Pharrell Williams’ evening, Zendaya’s hotel… A group of fans shares information on the social network about celebrities visiting Paris.
By Lise Lacombe for Le Point
© MARTIN BUREAU / AFP
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” VScelebrities in Paris”. It’s not the name of a new Netflix series in the vein ofEmily in Paris but that of a Twitter account which brings together nearly 80,000 subscribers. His promise: “Follow in real time the news of all your favorite stars in our capital! “Every day, the account is fed with information about celebrities visiting Paris, as explained by The Parisian.
Pharrell Williams is in Paris, Bradley Cooper is filming, Zendaya is staying at the Bulgari hotel… So much information shared to allow everyone to potentially meet their idol.
This is assured Alizée, 28, who created the account in 2010. The young woman, now converted into digital marketing, says that this idea came to her because she herself was “very fan” of the singer Selena Gomez. She explains to Parisian : “I lived in the south of France, impossible to meet her in Paris. »
Thirteen years earlier, the young woman made friends on the Internet who sent her photos of the American star, then Alizée shared them in turn on social networks. The machine starts: “I was then asked to do the same with One Direction”, she says.
Make your address book
But how does the account access this information? In thirteen years of existence, the small group that holds the page has made its address book between paparazzi and autograph hunters. The one who took over the management of the account five years ago, Sofiane (the first name has been changed) also spends all her free time on social networks on the lookout for the slightest story, publication and others of each star.
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Over time, the page’s managers have also noted the “little habits” of celebrities. Alizée cites in particular the Mandarin Oriental hotel that Rihanna “loves” or the Bristol, where “regularly stay” the stars “during film previews”. “Many shop on Avenue Montaigne,” she explains.
Another source of information: employees of luxury hotels or Parisian restaurants. With success, it is now also Internet users who share what they know directly with them.
Insults and death threats
By sharing this private information, can the account harm celebrities? Sofiane assures us to “pay attention to what we post”. He specifies: “If the celebrity indicates the name of the hotel where she is staying on her Instagram photo, we do not hesitate to specify it. If the information is obtained differently, the manager says to “think about it” and take into account the personality of the celebrity in question. According to him, “some do everything to avoid meeting fans”, as is the case for Rihanna or Kylie Jenner.
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This sharing of information can sometimes cause controversy. The account is regularly the target of insults and death threats, “especially when it comes to K-pop artists, South Korean groups Blackpink, BTS…” which fans are desperate to “ protect”, according to Sofiane.
These new star hunter accounts, which bring together a large community, compete with the people press. But, according to a journalist from a French people magazine interviewed by The Parisian, their readership is different, “older, women over 35”. She also observes that the general public is not interested in “knowing where a star is”. “What we sell is what she does there, why, with whom. There, there is a subject and a story that is told, ”she specifies.
“Celebrities in Paris” is now a reference on the Twitter platform. Administrators are regularly invited to events, conventions, album releases or film previews… Today they seek to develop on other social networks, such as Instagram and TikTok.