Louis Tomlinson: A New Low For The Dark Side Of One Direction Fandom

Louis Tomlinson is probably aware by now that the gutter press will stoop to just about anything when it comes to reporting on One Direction. Over the past 12 months, Louis has been subjected to a seemingly endless flow of stories that paint him in a negative light. Tomlinson is also aware of the passion and dedication that One Direction fans have for the hit band, and sadly Louis will know that the One Direction fandom has a dark and sinister underbelly.

Regular readers of The Inquisitr will know that we have run numerous stories praising One Direction fans for the efforts they make to support charities favored by Tomlinson and his bandmates. Fans have raised huge sums of money as they clubbed together to donate to charity in honor of Tomlinson or another band-members birthday. Fans even held a charity drive in honor of Louis mother’s birthday recently.

Louis deserves to have this smile on his face everyday. Don't tear him down for being happy! #RespectLouis pic.twitter.com/j47su24cg8

— 1D Updates (@ladscheckups) May 17, 2016

As Louis knows, One Direction fandom is a huge and powerful beast, and as with any large gathering of people, there will always be some who tarnish the vast majority. Fans have a powerful voice in the social media age, and news about Tomlinson and One Direction spreads across the fandom in seconds – far more quickly than the mainstream media can ever get hold of a story. For the vast majority, this voice is used to positive effect in supporting Tomlinson and his bandmates, but just occasionally some sick person steps way over the line.

Over the past year Tomlinson and his bandmates have seen both the positive and negative sides of their fandom. Both Liam Payne and Niall Horan took to social media to beg fans not to engage in high-speed pursuits of their cars whilst they were on tour. Payne was attacked by some fans and accused of being homophobic after using a poor choice of words whilst on stage. We even saw some people trend a Twitter hashtag #CutForZayn, encouraging people to self-harm after Zayn Malik left One Direction.

The Sun recently reported that fans had managed to hack Harry Styles’ mother’s iCloud account. Sadly, it seems that Tomlinson may also have been subject to a hack or the leaking of personal information. Metro reports that a sick One Direction fan has somehow obtained Louis’ private cellphone number and gave him a call. You would be forgiven for thinking that a fan who actually managed to call Louis phone number would be awestruck and perhaps gushing praise on the 24-year-old heartthrob. No, this sick person wished both Louis and his four-month-old baby dead.

The full unedited audio of someone telling Louis that he hopes him and his son die. pic.twitter.com/GOto6n9o2a

— 1D Updates (@ladscheckups) May 16, 2016

Of course, as Teen Vogue points out, there is no way to be sure of the veracity of this recording, and it seems that people are jumping to the conclusion that the caller is a One Direction fan.

According to Gossip Cop the call came from an “unidentified person who somehow obtained Tomlinson’s cell phone number and called him.” The recording was passed to a well-known One Direction fan site, and the caller can be heard telling Tomlinson, “I hope your baby dies.”

As you might expect, the vast majority of Tomlinson’s fans were absolutely appalled by the behavior of someone who may be one of their number. Fans showed their support for Tomlinson, and the hashtag #RespectLouis was soon trending worldwide. As reported by Capital FM Louis was somewhat abrupt with the caller, who opened the conversation by asking Tomlinson for a follow on Twitter.

#RespectLouis
Any man can be a father but it takes someone very special to be someone's Dad.?? pic.twitter.com/lEozf9JtTm

— Toni (@ToniItalydancer) May 16, 2016

“Hey, is this Louis? Can you follow me on Twitter?” is hardly your usual conversation opener, so it is hardly a surprise that Tomlinson sounds confused. Louis also has every right to be angry at having his privacy breached in this fashion. As Louis is well aware, when you are one quarter of One Direction, privacy is at a premium and is something that needs to be jealously guarded. It seems almost beyond belief that any Tomlinson fan would wish him and his baby dead. No one should be subjected to that kind of hatred, and surely this marks a new low for the dark side of the One Direction fandom.

Are you a Louis Tomlinson fan? Let us know below what you would ask Louis if you had the chance to talk with him on the phone.

[Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP]