During his career, Trent Reznor has had a curious relationship with his fans. His music has always been raw, personal, deeply confessional; yet, Trent himself was pretty mysterious--prone to disappearing for years on end rather than having his personal relationships and breakdowns broadcast in the tabloids and on gossip sites. Occasionally he'd post a few cryptic or sarcastic words on nin.com, sending his fans into an absolute tizzy.
In recent years, however, he's been surprisingly open and keen on interaction with his fans. He has been lurking and posting on NIN message boards; blogging; posting pictures of his various pets, his studio, and his travels; letting us remix his music; giving us a free album and other goodies; answering fan questions in online interviews; asking us to make mostly awful videos in response to "Ghosts I-IV," (except for this one, which is BRILLIANT); and lately, embracing the addictive powers of Twitter and urging us all to save a life. Most surprisingly, he has revealed more of his personal life to us than ever before. The days of scouring the dark corners of the Internet for any mention of "Trent Reznor and girlfriend" are over. Trent is in love, people, and he wants to shout it from the mountaintops, whether the fangirls can handle it or not.
I would say about 95 percent of us are delighted with this opportunity to reach out to Trent and regularly express our admiration, support and undying love to him through various media. There are some individuals, however, who have been continually harassing the guy to the point that it's pushing him--a total computer geek and internet addict--offline. I've checked out some of their profiles on Twitter, but I'm not going to name anyone in particular or link to them because they do not need any more fucking attention, negative or otherwise.
Today, Trent wrote an essay of sorts on nin.com, reflecting on Twitter and other online communities and how the disadvantages are starting to outweigh the benefits. You can read it here. I don't really approve of the part where he takes revenge on Metal Sludge haters by calling them FAT and UGLY (oooh! Burn!)--he comes off looking sizeist, and like there's nothing else wrong with these people other than their appearance? Please. But mostly, this post was just really sad to me. Trent really has given us so much in terms of his music and giving his fans so many opportunities to communicate with him and each other. And in return, the people who hate him because they can't have him or the people who are pissed because he's not really the Trent of their gothemo dreams have been making his life fucking miserable. Theirs is a misplaced, imaginary love turned to anger turned to hate, and I'm sure at times it's probably scary for Trent.
I've not really gotten myself involved in Trent's online spats because a) I don't need to be his freaking toadie; he can fight his own battles and b) although I can understand why he loses patience and calls people out based on what they say to him, I don't like it when NIN fans then employ mob action on people who are most likely delusional or disturbed. Also, c) I feel like Trent kinda perpetuates the problem by giving the haters the attention they crave. Again, based on the things that people say to him, like, "I hope you overdose again" or racist comments about his fiancee or people accusing him of a PR stunt when he has been devoting hours before every show meeting-and-greeting for the sake of raising a million dollars for Eric De La Cruz, I can understand why he gets cranky. Shit, someone on here calls me fat, and it puts me in a pissy mood. This feeling of "You don't even know me!" and "What have I ever done to you? Fuck off!" Yeah, I can identify. But we have just a handful of the Anonymi, who are easily ridiculed or ignored. Trent has the deranged "fans" who think they can win his heart by insulting Mariqueen. He has the people who are just fucking assholes who enjoy picking a fight as long as they don't have to say these things in person. He's got the racists, the dissatisfied customers, the eternal cynics. Granted, this is a small number of actual people, but they seem to be PROLIFIC. And Twitter is set up to allow people to post all manner of inanity 24 hours a day from their computers, their phones, their ipods. Unless he can tune it all out somehow, I don't blame him for retiring the Twitter account.
To be honest, I kind of miss Trent Reznor, Man of Mystery. I loved the music, the persona, and the rare glimpses into his real life that revealed that he's a funny, nerdy guy at heart and that he really likes animals and video games. Not expecting to ever be a part of his real life, I kind of liked the rest being left up to my imagination. It's much funnier to *imagine* Trent the tortured, angst-filled artist eating Lucky Charms and watching Good Morning America in his underwear. Not that I don't love and respect the real, human Trent that we've had a chance to get to know recently. But if he feels like he needs to withdraw that in order to save his own sanity, I'm cool with that. I don't need him to reveal his soft, vulnerable underbelly if it means that he starts to hate people. My imagination can more than compensate: Trent on a canoe, Trent trying to get a parking sticker from his housing association, Trent in a frou-frou pet boutique agonizing whether he should start his dogs on a raw diet...
