Kristen Stewart promoting Snow White and the Huntsman. Photo credit: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com
The background
In July, the Twilight fandom was rocked by the news that Kristen Stewart, the 22-year-old lip-biting actress who plays Bella Swan in the film franchise, had cheated on her co-star and then boyfriend, Robert Pattinson, with much older and very married director Rupert Sanders.
There was much weeping, tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth – and, as several commentators pointed out, “slut shaming” of Stewart. Since the scandal broke, some entrepreneurial types are even trying to make a quick buck off Stewart’s fall from grace selling T-shirts reading “F*ck Kristen Stewart” and “Kristen Stewart F*cking Sucks”. Meanwhile, Stewart’s career may be in jeopardy: Universal, the studio behind Snow White and the Huntsman, the film that brought her and Sanders together, is reportedly ditching her as Snow White and focusing entirely on the Huntsman in the coming sequel. By comparison, Sanders, 41, who is also the father of two young children, got off with barely a slap on the wrist.
Will Ferrell brands Stewart a “trampire” in his send-up of the feeding frenzy around the scandal; but now, one can buy T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Kristen Stewart is a Trampire”.
Stewart made a rather triumphant return to the red carpet this weekend, at the Toronto Film Festival’s premiere of her latest, On the Road, an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s Beat generation Bible. But some worry that she still has a ways to go before the public will stop calling her a homewrecker and go back to treating her like an actress.
KStew is back after classy red carpet appearance
Stewart is “handling her cheating scandal like a pro”, cheered Louis Peitzman at Gawker, claiming that Stewart gave off some “seriously zen vibes” on the red carpet this weekend. “It’s like she’s evolved to a higher plane of existence. Have at it, tabloids: K.Stew is floating in a realm of quiet reflection. Namaste, vultures.”
“We’re going to be fine. We’re totally fine,” said KStew on promoting the final installment of the Twilight franchise in November with Pattinson.
Why ‘slut shaming’ Kristen Stewart hurts young women
Nico Lang, who is neither a teenage girl nor a Twilight fan, nonetheless worried about what the public pillorying of Stewart might mean to a young woman in an article at The Huffington Post. It’s of a piece with the “War on Women” in America – from Rep. Todd Akin’s redefining rape as “legitimate” or illegitimate to Rush Limbaugh’s branding women who want their contraception “sluts” and “prostitutes” – and it’s worrying. “I might not be concerned for K-Stew, but I am concerned for all the young women today who are tuned into this scandal, ones who are learning that it’s not okay to screw up, ever,” he wrote. “Chris Brown can publicly beat the hell out of his girlfriend but still be played on the radio and win Grammys. However, if you ever cheat on your boyfriend, your life is over and no one will ever want to be associated with you.”
Don’t buy the T-shirts
T-shirts like “Kristen Stewart F*cking Sucks” are bullying, plain and simple, wrote Erin Strecker at Entertainment Weekly’s PopWatch blog. “You don’t have to like Kristen Stewart as an actress. You don’t, without knowing the full story, have to approve of her personal life choices. But doesn’t it seem like this is a situation where everyone involved could do just a little bit better? Maybe don’t buy a shirt that bullies someone, even if they are a public celebrity.”
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, in happier days. Photo credit: Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com
Here’s how upset fans were – this has to be some sort of performance art piece…
More on Robsten’s break-up
- KStew apologises in parody video, Will Ferrell taking this really hard
- Bella cheated on Edward – fans enraged!
