Here we go again another go-round for all of my friends…
This will not be a long post. But, rather a cautionary "sign of the times" reminder to not give up the fight. A call to arms if you will. Or, as Harry Styles reminded us in 2017 with the release of his pink album, this is about "fundamentals." There are far too many shenanigans (i.e., shit) continuing into 2019 to believe that Louis Tomlinson is going to be releasing his album, or even a record, anytime "soon". Maybe after March 1, but certainly not before. Or, as Harry reminded us in song, "We've been here before."
It's been three years since the beginning of 1D's Hiatus From Hell. With each passing day, month, and year the purpose of this Sony/Syco intricately planned pause/reset, was not just to wear away at the powerful united front of the 1D boys, but to isolate and factionalize the fandom as a whole, along with the Larrie supporters in particular. The former was easy enough to do. Just have the boys go their separate musical ways. Have them sign their own record deals, work with new collaborators, put out solo music, and fans would gradually gravitate to their favorite. Management's 'Operation Larrie Destruction', however, was always far more complicated. The added factor of not wanting to look homophobic, in an age of social media scrutiny and sensitivity regarding marginalized communities meant that Sony/Syco had to avoid a scorched earth policy and apply a war of attrition instead. That is what this Hiatus is all about.
Within this framework, the amount of work and coordination that has been focused specifically on Louis and Harry cannot be ignored. Here is just a smattering of the various parallel strategies that have been implemented over the last three years. If there was time, hundreds of more coordinated schemes could be highlighted:
1) Put a glowing spotlight on Harry while undermining Louis' image at every turn with a "directionless" reckless, laddy-lad persona.
2) Give Harry a high-profile group of famous, powerful friends, while Louis is marginalized from movers and shakers and confined to his Doncaster childhood posse. The Guardian's, 'Niall is lovely, Zayn has the voice, Harry is cool, Liam gets the crowd going...then there's me' storyline. Louis Tomlinson: The kid in the back.
3. Harry embraces who he is. Proudly, waves rainbow flags at his concerts while wearing flamboyant, daring attire.
4. Louis wears workout suits. Once the most fashionable of 1D in terms of color and stylish accessories, now the sporty guy, with hoodies, t-shirts and snapbacks.
5. Harry allowed to wear symbols of support in reference to the LGBTQ community (e.g. rainbow flag pin; rainbow horsebit leather loafers ; Live Aid t-shirt).
6. Louis is made to cover up his symbol of pride, the triangle (LGBTQ) tattoo on his right ankle, which he has had since 2012.
7. Harry is scheduled to attend the star-studded Met Gala in May 2019 as one of the hosts of a Camp themed costume exhibit, alongside the likes of Oscar-nominated, Lady Gaga.
8. Louis is a judge on the low-rated British reality show, X-Factor with "Uncle" Simon Cowell.
9. Harry stars in Dunkirk, directed by one of the most respected directors in the industry, a film that subsequently wins three Oscars.
10. Louis becomes a judge on America's Got Talent with...wait for it..."Uncle" Simon Cowell.
11. Harry is "rebirthed" as a footloose and fancy free rock star, available to all. Male and female alike.
12. Louis is saddled with the "birth" of Freddie Reign and continues to be promoted as a "daddy" who is off the market. Reattached with his 1D beard of three years in early 2017. No gay here.
13. Harry puts out a best-selling, highly acclaimed album in 2017, and subsequently tours the world. 89 Shows.
14. Louis announces an album and tour in 2018, then 2019. When asked about tour dates the recurring word used is "soon." To date, only one solo record has been released ("Miss You") with no promotion. When radio stations were asked to play the record, they told fans that they were never given a copy by the record label.
At this point, let's conclude with one last piece of speculation about that Louis album that never appears to materialize. We here at Narnia are now side-eyeing why Liam's album still has not seen the light of day either. Remember he was the first member of One Direction to sign a record deal back in June 2016. While Louis did not officially sign with Syco until June 2017. Could it be that Sony/Syco does not want Louis to stand out as the only member of One Direction without an album being released? Interestingly enough, Liam was also the only other member of the group to be saddled publicly with a long-term "girlfriend" (someone with direct ties with Simon Cowell), and a baby. A picture is rapidly emerging that seems to suggest Liam is being used by Sony/Syco to preemptively undermine any argument that points to Louis being singled-out by the Music Industry for punishment.
Nevertheless, taking all of these dismal and frustrating events in mind, after three years of lies and manipulations from Sony/Syco, what's most important to remember is to continue to support Louis and Harry no matter what. Just as the fandom continues to support Niall and Liam. These two young men have never given up the fight. Or, have stopped taking the time to let us know, in both big and small ways, what is really true. What to really believe.
All the while doing it with a sense of humor. Waves to that ridiculous and ubiquitous Stunt Hat™ Harry has been hilariously sporting everywhere he goes these days. LOLLLLLL! We see you Harry.
In retrospect, it's so obvious that Sony/Syco have attempted to silence Louis and Harry's voices and to tie their hands, while gaslighting everyone into thinking that there's nothing out of the ordinary happening here. Another reason that album has been delayed for so long is the continuing saga of Freddie Reign. As long as that albatross is around his neck, Louis can never be free to have his music be put front and center of any kind of promo campaign. Never mind every interviewer asking him how many love songs are about Eleanor. Giving Louis a real platform with an album of songs, is something Sony/Syco have been avoiding for years.
Regardless of the impediments thrown at and between them, Louis and Harry still find ways to communicate to the fans and let them know that everything is going to be alright. And so here we are. Nearly February 2019. We wait because these two guys are worth our time. Worth our patience. Worth our trust. Remember, no one is more frustrated than Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles. Or, as Harry sings prophetically when he's down, "Why are we always stuck and running from the bullets?" If only Harry could have kept that "f" in front of "uck" and the meaning of the lyric would have summed up much more viscerally what is really going on behind the scenes.
*ucked over: To be treated unfairly; preyed upon, discriminated,
Or, in his darkest moments Louis shares with us how he feels about Harry:
And when I'm down I need H. Sigh. Sometimes you just want to give them a big, virtual hug. I guess this post is our small attempt to let them know they are heard. To let them know we get down sometimes too. But, that's okay. Redemption will come one day. And so will Karma.
Welcome to the final show.
Pic sources: Tumblr; Just Like You Music Video; giphy
Believe - DMA
Within this framework, the amount of work and coordination that has been focused specifically on Louis and Harry cannot be ignored. Here is just a smattering of the various parallel strategies that have been implemented over the last three years. If there was time, hundreds of more coordinated schemes could be highlighted:
1) Put a glowing spotlight on Harry while undermining Louis' image at every turn with a "directionless" reckless, laddy-lad persona.
2) Give Harry a high-profile group of famous, powerful friends, while Louis is marginalized from movers and shakers and confined to his Doncaster childhood posse. The Guardian's, 'Niall is lovely, Zayn has the voice, Harry is cool, Liam gets the crowd going...then there's me' storyline. Louis Tomlinson: The kid in the back.
3. Harry embraces who he is. Proudly, waves rainbow flags at his concerts while wearing flamboyant, daring attire.
4. Louis wears workout suits. Once the most fashionable of 1D in terms of color and stylish accessories, now the sporty guy, with hoodies, t-shirts and snapbacks.
5. Harry allowed to wear symbols of support in reference to the LGBTQ community (e.g. rainbow flag pin; rainbow horsebit leather loafers ; Live Aid t-shirt).
6. Louis is made to cover up his symbol of pride, the triangle (LGBTQ) tattoo on his right ankle, which he has had since 2012.
7. Harry is scheduled to attend the star-studded Met Gala in May 2019 as one of the hosts of a Camp themed costume exhibit, alongside the likes of Oscar-nominated, Lady Gaga.
8. Louis is a judge on the low-rated British reality show, X-Factor with "Uncle" Simon Cowell.
9. Harry stars in Dunkirk, directed by one of the most respected directors in the industry, a film that subsequently wins three Oscars.
