One Direction Fandom Wars

One Direction Fandom Wars is the Fanlore page for documenting various fan conflicts involving One Direction fans. Fan conflicts are often centered on one platform (especially twitter), and fans active on other platforms may be uninvolved or even unaware of the conflict. Terms like "fandom wars" or "fanwars" may or may not have been used by anyone involved to describe what happened.
== 1D vs Other Fandoms ==
The terms "fandom wars" and "fanwars" have been used by some people on Twitter to describe conflicts between One Direction fans and fans of other musicians. The people who use the terms are not usually the ones engaging in combat. These conflicts seem to have taken the form of or were started by disagreements over whose band was better. 1D vs. Justin Bieber fan arguments were a common occurrence in the early years of 1D's history. 1D vs. BTS fan arguments were more common in the late 2010s, after 1D went on hiatus and BTS's popularity was rising rapidly. In Everything I Need I Get From You, journalist Kaitlyn Tiffany described witnessing the Belieber vs. Directioner Twitter wars of 2012:
Some comments from fans on Twitter over the years:
*"Bieber vs One Direction vs The Wanted.. Lmao really? Fanwars? Again? Hahahaha omg. Just for the record.. 1D would win.. Then TW, then bieber" (Jan 28, 2012) (Jan 28, 2012)
*"yep, fanwars between Beliebers and Directioners stopped when 1D and Bieber started to hang out so Exo and BTS should just ~" (Nov 24, 2016) (Nov 24, 2016)
*"yeah its part and parcel of twt fandom life :') i i still remember 1d vs bieber fanwars were insane oh man" (Apr 18, 2017) (Apr 18, 2017)
*"i don't know why are y'all comparing 1D and BTS, they're totally different groups and each group of them has it's own identity. grow tf up and stop these unnecessary childish fanwars, support your faves without being salty #1DisStillTheBiggestBoyband" (Nov 16, 2017) (Nov 16, 2017)
*"When will 1d x bts fandom wars stop being a thing? It's time to grow up y'all... 🤡" (Aug 12, 2019) (Aug 12, 2019)
*"This decade started with fanwars between one direction and exo or 1d, and Justin Bieber to end with bts fans against literally everyone. Wow aged so fine" (December 29, 2019) (December 29, 2019)
*"omfg can yall please stop comparing 1D to BTS? like theyre both amazing and talented aa fuck. JUST STOP. some ARMYs literally doesnt shut the fuck up about it and im pissed. yall are starting a fanwar." (Jul 22, 2020) (Jul 22, 2020)
*"BTS and One Direction are two different bands with different styles and genres. Y'all still comparing these two and make fandom wars. BTS are working now and still making music, while 1D is in hiatus, there's no point of fighting and arguing over these two bands." (Oct 14, 2020) (Oct 14, 2020)
*"i like both bts and 1D i really don't like the fandom wars going on rn" (Jun 15, 2022) (Jun 15, 2022)
*"ahhh just remembered back when 1d n jb dropped albums on the same day.. u don’t get fandom wars like that no more 😩" (Sep 25, 2022) (Sep 25, 2022)
== OT4 vs OT5 ==
Derived from OTP, but these terms do not refer to shipping. They are used to indicate whether a fan considers the true band to still include Zayn Malik, who left in early 2015.
Some Twitter discussion examples:
*"This isn't about attacking ot5..ik there are ot5's that are genuinely Streaming and supporting all the boys and I'm so thankful for that..but if you're not caring about Zayn then pls stop calling yourself ot5 and better call yourself ot4...it's not that hard tbh+" (Oct 1, 2020) (Oct 1, 2020)
*"Why is it so hard to find real Zquads? Why do I find a bunch of OT4 who say they're OT5. If you don't listen to Zayn's solo stuff you're OT4." (Nov 16, 2020) (Nov 16, 2020)
*"i feel like a lot of people aren’t aware of this but ot5/ot4 originated out of the discourse of zayn leaving the band and people being mad at him for that. it’s not about who you stan post-hiatus, it’s about whether or not you like the band better after zayn left. words change + but like there are so many words like that that people just don’t understand the meaning of because the sheer amount of people who joined during quarantine is so large and people interpret things incorrectly which changes the entire meaning-" (Feb 20, 2021)Tweets by otbevermore: , (Feb 20, 2021)
*"It’s usually ot4’s I’m not trying to be mean or anything but usually when I see zayn slander it comes from ot4’s or “ot5’s” who say they’re ot5’s because they don’t want to get attacked for being ot4’s THATS SO CONFUSING IM SORRY HAHAHA" (Mar 9, 2021) (Mar 9, 2021)
*"Ot4 who pretend like Ot5 .Zayn has a new song out. Talk about it or I will drag your A*s!😒 #ToBeginAgain" (Mar 20, 2021) (Mar 20, 2021)
*"I’m going to say this once. OT5 means original 5 of one direction. Which means Harry, Louis, Niall, Zayn, Liam. OT4 means one direction without zayn. The members aren’t interchangeable with these terms. You either like one direction with zayn or without zayn." (Dec 14, 2022) (Dec 14, 2022)
== My Fave vs Your Fave ==
The conflict between fans of specific band members has existed since the beginning but may have become more pronounced after One Direction went on hiatus in 2015.
