to him and his causes – and then chooses to react to a tweet that originates from a half-nude picture and pushes for acknowledgment? It just surprises me 🤷🏼‍♀️… It seems so out-of-character for his otherwise stand-offish, careful, deliberately non-controversial and distanced MO on Twitter. If this is all about queer rights, I think a reply to one of the tweep’s other tweets might have been more meaningful.
      I don’t necessarily think that this will have wider repercussions beyond the realm of the fandom. Who but only his fans are actually aware of who and what he likes on Twitter? I doubt that a tabloid or any other media will notice and latch on to it. In that sense the damage is easily contained. Personally, though, I feel somewhat disappointed. I just didn’t expect RA to validate thirst tweets. It’s another little bit of lustre chipped off the gem.

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      • The notification of your post came through late last night Guylty, and not knowing what tweet you were referring to (although I had a good idea of who the OT was as he’d made reference to it on Facebook) I decided to leave it until this morning, mull over it and read the comments added overnight.
        I agree with what you and LoLo have so eloquently said. I was disappointed in Richard’s reaction, because it does feel dismissive of that 99% you mention. He has so rarely responded to the pressure of fans wanting validation.

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  8. I don’t keep up with Twitter either except for Ava DuVernay, Joy Reid and Nancy Pelosi, all American folks. I’d say RA needs to be careful. So many celebs have been destroyed on Twitter for the silliest things. People make the most ridiculous assumptions about celebs from the smallest actions.
    On the positive side, I just signed up for a deal on audible and I’m listening to the Joy Ellis books that Richard has narrated. I adore his beautiful baritone voice. My husband has a lovely baritone voice also. And Richard is a great narrator.
    I was excited to see he’ll be Rassilon (spelling?) on Doctor Who. I watched all the Doctor Whos with David Tennant and Billie Piper. Couldn’t really get into it since then, but I love those evil Daleks. So mean, thos Daleks…

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    • I suspect that RA is – no offense – one of the smaller fish in the big pond of Twitter. What stands out to us, his fans, may never really be picked up by the wider media. (Which might be a good thing…)
      I very much enjoy those Joy Ellis audio books, Ricky. He has done a pretty good job with them. In my mind he is now Jackman (although the character in the book is actually a bit younger than him) and I would love to see him act the character, produce the whole thing and bring it to the screen. Fingers crossed.
      Number 10 is my favourite doctor, too. Otherwise I am not really a massive Whovian, but since I know the basic background, I think I will tune into this story voiced with RA, too.

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    • Thank you. And hehe, one girl’s dream job, is another girl’s horror. Well, not exactly horror, but if you asked me about my dream job, it would be writing about theatre, literature, cinema. Doesn’t look as if those topics will feature much in our future, though 😦

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  10. Silence is golden! I am so pleased about your positive news Guylty, and I imagine it came at the right time. Thanks for the round-up, there are some right gems, and, thanks to your magical portal, I always get taken down Tumblr rabbit holes, telling myself I’ll just gaze at one more RA image only to find that I’ve lost half an hour! Beautiful flowers too.

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  11. I guess if I were to be pedantic , RA didn’t ‘like’ the tweet with the half topless pic but the tweeters reply about being ‘binned’. However, as eveyone has basically pointed out, it’s certainly an odd choice for RA considering all his waffle about respect and only ever ‘liking’ serious or sensible tweets.
    His ‘liking’ behaviour has certainly ramped up in the past year which I find interesting ( I’m a little obsessed wth numbers and patterns) He liked one of my tweets in November last year and I think that was number 88 (ish) and that was 4 years on twitter. Now he’s up to 157, so doubled in less than a year.

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    • I know that. That’s why I wrote “celebrities who like “bikini photos” of their fans? Or tweets that carry the weight of heavy expectations?” Maybe that was too subtle.
      Congrats on having a tweet liked by him. Very rare. You are one of the chosen few.

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    • Well, he liked another one today that he was tagged in where the tweet said she wanted to be noticed by him. And hey presto, it’s started.

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      • My first reaction was – “ok, let’s go for it. Let’s all finally get a like from him”. I find it bizarre, although the OT was actually funny in its straightforwardness.

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        • Bizzare is the only way to look at it. In the midst of this conversation, I forgot to congratulate you on the job front. It’s wonderful news and I have no doubt you will be great. Even here you have a great way of articulating what so many think.

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  12. First, congratulations on your work-related news!

    On the subject of “liking,” I don’t mean to nitpick, but it may be worth noting the post RA “liked” was not the one featuring the fan’s shirtless selfie. RA liked the original poster’s second tweet, which was a response to the tweet with the shirtless image. The second tweet expressed disappointment in RA’s lack of immediate response and describes the resulting feeling of being “binned,” which I take it to mean having little value and being discarded like trash.