10. Louis becomes a judge on America's Got Talent with...wait for it..."Uncle" Simon Cowell.
11. Harry is "rebirthed" as a footloose and fancy free rock star, available to all. Male and female alike.
12. Louis is saddled with the "birth" of Freddie Reign and continues to be promoted as a "daddy" who is off the market. Reattached with his 1D beard of three years in early 2017. No gay here.
13. Harry puts out a best-selling, highly acclaimed album in 2017, and subsequently tours the world. 89 Shows.
14. Louis announces an album and tour in 2018, then 2019. When asked about tour dates the recurring word used is "soon." To date, only one solo record has been released ("Miss You") with no promotion. When radio stations were asked to play the record, they told fans that they were never given a copy by the record label.
At this point, let's conclude with one last piece of speculation about that Louis album that never appears to materialize. We here at Narnia are now side-eyeing why Liam's album still has not seen the light of day either. Remember he was the first member of One Direction to sign a record deal back in June 2016. While Louis did not officially sign with Syco until June 2017. Could it be that Sony/Syco does not want Louis to stand out as the only member of One Direction without an album being released? Interestingly enough, Liam was also the only other member of the group to be saddled publicly with a long-term "girlfriend" (someone with direct ties with Simon Cowell), and a baby. A picture is rapidly emerging that seems to suggest Liam is being used by Sony/Syco to preemptively undermine any argument that points to Louis being singled-out by the Music Industry for punishment.
"Just Like You" music video -
Clip Louis Tomlinson (released October 11, 2017,
on Coming Out Day)
Nevertheless, taking all of these dismal and frustrating events in mind, after three years of lies and manipulations from Sony/Syco, what's most important to remember is to continue to support Louis and Harry no matter what. Just as the fandom continues to support Niall and Liam. These two young men have never given up the fight. Or, have stopped taking the time to let us know, in both big and small ways, what is really true. What to really believe.
Activate rainbow waves - Clip from "Sign of Times" music video, Harry Styles - May 2017
All the while doing it with a sense of humor. Waves to that ridiculous and ubiquitous Stunt Hat™ Harry has been hilariously sporting everywhere he goes these days. LOLLLLLL! We see you Harry.
In retrospect, it's so obvious that Sony/Syco have attempted to silence Louis and Harry's voices and to tie their hands, while gaslighting everyone into thinking that there's nothing out of the ordinary happening here. Another reason that album has been delayed for so long is the continuing saga of Freddie Reign. As long as that albatross is around his neck, Louis can never be free to have his music be put front and center of any kind of promo campaign. Never mind every interviewer asking him how many love songs are about Eleanor. Giving Louis a real platform with an album of songs, is something Sony/Syco have been avoiding for years.
Regardless of the impediments thrown at and between them, Louis and Harry still find ways to communicate to the fans and let them know that everything is going to be alright. And so here we are. Nearly February 2019. We wait because these two guys are worth our time. Worth our patience. Worth our trust. Remember, no one is more frustrated than Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles. Or, as Harry sings prophetically when he's down, "Why are we always stuck and running from the bullets?" If only Harry could have kept that "f" in front of "uck" and the meaning of the lyric would have summed up much more viscerally what is really going on behind the scenes.
*ucked over: To be treated unfairly; preyed upon, discriminated,
oppressed.... We see you Sony/Syco, and Modest for that matter as well.
Or, in his darkest moments Louis shares with us how he feels about Harry:
And when I'm down I need H. Sigh. Sometimes you just want to give them a big, virtual hug. I guess this post is our small attempt to let them know they are heard. To let them know we get down sometimes too. But, that's okay. Redemption will come one day. And so will Karma.
Welcome to the final show.
Pic sources: Tumblr; Just Like You Music Video; giphy
Our playlist: Sign of the Times - Harry Styles
Clouds - One DirectionBelieve - DMA
13 comments:
Great, inspiring words, M&M. It can be easy sometimes to get personally affected by events. I certainly know firsthand. Hopefully, it gets easier over the years.
There are a few on a J2 blog who are stuck back in the 50's. I hacked off a suspicious account today, just now seeing their anger-filled tirade in my inbox. I delete a lot of them w/o even reading, but when I saw the blogger name, I was curious. She/he did not disappoint.
Here was my comment, which was actually a reply to someone who was moaning about the current state of J2, which is about as sad as Louis and Harry's:
lv2walk 2019-01-27 12:56 pm (UTC)(link)
“and him for letting her copy everything he and Jensen do together.”
This is what PR teams do with gay couples who are in a serious relationship. They take something that was organic, obvious, cute, whatever you want to call it and then to punch fans in the gut and taint the original moment, they have the guy do the same thing with his beard. One of the oldest tricks in the Publicist’s book.
Don’t just blame both the guy and the beard. It’s way past time to start looking at these guys’ pr handlers. Call them out on it let them know you see what they’re doing. Educate other fans. Don’t just go fetal and wail. That accomplishes nothing.
I guess it was.....inflammatory? lol
Here was their rant at me.
Subject: Re: New Gen post with Jared
To what purpose: outing them? Who the hell gives you the right to do that? As we've said and told your pompous ass about a million times now: we KNOW that PR is involved. But what YOU don't seem to get, is that the actors always have the end say on whether or not they are willing to go there. It is all about integrity and having a bit of a back bone, because they most certainly can say that they will beard, but at this point in Jared's career especially, he can also say what he won't do. Even more so, since they've been distancing the Js from each other so that what Jared does, doesn't impact on Jensen's image as much.
We as fans have choices and one to voice our displeasure is to simply quit supporting them. But we certainly don't have the right to stir up that much of a stink to call out PR. What exactly do you think that would accomplish anyway? MORE PR, and probably more bearding and the Js withdrawing from fans. Those that don't see through the lies, don't want or need to and those who do, can certainly vent on here and make their own decisions on what they will support or accept: by not buying their products, not watching the show or going to cons. But trying to fuck up their lives is f**ked up.
I think I got spit on me, lol.
So then I dragged my pompous ass back to the thread and replied thusly,
You think a blog like this isn't already outing those guys? It's too bad my comment upset you so; hope you have calmed down by now. ;-)
You know, you may prefer a Trump World, which is exactly what these lies help create in the civilian world. You may prefer the 50's. You may prefer the mental & psychological abuse of the closet. You may prefer the gaslighting and emotional abuse of the fans, whose finances have helped to support this circus. You may prefer the control that Mgmnt exerts on these men, preventing them from the very beginning of being themselves, because that's what this is all about. It's about control of the LGBTQ community, isn't it? Let's keep them penned in where they belong. Let's heap a bunch of burdens on Jared, while elevating Jensen and creating all kinds of duress & havoc within the fandom. Oh yeah, real healthy stuff.
If they think Mgmnt isn't running that blog, they're naive. If they think Mgmnt isn't reading what is being said on there by other accounts, it's also being very naive.
Wherever you have a closeted celebrity or athlete, because of the volatility of today's internet and particularly twitter, you are going to have a social media team who is scouring and watching. They have to be.
It's why Larries have been getting attacked. Many of these are intern accounts. WAKE UP!!! WAKE. UP.
If a little blog based on Jake and Austin gets trolled, if we get stalked, if we have emails hacked, if we get phone calls tapped into,
then blogs about Louis & Harry and Jared/Jensen sure as heck are going to be watched as well.
Haha! I love when you drag your pompous ass back and let these trolls have it. It was cathartic for me to write this post. When you start compiling all the crap that's been going on with Louis and Harry for years, patterns emerge and so does Louis and Harry's rebellious ways. Which I personally have admired for years. Besides their incredible talent, these two are special guys. Young men who see themselves as more than a commodity. They see themselves as forces for change. As role models. As social change agents. I'm here for all of it. And, I can't wait for Louis to finally be able to show the world what he can do. What a beautiful day that will be.
Louis and Harry are different from Jared/Jensen, from Jake/Austin. Just looking at the actions of Louis and Harry over the years, you can't tell me they aren't being forcibly closeted.