As arguably the most prominent member, these often involve Harry. He had been rumored to be going solo for years prior to them going on hiatus and some fans have viewed him as getting preferential treatment.
The debates can be particularly heated between fans sometimes referred to as Solo Harries and Rad Louies. Rad Louies are former larries who believe that Harry/Louis broke up and Louis's career is being sabotaged for the sake of Harry's., 2020-10-18. (Harry is the bigger star, and Louis has been less successful as a solo artist.) Rad Louies may believe that the Larry Is Real theory itself is to blame; fans' Larry beliefs have been widely reported in the press, and if their belief that Management was trying to cover up a gay romance was true, then the spread of and reporting on Larry beliefs would themselves also need to be covered up. To Rad Louies, Management must have engaged in PR "damage control" that negatively impacted Louis.
These terms are often used derogatorily, though some fans have claimed them for themselves.
== Fans vs Stalkers ==
There has been backlash against what some see as stalker fans"When this stalker fan showed up on my dash again" posted by plaidshirtsandheadscarves on Tumblr on 7 Jul 2015. (Accessed 8 Sep 2019), who are thought to follow (stalk) the band members and may also get preferential treatment from the band, including information about their locations and access to listening parties.
== Twitter Fans vs Everyone ==
1D Twitter fandom has a poor reputation among 1D fans. For example, when someone on the onedirection subreddit asked "Why is this fandom so toxic?" in 2022, another replied,
1D Twitter fandom wasn't just unpleasant for people on Twitter; it was an embarrassment for 1D fans elsewhere.
One Direction's explosive rise in the early 2010s coincided with the rise of Twitter, and the band's personal interactions with fans on twitter has been suggested as a major factor behind their rapid growth in popularity. Band members and their friends and families responding to and even seeking out fans on twitter created a perception of accessibility that may have encouraged norms to develop in 1D Twitter fandom that were at odds with existing RPF fan cultures on LiveJournal and other platforms.
Whereas elsewhere on the internet, it was understood that maintaining a Fourth Wall between fandom and celebrities was essential, other fans were horrified and embarrassed to see Twitter fans asking about ships, showing their fanworks to the band, and contacting nonfamous people connected to the band. Twitter fandom was considered cringe. There were also many examples of extreme rudeness and harassment: band members, along with their friends and family, were frequent targets. Public figures, radio DJs and journalists have reported being targets of rapid online retribution. Larries would target journalists who they perceived as misrepresenting Larries; because larries don't see themselves as conspiracy theorists, and everyone else does, pretty much anyone who mentioned the mainstream view could become a target. Larries were blamed for a lot, but they were not the only ones misbehaving in public. See Visibility and Harassment.
Many fans consider Tumblr a private fandom space and Twitter to be more public as the band members themselves are on there. However, in reality neither space is private. Band members have been known to respond to tweets they haven't been tagged inBullshit 1.0 is an example used among larries (and debunked by anti-larries), but Niall's Twitter frequently drags fans who are discussing him whether he's been tagged or not., Harry has mentioned searching Twitter for criticisms of his performanceHarry Styles mentioned that following their first performance of What Makes You Beautiful in 2011, he searched Twitter for criticisms of his own performance., and in a 2012 talk show appearance Liam Payne commented,
Many Larries believe that Harry and Louis read Larrie Tumblr posts in particular"@ harry & louis we all know you stalk larrie tumblrs so pls send in some receipts for us, we won't know its you :) sincerely all larries who are going through hell rn" , 17 February 2016. and therefore when Harry and Louis invoke Larrie symbols like blue and green, they are doing it on purpose, to communicate with the fandom. See Larry Stylinson and the Fourth Wall.