    It’s possible the entire enterprise on the part of the fan was strictly lighthearted and cheeky, and with that in mind, RA may have “liked” the second tweet simply to acknowledge of the fan’s bold cheekiness and humor. It’s also possible his acknowledgment was extremely important to the fan who spoke of feeling discarded, and he responded by “liking” to be kind and encouraging. Is there subtext as well; is it possible RA, a potential father figure in this context, empathized with the poster, who came out and had a falling out with his father as a result?

    RA strikes me as someone who tends to do things to be kind. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished, and I foresee more bold attention-seeking attempts on the part of some fans as a result. I also agree this inconsistent approach to liking some fan tweets and not others will come off as arbitrary favoritism and create disappointment and resentment amongst fans.

    I’m relatively new to Twitter and fangirling RA. That said, I get the sense he’s not particularly strategic and well-thought out in his decision to like or not like posts. I don’t mean this as an insult; on the contrary, what I’m suggesting is that he uses Twitter more or less like a regular, normal person does – and less like some consummate social media professional.

    I do wonder since his mom was helping him with fan letters, perhaps she was also watching over his Twitter as well and possibly providing implicit or explicit guidance. And now that she is gone, it’s possible he now feels more free to “like” or otherwise respond, hence a changing of the Twitter guard for RA.

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    • First of all welcome here, Sydney, and thank you for this eloquent and really well written contribution. I was of course aware that RA had liked the follow-up tweet and not the nude photo itself (I may have been a bit too subtle in my original blog text where I described it as “tweets laden with heavy expectation”), however, I think RA would be naive to believe that no one sees what the follow-up tweet referred to. After all, the whole thread pops up when you dive into the individual like.
      But never mind, that’s not really important. The points you have made are good arguments. And they have actually made me realise something: There are many ways of interpreting this “Like”. In a benevolent way as an act of support for a rare male, queer voice in the fandom, or as an acknowledgment meant in a humorous way. In a less benevolent way, as a surrender to pressure, or a validation of a particular way of communicating. Possibly even as an expression of preference of one gender over another. Tbh, I think all interpretations make sense. The key thing for me, however, is, that I can make an active *choice* to see the whole thing more lighthearted or more serious. I’ve looked at it from the more serious angle and felt rather disappointed. But that’s due to me assuming the worst, I guess. Maybe I should just always assume the best. It would certainly make fangirling much easier.

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  13. Right, I have mulled this over and read everyone’s comments and I guess I‘m gonna throw my 2 cents worth into the ring.
    A disclaimer up front: I have personally interacted with OT on Twitter before the LIKE and also congratulated him on it after. While the approach would never be mine (I don‘t show my anything on SM, clothed or otherwise), I have no issue with it as such. I may shake my head at some tweets @ RA in the privacy of my own home, but unless people are grossly inappropriate, I figure it comes with the territory. So OT‘s actions are off limits for me to discuss (god knows I have drunk-tweeted RA albeit using photographic material depicting him, not myself—small mercies and all that).
    The real issue here is RA and his SM behavior. If a celeb has varied and frequent good fan interaction, a single LIKE is no biggie. I can‘t boast any such interaction with RA, but I had a lovely convo with Anthony Stewart Head on Twitter the other day and Sam Neill retweeted me. They are both good at interacting with fans and while that RT was big news for my Twitter stats (though not as personally exciting as Tony Head‘s absolute loveliness—you can ask Mr. Kate about my gushing), it didn‘t register on anyone‘s radar, because Sam has about 100 such fan interactions each day. It‘s a blip and forgotten. When you look at RA and his staunch refusal to acknowledge he has fans at all and if he does with a certain element of trepidation, you‘re looking at a different scenario. Usually his interactions are approval of things of “merit“ (charitable contributions, personal accounts of hardship faced and/or overcome) or strictly professional. The odd LIKE for a piece of fan art is already an outlier and even such “good deeds“ go largely unacknowledged. {Yes, I think Guylty should be acknowledged for the birthday auctions; I know you don‘t need or want it, G, and feel free to delete this section, but he should IMO}. So when he does interact, it simply carries that much more weight. It‘s market forces. A scarce resource (diamonds) is more precious than a common one (sand). Just my opinion.

