Influencers are notorious for giving us an inside look at every aspect of their lives, the good, the bad, and the ugly. That trend, however, has created an attitude of entitlement among their fans, doing away with privacy and often resulting in invasive actions. That's exactly what happened to Bretman Rock after he attended his father's funeral this week.
It makes us wonder, how far is too far?
Fans have been wondering where Bretman Rock has been the past few weeks.
Many have expressed their concerns on social media. So two weeks ago, when a fan inquired, the influencer responded publicly. "Just found out my dad is in a critical condition and is in a coma now," he tweeted a fan. "Sorry, I’m just kinda taken back and taking time for myself and family!!"
He also posted to his Instagram story.
He explained to fans, that while he usually posts almost every aspect of his life, his father's illness was something that he wanted to deal with privately, and that his father's condition was unfortunately not too optimistic. Almost immediately an outpouring of support and love ensued.
Just a day later, he tweeted what appeared to be a suggestion that his father had passed.
Posting hearts and a dove emoji, the YouTuber seemed to confirm what no one wanted to hear: that his father had officially transitioned. After that, there wasn't much else we heard from him. And while he was visibly less active on social media, we were happy to see him in good spirits at the People's Choice Awards and winning for Influencer of the Year.
However, this morning he took to Twitter to express that some insensitive fans arrived at his dad's funeral, not to pay their respects but to harass Rock.
"Can people just let me be sad for once?" he began. "I’m here in the Philippines for my dad who just passed. Don’t come to my house and ask me for pictures … so many people showed up to my dad's funeral uninvited and started taking pics of my dad and my family. Like why? It’s common sense."
Fans went as far as offering condolences in the same breath that they requested selfies.
"I just don’t understand why people think it’s okay to ask me for pictures when my eyes are literally swollen from crying … how you gonna say 'condolences, can we take a picture?'" he continued.
In the age of social media, some people seem to feel entitled to the presence of celebrities and their favorite influencers, and that couldn't be further from reality. Our sincerest condolences are with Rock and his family during this difficult time.
