Hayley Atwell blocked a creepy fan on her birthday for calling her mom
Hayley Atwell is best known for her immaculate portrayal of Agent Carter on ABC. Carter is the woman who entranced Captain America and inspired his boy-scout celibacy, and she’s also a Marvel entity who attracts their hardcore fandom. Seriously, the Marvel actors have to deal with all sorts of weird, obsessive behavior. Those fans could give the Twihards a run for their parents’ money. The actors are aware of this (to a degree) when they sign on for these roles, but the fan enthusiasm must be overwhelming. Handlers can keep things under control at events, but social media ends up being a free for all.
Young people, especially, have adopted a newish fan practice of tweeting “mom” or “dad” at their favorite celebrities. Most of the time, this is a harmless (and some say “endearing“) gesture meant to express something like “You’re so cool, I wish you were my mom.” Other instances — like some I’ve seen in replies to Chris Evans — can get pretty explicit. “F*** me, daddy” and much worse, for example. What happened here with Atwell seems pretty innocent. A fan hinted at her “mom” for a birthday tweet. Atwell called her creepy and blocked the fan immediately. Here’s part of the ongoing exchange:
@HayleyAtwell TODAY IS MY BDAY MOM
— Fitzsimmons❁ (@xoxoMaximoff) September 19, 2015
@xoxoMaximoff I'm not your 'MOM'
— Hayley Atwell (@HayleyAtwell) September 19, 2015
@HayleyAtwell OH GOD
— Fitzsimmons❁ (@xoxoMaximoff) September 19, 2015
This 'mom' calling business is creepy. Consider yourself blocked, people!
— Hayley Atwell (@HayleyAtwell) September 19, 2015
You blocked me just because I call you "mom" , … sorry … Today is my birthday and I did not expect that @HayleyAtwell
— Fitzsimmons❁ (@xoxoMaximoff) September 19, 2015
@HayleyAtwell it's creepy that teenagers admire and look up to u as a successful woman? idgi
— phan puppy nad (@ronanandadam) September 19, 2015
@ChrissymayKatie don't care. It's creepy.
— Hayley Atwell (@HayleyAtwell) September 19, 2015
Was Hayley justified in shutting down a fan like this, especially on her birthday? I see it both ways. Yes, the “mom” thing is kinda creepy, and Atwell seems to make the point that real moms don’t deserve to be discounted by celebrity worship. Yet this fan was doing what all other teenagers do, and she received a major slap in the face from someone she respected. Yes, it’s a dumb trend, but this teenager was doing nothing out of the ordinary when compared to her peers. The way Atwell shut her down was at least a little bit cruel. I wouldn’t see it that way if Atwell didn’t know it was the girl’s birthday. It hurts (a lot) to receive a celebrity-on-civilian smackdown, especially if the rebuke followed a positive gesture. Anyway, I hope this girl didn’t take the slight personally, but it probably ruined her birthday.
Photos courtesy of WENN
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