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    • Absolutely spot on, Kate. No issue with the OT at all. I’m not following him, but I don’t see any problem with his tweets. He’s basically doing what we all are – enjoying RA’s work and attempting to get the message through to RA. He’s got his own way of expressing that. Mightn’t be *my* way, but there is no better and no worse in being a fan, just *different* ways.
      You are pointing out an important thing that hadn’t yet been put into words as strongly – the proportionality of this one “like” in the greater Twitter strategy. That’s where the cookie crumbles and where disappointment comes from. If this was one (or two, as we now know) fan acknowledgment of many, it might feel funny and light. The fact that this is a major exception from the usual rule of only reacting to blue tick accounts (and a handful of fans in the past), makes it stand out.
      Previously RA has always kept his fan interactions to a minimum. That’s his prerogative. He obviously does not like the strategy of other celeb tweeps. Why he doesn’t, beats me. Neither Sam Neil nor other colleagues of RA’s such as Graham McTavish seem to get compromised for occasionally interacting with fans. Quite the opposite. I’ve been both answered and RT’d by Sam in the past. That doesn’t make me fan royalty and hasn’t been life-changing, but it certainly makes Sam appear approachable and appreciative of the attention he receives. And I like him for that.
      As for RA ignoring our auctions – once again, totally his prerogative as well as not something I have come to expect. I could imagine that he simply worries that by replying to tweets about donations and fundraisers he might appear as if he is expecting fans to spend money on his behalf. He has always been very clear that he appreciates other forms of support for good causes, too, and I completely agree with that. Mind you, a little “like” would mean a lot to everyone who is involved – and yet wouldn’t mean he is creating expectations or endorsements. Could be used more wisely than it has in the past…

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      • Noting in my role as historian — there was a huge blowup on Twitter when it emerged that some fans had been pressuring other fans to donate to Cybersmile, back when that was a new thing.

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        • I actually don’t remember it, but I completely agree that there is absolutely no way and justification that anybody should be put under pressure or even just feel pressurised to donate to any particular cause, or to make financial contributions, full stop. And I would absolutely accept that as an explanation for the lack of acknowledgment. As I said, I have never expected such, nor pursued it. It would be nice if he did, but if that was interpreted as a way pressuring fans into parting with hard-earned cash that they can’t afford or for causes that they do not want to support, then I’ll happily do without acknowledgments.

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          • I would accept the ‘no pressure‘ defense if he were consistently ignoring contributions to charity. That isn’t the case. He has acknowledged donations from individuals as well as ‘his fans’ as a whole and to specific charities before (LOROS for example). And the birthday auction charity is picked by us, not him. Sorry, no mercy from me.

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            • I don’t think it’s my job to say “mercy” or “no mercy” (esp as this started out as a discussion of liking tweets and the whole thing is foreign to me in the first place — although I acknowledge that it’s a thing fans do / want, I personally don’t understand why anyone would want to tweet with a celeb or aspire to have a tweet liked in the first place, so I can’t empathize with the sentiment around the topic, whether positive or negative). I’m just trying to point out that the question of Armitage acknowledging charity on his behalf has a really long history (and as the topic of favoritism came up, i pointed to an episode from 2015 that may be in his memory and may influence his decision-making over responding to fan tweets. He acknowledged the donation of a particular group over Twitter and the subsequent storm was unpleasant. It’s hard to believe he didn’t see it). At the very least, his acknowledgement of fan charity on his behalf is tied up with him receiving more gifts than he knew what to do with, his initial suggestions of charities to contribute to rather than sending him stuff, the step of setting up the JustGiving pages (which I suspect was presented to him as a way of reducing the amount of time he had to deal with it, as the pages sent automatic acknowledgements), the squabbles and fan disappointment over his decision not to get very involved with supporting his JustGiving fundraising, all play into it and that’s pre-Twitter, not to mention the many things that have happened on Twitter around charities. How he relates to fans in general and certain groups of fans in particular may still be very much rooted in or influenced by the fan competitions for his attention that attended the very first fan sites. He’s never had a very coherent pattern of relating to fans (at least from the outside) and the question of how he responded to donations was one piece of that. It didn’t help that some fans back then (pre-Twitter) felt he was taking sides in fan squabbles. Honestly, given his history, if I were him, I’d have stuck to the 1-2 fan letters per year with generic thanks strategy. If he pays attention to fan behaviors, that would have caused much less aggravation.

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              • There is a lot in here that I was not aware of. Knowing the history certainly helps explain how his behaviour is informed and why it makes sense to him. Doesn’t quite quell my disappointment, but that is entirely on me, not on him. Expectation management again.

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                • I don’t know that history ever explains everything — as things do change, not always according to pattern — but I do think it explains a lot about his early Twitter behavior. One constant is that (as in his own self-description) he’s been pretty fickle. I don’t think it ever hurts to ask ourselves about our motivation for doing things; if we are honest with ourselves, it definitely can alert us to vulnerabilities, or clarify what’s important to us as the outcome of any given activity (tweeting, or charity auctions, for instance).