But if Trent is still on the fence as to whether he should withdraw completely from the NINerverse, I would like to point out that it was through Twitter and nin.com that he basically raised the money to pay for a man's heart transplant outright. There is incredible stupidity on the Internet, yes, but I'm not willing to say that it's only the idiots who rule.
Oh, and Anonymi? If you're the cause of all this harassment and annoyance, lay off already! Jesus.
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The entire paragraph about Trent eating Lucky Charms in his underpants is genius, Maise. I literally lol'ed.
Being called fat on here or anywhere gets under my skin but I'm pretty sure the amount of online time & fat insults I get vs. what the Metal Sludge / haters get is not even in the same city, let alone ballpark, so for Trent to use that as his insult to those people is like "Really? You can't do better than that?" It's like he's just copy-and-pasting what he's getting in his inbox or twitter feed daily. Yes, you want to strike out at them Trent but I think you'd be able to come up with something far more repulsive. I mean what good is having the King of Internet Filth, aka Rob Sheridan, on the payroll if you're not going to tap into his disgusting nature?
I'll miss Trent online slightly but really I'm ready for a break too. The M&G got me really pumped up for the show we attended but I have to say that prior to that I just wasn't feeling it. I've got TR burnout that's only going to be cured by time and perspective. Which I think is what Trent is in desperate need of too.
"I mean what good is having the King of Internet Filth, aka Rob Sheridan, on the payroll if you're not going to tap into his disgusting nature?"
Amen, Iris.
Fat-hating is not only lame, it's cliched. It feels like he's phoning it in. Besides, he can't ALL the big girls...that's a healthy portion of his fanbase.
Meanwhile, I don't know why he hates Metal Sludge so. I've spent about two minutes on there and LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. At least we figured out where all those misconceptions about US came from. Doesn't really bother me, though. As Oscar Wilde once said, "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about."
I meant to say, "He can't hate ALL the big girls..."
A little reference for what Maise is LOL'ing about. We recently found that we had a hit from Metal Sludge to our blog. After a bit of investigating we found where they were chatting about us. These are a few of the best quotes:
Yep, he's getting married in the next couple of days. Check out the blog that he visits regularly. They are prepping him and us.
Oh, that PP Place used to be Wearing These Chains. They seem to have the inside track to TR.
And this one just kind of baffles me:
yeah they were banned from ETS cause they constantly started stupid rumors all the god damn time, if they are saying he is marrying this week-dont believe it till you see/hear it..99& of time they were wrong and pointless.
Plus that stupid wearing these chains website.
Well-written post and honest perspective on all of this.
What rumors? That Dierdre had one of Trent's hairs in her mouth and she was going to clone him? That Trent had some things in common with Hitler? That Trent likes to hang out in suggestive Georgia O'Keeffe paintings?
Well, there might have been one rumor spread by our dearly loved Gabriel. Remember this one, WTC'ers? We're In This Together Now
I didn't think I would ever stop laughing.
Thanks, Pleatherface! Your site is a favorite of ours as well!
And then there was Gabriel > Trent. But that's not a rumor, that's FACT.
As a person who is a bit of a fatso herself, yeah that was a low blow but that sort of comment is water off a ducks back to me, I don't honestly think he sees all fat women like that and it was just a bit of a crap insult born out of frustration perhaps?
But you see, your post is well-written and understandable unlike that whatever his face is' blog, who just seemed to attract metal sludge nutjobs from all over and formed their own little attack clique
OK I actually have 10 mins online to make my point. I have been back and forth over the whole twitter thing. I did think Trent was wrong to call out that heyeric guy and thought the twitter winners were shafted.
However, that FG blog guy and AUF deserve all they get in my opinion. I have been on the blog trying to provide some balance to them just encouraging metal sludge people and attacking in any way they can - and I believe AUF was certainly the instigator of him telling her she sucked (was she really that offended since her blog proves her really obnoxious personality?) - this FG sees himself as some defender of 'the little people' like it is a crusade or something but the blog is poorly written and one-sided. Also according to her twitter the angie woman isn't actually too happy that they have jumped onto her as a 'cause'.
I was enjoying Trent's twitters before all this shit hit the fan and feel that he has let them win by sinking to their level in the first place.
Yeah, part of me feels, well, gee, Trent, can't you just ignore them and not draw further attention to them? But then you actually read what they write, and it's like, well, no wonder he loses his temper! In particular, the person who implied that Eric De La Cruz is suffering now because of some lack of advance planning in his life (like someone with a crazy heart condition would ever be granted any kind of health insurance) really had my blood boiling. I mean, it comes out of complete ignorance of how the world actually works, but it is harmful to people like his sister, who is clearly in a lot of pain as she watches her brother go through all this.
