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Creepy Man & Internet Trolls Ruin Taylor Swift Fan Contest
Just how many contests can 4chan and Reddit meanies ruin for Taylor Swift fans? The internet trolls’ latest accomplishment was forcing a radio station to cancel its “biggest fan contest” to save the singer from a “creepy 39-year-old” who wanted to smell her hair.
Boston’s Kiss FM wanted to make a fan’s day (or year) by holding a contest to meet Swift, while driving traffic to its website. But that was just too simple and sweet of an idea to work out. As Gawker points out, “If the Internet has one hard-and-fast rule, it’s this: If you’re hosting a contest involving Taylor Swift, prepare to have that contest’s results rigged by trolls.”
After 4chan and Reddit users took over a Swift contest last fall by voting for a school for the deaf and hard of hearing to win an intimate acoustic concert, the trolls decided to ruin the Kiss FM contest by voting for one 4chan user’s “creepy 39-year-old friend named Charles.”
Photo: Brian Dewey
Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX
A screenshot of the 4chan post (via Gawker) describes the creepster’s mission: “A local radio station has a contest going to give some lucky teeny bopper a chance to meet her. My creepy 39 year old friend names Charles would like to crush all those girls dreams (and then sniff Taylor Swifts hair cuz he’s into that), by winning this instead. He’s made it to 25th place out of over 3000 applicants with just his friends support but he’s hitting a plateau. Help him crush the dreams of these girls and give him a chance to make a complete ass of himself by blatantly just sniffing her hair with cameras rolling.”
After Reddit users got involved, the bearded man known as Charles moved up in the rankings from 25th to first place.
But Kiss FM wasn’t going to risk Taylor getting her hair sniffed by some weirdo – and the contest has been called off.
The station broke the bad news to fans by posting the following statement on its website: “Disappointingly, we have determined that the integrity of the “Taylor Swift’s Biggest Fan” contest has been compromised. In accordance with our contest rules, effective immediately, the contest has been terminated. We apologize to all of our loyal listeners who have participated.”
It’s a bummer that the 4chan/Reddit users managed to crush those fans’ dreams, but at least Taylor’s hair is safe. Phew!