===Academic Views===
In Seeing Fans: Representations of Fandom in Media and Popular Culture (2016), William Proctor wrote:
== Larries vs Other 1D Fans ==
:See also: Views of Larries
Larries are fans who believe Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson are a real-life couple (see Larry Is Real). Other fans have called them tinhats or conspiracy theorists. Larries find these terms objectionable. 
Other One Direction fans do not generally like Larries. 
Larries believe that Louis's September 2012 tweet denying Larry (which they believe was written by Management and not Louis) was responsible for inflaming intrafandom conflict. In general they blame Management for what they see as a state of war between larries and non-larries (and sometimes between larries and other larries).For example: , tweet by ant_cee, 3 January 2016.Another example: I have a theory that anti’s are plants themselves by management to discount the FACTS. Like management had to do anything it could to not have a whole fandom dedicated to these two and their love affair. Bc in my mind with the proof that is out there how could anyone not believe, tweet by holly03789150, 5 Mar 2022.Another example: , tweet by LuckyInLove_Too, 6 March 2023. Other fans had their own reasons for being angry with larries; see Views of Larries, Visibility and Harassment, and Other Fans' Views. Larries were initially critiqued for violating the fourth wall (talking about shipping where the subjects could see it, asking subjects about shipping, showing fanworks to the subjects), but over time the most widely criticized behavior of larries is their harassment of the 1D bandmembers, their friends and family, and anyone else who gets caught in the crossfire. Some of larries' worst behavior has been reported in the press, so the whole fandom is aware of what larries have been accused of. Meanwhile, larries believe that journalists are biased against them, or are part of the conspiracy with Management covering up Harry and Louis's relationship.
Beliefs and perceptions aside, the level of hostility between the groups is real. In response to the 2014 Larries' call for an album boycott based on their belief that Louis's tweets were written by a homophobic management, one fan responded: 
 
=== Larry vs Elounor ===
In Aja Romano's 2012 reporting on the prevalence of tinhatting in One Direction fandom, a fan was quoted claiming that the source of most pushback was from Elounor shippers (fans who shipped Louis Tomlinson with his real-life girlfriend):
Whether or not Larries vs Elounor Shippers was a real ship war is in doubt. Self-described Elounor shippers were in conflict with larries, but they seemed to use the term to indicate support for Louis and Eleanor, or belief that Louis was indeed dating the girl he said he was. AO3 statistics show that very few Elounor fanworks were created.
Some people did use the term ship war to describe early fandom conflicts between larries and other "shippers", but others have argued that it was never a traditional ship war, where one group of fans is arguing the superiority of their ship over another ship. Instead fans argued over whether the evidence showed Harry/Louis were really dating.
Larries believe that the Larry vs Elounor war began as soon as celebrity news outlets reported that Louis was dating Eleanor, back in 2011. This seems likely, as Larry fans had started calling Eleanor a "beard" on Twitter within days of the news (see Origin of Larry Is Real). Meanwhile, someone on Fail_fandomanon indicated that there was a large overlap between anti-larrie blogging and Elounor shipping: "Well, I almost got sucked into the Elounor group on tumblr. You know, anti-larry blogs, debunking all the larry 'proof' and arguing with people." From Fail_fandomanon, 2015-01-01
 
Fans on all sides have expressed being victims of harassment. In 2013 a fan commented on Deviantart: So some elounor shippers have started hacking larry shippers and telling them they should kill themselves for shipping it like #1 GET THE F*CK OVER YOURSELF. Telling people to die because you have problems with what they believe you need help. #2 hacking people and saying I hope you die if you ship them isn't going to help you. Elounor x Larry rant by Emily99723, Jun 23, 2013).
Sorting out the truth after the fact is difficult as the tale may have grown in the telling. For example, claims of fans being driven to suicide by other fans:
Similarly: These claims could easily have had their origin in 2013 tumblr posts circulating among Larries. like this one showing a screencap of alleged Elounor shippers on Facebook saying Larries should kill themselves. (, reblogged by the founder of Rainbow Direction on 18 Jul 2013. Originally posted on 17 Jul 2013 by wholelotofhislarrie). Meanwhile, other fans, remembering incidents of faked evidence and making up stories whole cloth, were less likely to believe that the reported events had actually occurred. (See Crazy About One Direction.)
