XZ really threw me for a loop with that response this week. He’s still careful, but he’s learned a lot too.
It’s not surprising that he used to be very lenient towards his fans; his journey into the industry makes it that way. I’m sure he was shocked at the number of fans he’d gained at the start of his career, and I’m sure it was even more jarring when the number skyrocketed after staying stable for the first couple of years.
It makes sense that he’d want to protect his success. His success in his previous career is so different from his success as a celebrity. Fame is easy to lose, and when that pays the bills, keeping up the success is a necessity. And, in the beginning, success is very much tied to the number of fans someone has, especially because that someone will have less experience and less say in the industry.
His kindness and gratefulness for his fans has never been and will never be an act, but he has most definitely suppressed a lot of anger (and other emotions) at some of the things some fans have done, specifically after CQL (i.e. making him miss a flight and having to stay in the airport overnight). I highly doubt he’ll show anger outright or even slyly, but I definitely expect him/ his studio to act harsher when dealing with fans who cross the line. (They’re already starting to.)
The last couple of months were the breaking point. Now that he’s back for good AND has a very stable platform, he can let himself be a bit more free in terms of fans and fan interactions. He has good merit backing him up now.
And WYB… what to say about this one… he never fails to make me take several double takes.
They’re just out here fighting for themselves (and, along the way, perhaps also for what they share).