Has America completely lost their sense of humor? In a country where George W. Bush is still the President, how could that possibly be? This firestorm of controversy surrounding Faith Hill’s reaction to Carrie Underwood’s win for Best Female Vocalist of the Year is utterly ridiculous. Faith Hill is a seasoned professional, a notorious goofball, and by all accounts, an extremely kind and loving woman. I didn’t see her reaction live - I “read” it on the boards - and I admit to being shocked and incredulous that Faith would behave that way. When I finally had the chance to see the “incident”, it was SO obvious she was joking, I couldn’t believe it was ever an issue. Â
In what has to be the Biggest Bonehead Move of the Year, LeAnn Rimes posted this on her website, only to remove it an hour later:
Ok, I usually keep quiet on topics like this but I feel I need to stand up for my friend, Faith. She was just being honest and emotional like
every other person sitting at home with an opinion. These awards shows are SO political and we all get fed up with them. We all work very hard and have for many years so to see someone come in and win Female Vocalist that has been here for a VERY short time, is a little disheartening. That is why we have the Horizon award and Carrie had an incredible year, enough to sweep that one. I don’t think Faith was angry about Her loss, she probably felt, as I did that Carrie has not payed her dues long enough to fully deserve that award. As artists and public figures, we have to keep our feelings so repressed so we don’t get called ungrateful as Faith has on this board many times now. She is a very sweet and gracious woman, whom I adore. Please cut her some slack! -LeAnn
This post is going to become more controversial than it needs to be. I have enjoyed talking with you about our opinions but feel that this already is blown way out of proportion. I stand by Faith as my fellow artist and friend as an honest mistake was magnified. I also, as you know from previous post, respect Carrie and wish her well!
-LeAnn Â
What is so terribly sad about the media’s and the fans’ overreaction is the fact that Carrie’s remarkable accomplishments are being overshadowed and unfairly criticized.  And poor Faith! Can’t the woman try to have a little fun in what was quite possibly the most painfully boring awards show in history without being skewered by oversensitive fans?  Are we really that desperate for drama?
Now, instead of basking in the glow of a glorious win we have a Carrie/Faith fan war on the boards and blogs (ridiculous considering Carrie and Faith have both made statements saying they are fine and have the utmost respect for one another) and they are going at it tooth and nail.  The passion of fandom is not to be trifled with, but your leaders have made their statements and are staying above the fray. Unless you, the fans, want this incident to haunt your chosen one for years, please drop it! Don’t believe me?  These rumors are going strong: Clay Aiken is gay, Kelly Clarkson is ungrateful and hates American Idol, and Kellie Pickler is a phony. The reason these rumors are still alive is because the fans refuse to let it drop - the media is going to continue to bring these issues up because they know it will get a strong reaction from the fans.  Blood in the water is good for business. Â
As far as the stars themselves, I understand LeAnn wanting to defend Faith (if it really was LeAnn who wrote that post - still not sure I believe it) but publicly? On your website?  You need not look much further than Constantine Maroulis to know that getting involved in a war of words with fans is a baaaaaaaad idea.  I spent three hours this morning reading eighty pages of venom on a Constantine fan board over a virtual verbal confrontation between Constantine and a fan. It was heartbreaking to see a board community ripped apart and a fan base damaged by a very poor lack of judgement on both sides. “Board suicide” was not a term I was familiar with until today.  Internet fandom is a relatively new phenomenon and both fans and celebrities are learning what and what not to do. (For what it’s worth: To Constantine and the members of that particular community, I am pulling for a reconcilliation.)
Trust me, I know it’s not easy to take the high road and it’s exceedingly difficult not post a response in defense of your chosen one. At times, it can be physically painful to read some of the horrible things humans will say about other humans, especially when they are directed at someone you love. Internet writers purposefully make less than flattering statements about Clay Aiken because they know hundreds of Claymates will react in full force. Kelly Clarkson will be 90-years-old before the “she didn’t thank American Idol” controversy finally goes away because some Kelly fan can’t resist saying, “Yeah, but she didn’t thank her Dads either!” Enough already! It’s the Internet age, and we are all going to have to grow thicker skins and ignore the most vile (John Paulus) of haters if we are going to come out of this intact. Most of these haters are stating opinions - not facts - so why bother? Let the publicists argue the facts, that’s their job. If you absolutely must respond, please be respectful (no name calling) and have your facts straight. Remember, as a Claymate, a Care Bear, a Yaminion, or whatever you want to call yourself,  you are representing your star - behave in a way your celebrity can be proud of.Â
Please don’t let the rumor mongers win. Choose love! Don’t hit the ball of hate back into the other guy’s court - if you put your racquet down, it’s game (and sermon!) over.
November 8th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
I think the fanwars are fun. Pretty harmless, really. The sad part is if people are neglecting their real lives for this. Basically, these are the soap operas for our generation.
November 8th, 2006 at 7:56 pm
The fan wars are only fun and harmless if you’re not involved in them. Friendships often go up in flames. As someone who has been unwillingly sucked into the above-mentioned Constantine controversy this past week, I have to say… this article made a helluva lot of sense. Kudos.
November 8th, 2006 at 10:23 pm
Thank you for such wise words. I belong to that community for Constantine Maroulis mentioned. Amazingly, I have just written a post there, before reading this article, saying hate is less powerful than hate. What I wanted to say was exactly what is written here, though not so well written. In that community, most really love and care for Constanine Maroulis. Haters pop in, but we should never pay attention to them. We should never give them power. The community is mainly of dedicated fans. He is our true idol. We love him. If so, we have to show him this love.
November 9th, 2006 at 2:22 am
Constantine PM’d me that I could *stab* the mommies on that board who keep nagging him. *snerk*
He ain’t going back.
November 9th, 2006 at 10:25 am
Stab the mommies? Weird choice of words for a 30 year old man.
Sounds more like something a childless spinster would say.
November 12th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
Constantine came by GS tonight.