How can celebrities stay safe when their brands depend on being so accessible?

The alleged kidnap murder plot against Holly Willoughby has raised questions about how those in the spotlight can keep themselves safe

Holly Willoughby attending the launch of Dancing On Ice 2020, held at Bovingdon Airfield, Hertfordshire.

It was nothing really.

Just a person turning up to one of my author readings and knowing far too much about me. It wasn’t the first time this person had shown an unhealthy dedication to my online life or who hung around when I left the event, making me nervous as I ran to my car. But it was probably my own fault for posting on social media, I told myself.

It scared me though. As a relatively new author, I am encouraged to reach out to my readers, to cultivate an online presence. I’ve a mere 6,000 followers. Imagine, like influencers and many celebrities, if you have six million… 

Platforms such as Instagram and Twitter have taken the relationship between those in the spotlight and fans to new heights. Those who follow famous people on social media feel closer to them than ever before.

Exposure

Social networks act as a window into the often interesting and engaging personal lives of individuals we admire. We even joke about 'stalking' the Instagram accounts of influencers we like, but the fact is that we can glean a lot of information from the snippets of lives that are there to be consumed online. In the wrong hands, that can be dangerous. 

Nurturing that relationship with fans is an integral part of building a successful brand.

But what happens when the risk of exposure tips the balance?

Where do we draw the line when it comes to celebrities interacting with fans safely?

At the farthest end of the spectrum there are extremes like when Kim Kardashian was targeted by thieves in France. She’d displayed her expensive jewellery on her social media over time which may have triggered robbers to pinpoint her movements to the Paris hotel where she was staying. The result was a frightening armed robbery that made international headlines. 

Frightening

Elsewhere, and perhaps not as a result of social media exposure, but of her TV presence, presenter Holly Willoughby was warned by police of an alleged plot to kidnap and murder her. The disturbing revelation caused the This Morning presenter to immediately take leave and subsequently quit the show that she’d co-anchored for fourteen years.

Closer to home, Irish TikTok star Miriam Mullins has spoken out before about the pitfalls of fame. The Cork native has more than two million followers on her social media channels. But, she says some days she wishes she hadn’t started at all. “I’ve had my tyres slashed. I’ve had people stand outside my house recording me in my home. I’ve had to go to the guards but they can’t do anything about it really.”

Exposure is a double-edged sword for those hoping to remain in the spotlight. In other words, you are damned if you do. and damned if you don’t.

Shawn Tuma, a cyber-security attorney with Scheef & Stone says it can be a tricky line for celebrities to toe.

“They use their social media, they use their public presence as a huge part of their business model,” he told Vanity Fair. “So what this shows is the importance of evaluating your risk profile, whether you're a company, whether you're an individual, and saying, ‘How much risk am I exposing myself to?’ And then looking at it and saying, ‘What level of security do I need to implement to match the risk that I'm exposing myself to?’” 

Of course, in my case, I don’t have anything to fear about the theft of my multimillion euro jewellery collection (unless the thieves are really into Accessorize and TK Maxx hoops) Nor do I have millions of obsessive fans who feel as if they know me to such an extent that they want to hurt me.

But what happened to me at that reading wasn’t nothing.

It made me uncomfortable enough to think twice about the things I now post. 

Social media is a great many things, and I enjoy using the platforms creatively, but maybe what’s happened in the media this week shows the extremes of just how exposed celebrities are in exposing themselves.