NYT Interview: FKA Twigs + Bustle on the Robsten Fandom
FKA twigs Lives Large, in ‘Congregata’ and Beyond
-Talks about her upcoming sold out "Congregata" shows in Brooklyn
-Navigating the world of Hollywood paparazzi
-Dealing with racist twilight fans
-Loves being an ambitious indie artist
-On voguing: "A lot of music artists don’t respect the roots of dancing, I never want to associate myself with something that I don’t understand. I would never want to be guilty of cultural appropriation."
Is Robert Pattinson Married to Kristen Stewart? Why Conspiracy Theorists Think He Is - And What It Tells Us About Online Gossip
Excerpts:
The Robsten conspiracy itself (which supposedly originated in the comments of gossip site Gossip Cop) however, is complicated. Some theorists seem to think Stewart has had one child, others think that she’s pregnant with another, and still others believe that Pattison’s relationship with FKA twigs is just for promotion. Several blogs scour paparazzi photos of either celebrity for bystanders that resemble their “partner.” As for why the marriage is kept secret, a Robsten believer called Cindy explained that this is “to keep the crazies away from his [Robert’s] wife and let the focus be on the fake up”.
You can’t talk about Pattison and Stewart without talking about Twilight. The success of the book and films, and their violently passionate fandom, is well-documented. This was clearly a franchise that spawned intense, creative feelings and attachments.
That - plus the high-wattage former relationship between its two romantic leads - made it prime conspiracy fodder. “I still truly believe in my heart that that Rob and Kristen are still together,” a commenter under the name Arleen P. wrote on a Robsten fan website’s comment page. “I am going to love them no matter what.” Emotional investment is the key to being a conspiracy theorist, experts believe, and one study found that profound emotional uncertainty made people more likely to believe conspiracies.
I found a few sites that explicitly aligned themselves with the Robsten conspiracy, and left polite posts in the comments sections, asking if anybody would be willing to talk to me about how they felt about their fandom and beliefs. (I’m not identifying them here because I don’t want to embarrass any of the commenters.)
The replies had an angry, sarcastic quality and were quickfire, often only a few words long. There is apparently “evidence” for the existence of the marriage and baby, according to these commenters - including legal certificates and a confirmation from one of Stewart’s employees - but nobody was willing to produce them for analysis, and several blog owners deleted my questions. There is also, as FKA twigs herself acknowledged in a 2014 tweet, a serious and very disturbing streak of violent racism running through the idea that Pattison’s relationship with a woman of color is somehow fabricated.
Sorting through the replies, I learned that the modern gossip conspiracy theorist isn’t the classic caricature of an old man with a tinfoil hat in a bunker. Many of the commenters seemed to be grown, educated women - one referenced caring for a crying newborn baby, another that she was 31 and about to graduate from business school, a third that she was writing a novel based on sites like the one in question. All were pedantic, bored (they answered within milliseconds of one another), and clearly deeply emotionally involved…but they also seemed rational.
Source 1 (NYT) & 2 (Bustle Magazine)