Long time listener, first time caller. Sorry, I just had to type that.
Anyhow. I've been ruminating on why this whole situation bothers me, given the fact that while I enjoy celebrity trash a la Perez Hilton, I am always able to view it for what it is: entertainment. I mean, who cares if TR is getting married and who is getting married to? Who cares if he is yet another celebrity with a self indulgent Twitter account? Who cares if he throws his fame behind a good cause? We all have our own lives…so, who cares?
As of a week ago, I didn't even have a Twitter account. Facebook is about all I can handle, being the product of a more "analog" time. I finally caved because 2 of my sister in laws have them and I like being able to go back and forth with them and get all my local news in the same place. I did decide to "follow" a bunch of celebrities that I could give 2 shits about for the train wreck amusement factor. And being a typical NIN fangirl, decided to follow TR. Which happily coincided with me attending a NINJA concert in Camden with Mr. Karmavampire and BF Kristen last Friday. I was all set to geek out, NIN style!
After the concert, the three of us had the same consensus. NIN was so-so. JA rocked it! And we were sad that we felt that way. So I went on line primarily to see if other people had the same experience on this tour. And that's when I read all the stuff about Eric, the meet n' greets, the Q tweets regarding their fabulous orgasmic life, etc, etc etc. I automatically chalked it up to some kind of weird Tom Cruise syndrome thing and that TR tweeting about his beloved was like him jumping off Oprah's couch. And that the performance was suffering for it. But hey, who isn't completely absorbed when they first fall in love with their intended? Hell, my husband and I knew we were getting married the week after we met. So I can't fault Trent for wanting to fall off the face of the earth for awhile.
But then he spews his "farewell cruel world" send off note yesterday. I am sure he, like all celebrities, gets uber weird stalkers, both cyber and real. Part and parcel, right? And I still need to go on that Metal Sludge site he called out, since I really don't know who/what he was specifically referring to. But all of this…the dramatic send off note, the silly Tweets about being in love and using love as an excuse….it just comes off as so freshman year. You would think the man had never been with a girl before. The hit at the fat girls was totally unecessary and I think he knew what effect those words would have, since us aging hipster zaftig ladies are the ones who stuck with him during his less productive times. That's the rub for me. And the fact that his music sustained me during some pretty rough patches in life, it's hard not to feel like he is pointing out people like me in particular. And just basically telling anyone who doesn't always feel pretty on the outside to fuck off.
Oh well. I suppose he can make music for the beautiful people now. I predict he and Manson will be BFF's again by the end of the year. And then the circle of life is complete : )
Post script: I'm not one of the uber weird stalkers…I've never even posted on NIN.com. Just a garden variety 32 year old female NIN fan.
Thanks for joining us, Karma! Loved your use of the word "zaftig"...such an awesome word, and it reminds me hilariously of Tim Gunn who actually used it to describe a MODEL on Project Runway! LOL
In all honesty, I think Trent made the "plump" remark out of a fit of pique. Truly, it's not as though he has not been provoked, but I think he's going to be regretting his choice of words very shortly, if he doesn't already.
Because yeah, having a few extra pounds does not make a person stupid, crazy, unfuckable, or even ugly. And given how women in our age are made absolutely insane by issues of weight and body image, it's a sore spot for a LOT of us. When I think of all the time we spend trying to count calories and fat grams and obsessing over the number on the scale and what we could do if we directed that energy towards, say, curing cancer...it's just sad.
Not to mention the fact that if you're going to be catering to us miserable goths, a good number of us are on anti-depressants, which make you gain weight! ;)
I think it was a gaffe on his part, for sure, but not an unforgiveable one. After having met him in person, I found him to be friendly and kind with a good sense of humor. But he also kind of had a hunted look in his eye for just a second, like, "Okay, are you going to be normal? Are you going to try to leap over this table and grab me? Are you going to burst into tears at the sight of me?"
Like Isabel, I think he's coming from a place of incredible frustration, and I try to keep in mind that he lives in a weird celebrity bubble that none of us can really understand without sharing it. Hopefully he's not SO L.A. now that he thinks we all need to be anorexic. But I don't think that's the case with him.
I don't know how much you read here, but I think a lot of our Anonymi were the type that he was addressing. I'm sure not all of the Metal Sludge girls can be painted with the same crazy bunch, but there are some vocal people on there who are obsessed, racist, and just really mean-spirited.
