Toxic fandoms have been a big problem since internet forums became a thing, but they’ve been extra ferocious lately ever since some Youtubers and influencers discovered that spewing toxic hate online could actually be pretty lucrative.
The Lord of the Rings fandom isn’t free from these ‘negative’ fans who hate everything that comes out, but Rings of Power showrunner J.D. Payne actually welcomes them and is ‘happy’ that they’re writing about the show.
"What’s a Middle-earth Journey without Trolls?" Says J.D. Payne
In a recent report from THR, it was discussed how The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power has managed to amass a chunk of the fandom that just likes to endlessly hate on the show, fuelling these ‘Rings-bashing content creators.’
To that, J.D. Payne says, “The Fellowship had to look to each other, and those who support it, and remember what it’s fighting for… And when we see that millions of people are watching this and responding so positively to it — that’s who we’re fighting for. And those who watch every episode and [negatively] write about it on social media and make YouTube videos, we’re happy to have you guys, too. It wouldn’t be a journey through Middle-earth without some trolls along the way.”
Admittedly these toxic content creators are in every other fandom, and some of them are strongest with properties like Star Wars and Marvel. There has been a recent call online for YouTube to demonetize these kinds of content creators; but some fans are saying that the company that owns the IP—Disney—should also take responsibility when it comes to protecting their creatives and actors from attacks on social media.
With Payne’s statement about trolls, fans thought that it was a great way for him to stand-up to the Rings haters while handling the situation with grace.
Rings of Power on Social Media
Payne isn’t the only one officially associated with the show who isn’t afraid to stand up to criticism either. The official Twitter account for Rings of Power is also known to make fun of haters of the show online.
When the second season first premiered, several of the negative critics had been bashing the show for its depiction of an orc family, saying that Tolkien had meant for the orcs to be a mindless evil that weren’t meant to be morally gray to the audience.
But Tolkien fact-checkers know that Tolkien did mention that the orcs also had life, and the exact quote was shared by the Twitter account:
With the season having several episodes left, fans should expect more of this nitpicking to come out online. Hopefully whoever is handling TROP’s Twitter account is going to be keeping this attitude of slamming down any haters who make complaints without even having read the books.
In the meantime, it’s best to just focus on the more positive side of the fandom, who are definitely there for anyone who’s looking; plus, hate channels can always be blocked from the timeline.
Catch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.