Jared & Jensen, Jake & Austin are different in a way. Maybe they both want to be in the closet and that's fine. Word was that Jake didn't way back in the day, but he got talked into going into the closet. Maybe Jared & Jensen have always wanted to be in the closet, but Jared sure was more open way back in the day. And no doubt, they were told that they needed to beard & marry in order to have jobs.
But what separates them is the proactive lying these four men are doing. The stunting. The photoshopping, the gaslighting, the abuse of fans.
Jared's publicist bullied a fan off of Tumblr. This is abhorrent behavior and treatment. I have been stalked on social media, name-called everything in the book including racial & ethnic slurs, my place of employment stated on the blog, phone calls listened in on...
The list goes on and on. This isn't okay. Jake and Austin are a mess due to the closet. It shows in their social media, in their interviews, has shown in Austin's tweets, in Jake's movie role choices. He is showing alot of signs that he has quite a bit of anger inside.
It's very sad. The lies create a fake world just like Trump is doing. Lie just for the sake of lying. And that Spn Goss "commenter" wants everyone to just roll over and say "hit me again!"
Calling out lies can be done without tagging. Calling out lies can be done without stating the obvious. What is wrong with saying "That's photoshopped. Try again"?
smdh. There isn't.
Louis has been through so much, hasn't he?
If he could have his album out, no doubt he would. I don't think it's any coincidence that Louis and Liam are the ones w/o their albums out. I would love to see them be able to release them though, when the time is right. When the lyrics and music can be truly theirs, not lyrics to be peddled as being about something else other than their true meaning.
I think all of these 1D men have done incredibly well under their circumstances. We probably don't know the half of what they've been through.
I think all of these 1D men have done incredibly well under their circumstances. We probably don't know the half of what they've been through.
Ain't that the truth. What's even more amazing is how much respect and concern they have for their fans. I can only imagine the stresses and strains of what they have had to endure, yet they remain approachable, kind, and simply lovely people. A real rarity in the entertainment industry.
And M&M, you know as I was reading my reply to my attacker, I should have also added that not only is this about control, but it's about stripping away human rights. Like Jared & Jensen, Jake & Austin, Louis & Harry, Zayn & Liam, don't have the right to love who they love, to have the right to have & raise a family together? To hold a job and have health insurance as gay couples like anyone else?
I didn't mean to insinuate Liam & Zayn were as far along in their relationship as the other 3 couples. I'm not as sure about their status, but it sure seems to me they might still be together.
Sorry for the verbose-ness. Time to start winding down since it's Sunday night and tomorrow is a work day. :-(
Patrick's social media team is AWFUL. This is one of their worst photoshop jobs to date:
Someone needs to spend some money on a better digital photo manipulator
The Instagram posts are filled with fake looking comments and the photoshopping is off the charts with this whole crew.
Man oh man. #facepalm
They better get better at this, that's all I have to say. There will be some folks catching on to this charade.
So far, I think M&M and I are the only ones paying attention. LOL!
Wow, the reviews and the tweets on Jake's film released on Netflix today, are bad. And the huge heads up for this was when the film was promoted the past couple of weeks. All the articles and interviews were about sex, sexuality and nudity. And a little bit about art, but not even art in the movie, but just some kind of abstract, mumbo jumbo ideas about art and the art world.
Jake continues to take on films that go for shock value and that have a weird character where he can "stretch his limbs". And it's enough to get him some attention, but the films all tank because there isn't enough story. The complaints are always the same - weird, all over the place, etc.
Gee, I wonder if Mysterio will take his clothes off too, ya reckon? I think someone is in a bit of denial....lol.
Hopefully, the background won't kill it too much for mobile readers. I just love the glitter so much! lol. No worries, I'll switch pics pretty soon and go to something more solid.
I wanted to work on a post for tomorrow, but today got swallowed up and I've spent my whole evening on twitter because Patrick Mahomes was at the NFL Honors tonight.
This should be it for Mr. Patrick - he needs to go hibernate for the off-season and DISAPPEAR (even though I will miss him horribly!) But I seriously need to get some things done and he is hogging up too much of my time!! LOL!!
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