There's also someone on Twitter who devotes her day to sending hate messages to Mariqueen, calling her "Yoko Ono" and saying things like, "Why are you having Trent spend money on a Philipino guy when I know plenty of sick white guys" blah, blah, fucking blah.
So I think before judging Trent too harshly, you kind of have to see the depths to which people descend. But I'm not endorsing cracks at the less-than-beautiful people. I've been called a "dog" in real life too; that shit never feels good. And I'm actually kinda cute!
About the fat issue, if you feel upset about that, stop being self-pitying and try and do something about it. At the moment I'm trying to use twitter to 'force' me to lose weight by announcing it to, well all of 8 followers or so who will probably block me in boredom. It's about way more than self image too, I've got high blood pressure and I just don't want to end up dying at 50 of a heart attack. All my weight tends to go on my stomach too which is a heart attack waiting to happen.
A lot of the time when it comes to body-image we've only got ourselves to blame anyway, who is it who buys the magazines like Cosmo where all these skinny models hold sway? Not the men, most men I know like a few curves.
in fact since in the Western world the 'majority' are overweight it isn't even like you can say we're a picked on minority. And the absolute worst for cracks about weight are people who are overweight with low self-esteem picking on someone they consider slightly fatter than they are. Sorry that was a bit of a rant!
Trent has made a clarification re fat people:
Just glanced at this stuff. May I clarify:
I have no issue with PLUMP people and I apologize if some of you incorrectly inferred I was equating being overweight to being unworthy. I used that term for two reasons: one - these cunts on MS portray themselves as in a very inaccurate way, because they can. It's their one place they can wield a little power and escape their pathetic lives. Two - I knew it would hurt them and it most definitely has.
Place my comments in context. If you haven't seen the type of comments we've been getting and the sheer level of ignorance, you have no reference in which to comment on this.
I know MOST of you are not a part of this and I didn't mean to offend you - this situation has angered and saddened me.
And THAT is it from me on this topic.
@ Isabel...
Well, I wouldn't say I'm particularly self pitying...I work out 5 days a week, monitor my portions, bike or walk to work, yada, yada. I try to do my best, but the pounds don't come off the way they used to. If I can shoe horn myself into an 10, I am beyond estatic (I'm only 5 feet tall, so that's not a super tiny size for me!) Anyway, I just thought it was a melodramatic note from him. I get that it is more directed at the Metal Sludge element, whoever they are.
@ Maise...
I ALWAYS think of Tim Gunn in conjunction with the word zaftig. I'm actually staring at a bobble head of him right now.
Isabel, good for you for working on the weight loss. I'm trying to do the same thing, and it's SO HARD, especially for women who are kind of designed to hold onto fat once they have it. For me to have any success, I have to really watch what I eat and work out a minimum of an hour every day, and it's not easy when I'm working two jobs, one of which requires all kinds of unpaid overtime. Oh, and I'm a total comfort-eater, but now I'm trying to comfort myself with bananas and apples and strawberries...
Karmavampire--
First of all, your username gets "Karma Police" stuck in my head, but that's not a bad thing.
Second, I wish I had Tim Gunn to help me in my every day life. For example, he could step into my office, check out my progress on my workload and say, "Maise, I'm concerned...make it work!"
Karmavampire, it's nice to see you here. Welcome! We love new commenters. :)
Maise, I think your desk would be considerably improved if you had a Tim Gunn bobble head.
Regarding weight loss I can personally recommend for the Wii users the Wii Fit and EA Sports Active. I really like the yoga in Wii Fit and I've only had the EA Sports Active game for about a week or so but is kicking. my. ass. in a good way though.
And Trent's apology? I don't know. I never really felt personally attacked because it was heavily implied that it was a dig at the MS girls but for those who were offended I think the apology might fall on deaf ears. Sure fire way to have a girl never talk to or listen to you again is to make a weight remark.
Maise pointed out so many good things in this post that have come from Trent's online efforts over the past few years and it's such a shame that now he seems to be bouncing between temper blowups and damage control. And the damage control takes so much longer to permeate through the internets & mainstream media because everyone just wants to focus on the bad and "Ooh, Trent's being such an asshole! It's so uncalled for!" Ehh...whatever. He's human. I can't imagine what wading through all this shit is doing to his blood pressure.