====Twitter Commentary====
Some tweets referencing the Larry vs. Elounor war:
*"Years from now, we can tell our children that we were apart of the great war of 2012. The shipping wars of elounor and larry #HistoricStuff" (Aug 15, 2012) (Aug 15, 2012)
*"Tumblr is full of Larry and Elounor war. Reaaaally? Let me tell you Elounor IS REAL and Larry A BROMANCE." (Oct 23, 2012) (Oct 23, 2012)
*"Happy to be free of the ship wars. Whether Larry is real or Elounor is real I like both #getoverit and I don't really care anymore ^.^" (Jun 10, 2013) (Jun 10, 2013)
*"Larry shippers have ruined my experiences in this fandom. I'm officially done with their immature bullshit and harassing of Elounor shippers" (Jan 7, 2014) (Jan 7, 2014)
*"The Larry and Elounor war has been going on for so long. This needs to stop #fandomhonestyhour" (Jul 20, 2014) (Jul 20, 2014)
*"Eleanor doesn't use her twitter anymore guys I think we should leave her alone. Also Elounor shippers should stop asking Larry shippers to kill themselves" (Feb 15, 2015) (Feb 15, 2015)
After Crazy About One Direction aired on 15 August 2013, rumors of Larry shippers committing suicide circulated on Twitter:
*"The whole Larry vs. Elounor war needs to stop now! We've lost 42 members of our family over this. End it now, before it's too late 💔" (Aug 16, 2013) (Aug 16, 2013)
Louis and Eleanor's breakup was confirmed in the news on 22 March 2015, and larries felt vindicated:
*"RIP ELOUNOR SHIPPERS SORRY BUT YA KNOW LARRY IS REAL AND I'M SO ALIVE YALL DEAD" (Mar 21, 2015) (Mar 21, 2015)
*"ITS SO FUNNY TO SEE ELOUNOR SHIPPERS TURNING INTO LARRY SHIPPERS LMFAO BUT BITCH DONT YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU CALLED US DELUSIONAL BYE" (Apr 2, 2015) (Apr 2, 2015)
*"So if Larry is actually real, Elounor shippers will feel pretty stupid. If Elounor is real, Larry shippers will feel pretty stupid. Lol." (Apr 3, 2015) (Apr 3, 2015)
===Larries vs. ?===
Larries have been at odds with other groups of fans, such as Larry shippers who liked fanfic about Harry/Louis but didn't believe that Harry and Louis were a couple in real life. Larries have criticized Larry shippers for enjoying fanfic without supporting Harry and Louis in real life:
Meanwhile, non-believing Larry shippers have complained that larries ruined their ship.
Some twitter fans have also commented on a Larry vs. Haylor war. Harry Styles was reported to have dated Taylor Swift briefly in 2012, but fighting would periodically resume for years afterwards:
*"My tl is just a war between the larries and the haylors" (Oct 16, 2015) (Oct 16, 2015)
*"I honestly don’t get why Larries and Haylors act like they are in a constant war with each other. We all have our own opinions and should all respect that. That’s why I keep my opinions to myself because I don’t want to get hate. And i support everyone’s choice. No hate btw💚" (Aug 27, 2020) (Aug 27, 2020)
*"I find it funny how Haylors, Gaylors and Larries are always at war, making the longest essays to rebutt each other's arguments, and not realizing that all of them are wholeheartedly believing in something that's not real. How delusional can they be?! 😭" (Nov 15, 2021) (Nov 15, 2021)
Another war was described by larries as Larries vs Het Harries, but this framing is considered offensive by other fans. Larries object to solo fans of Harry whom they call "Solo Het Harries": fans who supposedly want Harry to be straight or only ship him with women. Larries have criticized these fans for "sexualizing" Harry., tweet by missyoumedicine (Oct 11, 2020), tweet by wallsafterglow (Oct 26, 2019), tweet by sqawbaby63 (Dec 23, 2019) The term "het harries" is a derogatory term, and other fans have objected to the entire framing as homophobic or biphobic (assuming non-larrie fans must be straight)., tweet by SLYTHERZAIN (Nov 3, 2018), tweet by kianaszouai (Sep 9, 2018) Fans have also argued that larries' criticism that other fans are inappropriately sexualizing Harry is hypocritical, pointing out that Larries post a lot of sexual fantasies about Harry and Louis in very public places.Sarcastic tumblr post by anti-larries: "Really, really not safe for work with over 600 notes of just your normal het harries sexualizing Louis by fantasizing about him talking graphically about sucking cock in an interview." , 30 June 2017., 27 September 2016., tweet by WINTERBEARLWT, 11 May 2020.
