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One Direction Fans Suicide Rumors Blow Up On Twitter

08/19/2013
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(Radio.com) A new documentary about One Direction fans aired last Thursday night on Channel 4 in the UK titled Crazy About One Direction. The two-hour documentary profiled several young fans of the UK boy band, referred colloquially as "Directioners."

According to DigitalSpy, the film questions whether One Direction ushers in a "new phase of idolatry, a cult now powered by the online community," or if their energetic fanbase is just another form of Beatlemania. We think we have an answer.

Sometime last night, the hashtag #RIPLarryShippers started trending on Twitter. As International Business Times reports, the hashtag refers to a specific group of 1D fans who have purportedly committed suicide over how they were portrayed in the documentary. The rumors first claimed that 14 people died, then 28, then later climbed to 42 people. Under the hashtag are notes of condolences, prayers, pictures, candles, and notes of encouragement to those who are believed to have taken their own life.

The name "Larry Shippers" refer to a subset of 1D fans would like to see a kind of "bromance" happen between two of the band's members, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson (Larry as in a portmanteau of the two names and "shipper" as in relationship).

This fan behavior is explained as part fan fiction and part a way to ensure that Styles and Tomlinson do not start dating someone else � better they date each other than another girl. Some of these "shippers" were portrayed in the documentary and while One Direction fans have a history of getting possessive over members of the band, going so far as to send death threats to band member Liam Payne's new puppy, many fans were angry with the extreme nature of fandom that was portrayed in the documentary.

And so to prove to the world once and for all that One Direction fans are not crazy fans who have a history of overreacting to the media, someone started the hashtag #RIPLarryShippers claiming that the documentary was so mean-spirited towards certain One Direction fans, it drove them to suicide.

As of publishing, there have been no reported suicides. Admittedly, that's a tough thing to concretely know. However, there have been no media reports, no statements from the band, and Channel 4 could find no concrete evidence. More including some of the tweets.

Radio.com is an official news provider for antiMusic.com.
Copyright Radio.com/CBS Local - Excerpted here with permission.

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