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                  • Nope, history doesn’t explain everything, and sometimes it may even lead to wrong conclusions, but as you said, there are a few patterns of behaviour that seem to be consistent. “Fickle” was a word that I learnt from him. He really knows himself well…

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            • Back here expanding on my above comment to state that this explanation is now absolutely and completely without merit IMHO since he has since LIKED a tweet by a woman who said (paraphrasing) “I donated to the arts fund, now can I get RA to notice me“ so his LIKES are now available in exchange for a donation of indeterminate value to a cause he supports, apparently. In that case, he could acknowledge the rather large sums generated by the auctions. Therefore, my ‘no mercy‘ stands.

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              • I’m with you 100%. When i saw the like last night, i thought “here we go again” and as i posted earlier did she contribute to get a Like and push him for it seeing what had happened for others or does she actually care for the arts/theatre’s and decide to kill two birds with one stone so to speak. I do think re the birthday acutions, a like would be appreciated as a lot of work goes into them and large sums have been generated over time. An acknowledgment would be nice. At the end of the day, his actions will remain a mystery.

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                • Yep, it’s impossible to predict – or even understand – him. Fair enough. We don’t know him. Nevertheless, it’s never a nice feeling when you realise that your expectations have been too high.
                  On the plus side – I now do not feel honour- or duty-bound anymore to avoid tweeting auction results at him for fear of damaging is sensitivities. I look forward to giving him the opportunity to give some of his fans a little pat on the shoulder back.

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                  • You definitely deserve a pat on the back( i don’t care what you say) for the birthday auctions as there are so many items to correlate , ship etc a lot of time goes into it, so i say GO FOR IT.

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              • The irony of it all!!! Here I was, whining about lack of acknowledgment for people who donate, and a couple of hours later the universe has granted my wish… We can put it to the test in August. At least I now know that he has no sensitivity issues with donations in return for a like, and thus can tweet at him without fearing I might embarrass him.

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            • Um. Yes, unfortunately those are the hard facts I was trying to ignore 😉 No wonder that there is a tiny little expectation very far in the back of my mind…

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  14. Could RA be the right guy to watch The Night Manager with? And loudly drool over Tom Hiddleston? Asking for a friend…

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  15. Well, following his retweet last night where people can donate to a save the theatre’s fund, a girl shamelessly tagged him when she donated and then said could she get a like from him. And she did. So did she contribute because she is interested in the arts or pushing for a like. Whatever the reason I feel uncomfortable and disappointed.

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  17. Morning Guylty, getting ready for another day of work but I wanted to comment.

    You’ve busted your ass for years on these fundraisers. They’ve been beyond impressive with not just what you’ve offered, but how much your raised. Yet . . . What impresses me the most, is how well organised you’ve been able to make these events happen. How well executed. From the beginning, I’m more than impressed, I’m proud of you.

    Hopefully I can make this _not_ offensive, but don’t have eloquent words to voice it. Please don’t be offended by what I say next.

    I don’t care what Mr. A thinks about your efforts. He isn’t real to me the way you are. Truth be told, his Guy of Gisborne is the more real and what I care about most, none of which he can change; at this point anyway.

    The passion and professionalism you put into your efforts raising money that helps others, while specifically giving all the public long term credit to our ‘fan-crush’ who in turn can barely acknowledge any of it. . . I Really Don’t care enough to be offended by his lack of respect, response, whatever. So not to tell you how to live your life, but hope you don’t care either. Why? Because what you’ve done is remarkable and done for the best reasons, to help charities, help others that need that help. How awesome is that! Again, don’t care what he thinks, I care what you think and feel. If I could wish for anything, it would be for you to _never_ be/feel slighted in heart or head by Mr. A’s inability to notice. _Not_that_you_are_.

    Like us all, he is human and like us all, his own concerns are foremost in his thoughts. So I’m not judging him, just trying to be realistic. I’m proud to know you woman. 💕

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    • Aw, Mimi, what a lovely comment and reassurance. I am blushing, of course, and feel quite emotional over the many nice things you have said. You are quite right in saying that the motivation for it all is not “himself” but “we”. His acknowledgment would not be anything but a bonus, and if he feels he can’t be bothered (or would be compromised if he did), then that’s totally on him. I’d easily allow him to “bask in the glory” of the achievements, but it’s just as well if he doesn’t want to. So, no, I am fine as it is. But I do know that many others are somewhat disappointed, and for *our* sake I would appreciate some tiny sign that he has actually noticed what his fans are able to do… Because it is not just me. Sure, I put in the organising work, but the cash and non-financial support comes from all of you, so we share the joy over the final achievement. What *really* counts is that we have actually made a difference to a variety of causes, thanks to big donations. I’m proud of that, and I thank everyone who has ever taken part in the auctions, like yourself. xx

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