=== Larries vs Antis ===
Anti or Anti-Larrie is a somewhat ambiguous term that has been applied to different 1D fans on different platforms, including both anti-RPF 1D stans on twitter and RPF shippers with conspiracy theory debunking blogs on tumblr. In the 2020s larries in the r/larrystylinson subreddit seem to define any 1D fan who disbelieves in Larry as an anti.See the comments about "antis" just being fans who hadn't seen Larry proofs yet. (Tumblr debunking blogs have seen the proofs.) , 28 December 2020. The tumblr debunking blogs have stressed many times that they are not anti-Larry (the ship) but anti-Larrie (tinhatting), but the tumblr community even in its heyday was small, and there were many times more angry 1D stans on Twitter who didn't care about these distinctions ready to tell Larries exactly what they thought of them. Larries may characterize all negative interactions with all these groups (and anyone else who, in their view, expresses hostility to larries) as part of the larger war between antis and larries. Other fans may perceive the situation differently.
On Tumblr some of the debunking antis would try to argue with larries in the notes and reblogs of their Larry posts, not necessarily to convince the OP, but to let anyone else reading know that the information in the post wasn't true. Allegedly some of them or their followers also sent asks to larrie blogs, and meanwhile anons were trolling everyone. Larries probably cared a lot less about who exactly was sending which unwanted ask than the anti community who felt unfairly maligned as bullies. Larries responded by blocking the antis, so the tumblr antis had to make their own, much less visible posts linking to or screenshotting larrie arguments and debunking them.
These dynamics between larries and antis on tumblr have been characterized differently by larries vs. the antis, and this may be somewhat complicated by the fact that there is a range of views and sense of decorum among all 1D fans, plus everyone assuming that the anon trolls they receive are from "the other side". 
Larries on Tumblr have reported having to choose an approach for dealing with Antis. A number report going out of their way to avoid the attention, including turning off anonymous asks, blocking Anti blogs to prevent them from reblogging their posts, or not publicly identifying themselves as Larries. Some simply "block and report" any abusive asks while others respond mockingly.
One user encouraged tolerance and open discussion:
Antis have reported being recipients of bullying from Larries as well:
Some Larries have argued this is not common. On Tumblr both larries and anti-larries have expressed frustration that the other side is making generalizations about their side and identifying the worst behavior as representative of the group as a whole. For example, see this 2016 exchange between an anti and srslycris, who was angry that lesbianslovelouis (the larrie with the reborn doll) was being harassed:
Antis have also accused larries of lying. 
===="War"?====
Tumblr antis may not characterize their arguments with larries as a war, but observers on tumblr and twitter have occasionally referenced the existence of an ongoing "war between antis and larries".
Anon ask sent to a Niall fan blog, 2023:
Twitter examples (at least some of these were tweeted by larries):
*"@larriebitch 😂 3 years ago the war of Antis and Larries went to battle, it hasn't ended yet" (Sep 16, 2015) (Sep 16, 2015)
*"This larries/antis war is like fighting for religion or something you people need to chill." (Dec 14, 2015) (Dec 14, 2015)
*"honestly the wars between larries and antis in the one direction fandom were less annoying than this exo vs bts bullshit" (Oct 29, 2016) (Oct 29, 2016)
*"I hate it when wars happened between larries and antis, like we're all Directioners we are FAMILY and family should be full of love & peace." (Apr 12, 2017) (Apr 12, 2017)
*"it’s the first day of tour and ofc y’all mfs have to make this a larries vs antis war??? just stfu and listen to harry’s music. grow up." (Sep 4, 2021) (Sep 4, 2021)
===Academic Views===
The scholarly edited volume Seeing Fans: Representations of Fandom in Media and Popular Culture (2016) includes three chapters on 1D fandom, specifically related to the 2013 documentary Crazy About One Direction and its reception among fans. Bethan Jones's chapter discusses how fans react to negative media representations of their idol or their fandom. Jones argues that the media "mistakes fan performativity for irrationality"; meanwhile, fans who were upset with the documentary's portrayal of "extreme" fan behavior argued that they were not accurate representations of the fandom as a whole. The chapter also includes an analysis of other 1D fans' response to the portrayal of "Larry shippers" in the documentary. Jones comments on similarities and differences between 1D anti-Larry fans and the established academic understanding of anti-fandom.
Jones goes on to say that the anti-Larry response from other fans was also misread by the media.
Although Jones does not differentiate between shipping and tinhatting, and even gives an incorrect definition of tinhatting, larries who read the chapter felt seen by her sympathetic portrayal of Larry shippers. Jones' chapter documented the following tweets sent in the wake of Crazy About One Direction. Some Larries agree these are typical representations of message they receive on Tumblr as well:
== Notes and References ==
=== Notes ===
=== References ===
Category:One DirectionCategory:Fandom Wars