I hear you on the comfort eating Maise, I reach for dairy milk chocolate when calming a crying child. Fruit just doesn't do it for me
Although it is it mere coincidence that Trent apologized after Maise lit into him again. He must have got your voice mail last night. Because you know, we have the inside track which includes his cell phone number. ;)
Is that while you're 'doing' Robin and the rest of the band?
KarmaVamp - I didn't mean that self-pitying comment directly at you or anyone here, just in general.
I actually came upon WTC (and Metal Sludge) in 2007 because Trent had been interviewed in Kerrang saying he was in a relationship (very guardedly) so I searched google for Trent's girlfriend and found more than I bargained for! WTC actually had humour though unlike MS which was insane. I don't understand why people have such a beef that you should be interested in the 'man behind the music' - after all we all gossip at work I'm sure, it doesn't mean i want to hunt anyone down
Oh good, Isabel, I'm glad you've been with us since WTC. We may just have a special guest writing for us soon... ;)
Ooh looking forward to that. Some of my favourite WTC things were the OMG comment battle, 10 ways for Trent to suck less, the Sebastian Tremani argument over Trent's court case, ETS wars. It was like a work of comedy art in itself
If you're going to talk about my alleged romps then let's be clear, it was Jeordie I was supposedly "doing", not Robin. Unless you've heard something I haven't yet...
Alleged Iris? Some person from Metal Sludge said you did so that proves it
Funny how the lyrics to 'We're in this together' seem all the more relevant at the moment than back then.
Ahh, at lunch at work and bored
well, I think Trent risked getting such negative comments from people when he and MQ allowed them to take a look into their personal lives. Sure, some fans are nice and respectful, but others are nuts and feel entitled to voice whatever opinion they have of him because he's a public figure. IMO, he should have never let things get too personal. I can honestly say I don't care what he does with his girl in private, and found myself rolling my eyes at some of his tweets. I don't know, he's right about some of the things he says but overall, I don't think he should be such a drama queen about it. Oh, this from a person who felt sort of offended by his and her fat comments. No, I'm not fat, but as a woman, I found those remarks disrespectful and shallow. But nice post, Maise!
Yeah, Cat, the more I think about it, the more troubling it gets. I was pondering the whole situation today, and I thought, geez, does he really have to come down so hard on the Metal Sludge girls? Sure, some of them are terrible people, but isn't it kind of like shooting fish in a barrel for a rich, powerful, iconic rock star to take on these pathetic, delusional women who spend their time publicly fantasizing about rock stars? (not that that hits close to home or anything...ahem!)
On the other hand, I wouldn't classify these women as "harmless" either. These are the jealous, racist, obsessed crazy stalker type. If they're anything like our Anonymi, they don't hesitate to call ME "fat" for not letting them have their way by posting all kinds of nasty bullshit about MQ.
On the other, OTHER hand, does he really want to rile this sort of person up with personal attacks? And I'm sorry, but giving suicide tips is a) immature and b) irresponsible coming from someone who doesn't attract the most stable fanbase in the world.
On the other, other, OTHER hand, what would I do differently? Could I handle reading that shit day after day? Read threats and insults against my S.O. and shrug it off? At what point would I snap and say, "DIE, EVIL CUNT, DIE!!!!!!"
In the end, Trent's probably doing the wisest thing by taking a step back and close the window into his life. It's just sad that a lot of us non-crazies felt hurt by his response to the situation.
To be honest, I'm more annoyed by his "clarification" than his original post. "Oh, I meant THAT ugly fat chick, not YOU..." I wish he'd just apologize for taking the low road with these people (who are NOT nice people) and sign off.
On the other, other, other, OTHER hand, there's a very sick guy in California who needs a new heart and is all full of tubes and is all alone in his hospital room right now, and according to his sister, of the two cheery things to look at in his room (two small stuffed animals), one of them came from Trent, whom he's probably never met before. And they probably would not have even allowed him to be in that hospital if Trent hadn't raised almost a million dollars because God knows no one that sick can get insurance in this country.
Life is complicated, Trent's a good guy. I'm going to bed! Busy weekend ahead.
Back to Iris' comment at the beginning, I think Trent has been at it since 2005 almost non-stop (I saw them at the London Astoria in 2005 as a warm-up gig and it was seriously amazing - there is youtube footage) so yeah I'd say he's probably burnt out as well and in need of a break.
I'm still really quite annoyed that Trent let that incredibly crappy blog get to him so much.
Also isn't there legal redress against people PMing you hate mail 100 times a day? Or is the ability to spew hateful crap at somebody all day long enshrined in some constitution ? It just seems to me you should stop them at source.
that is great they brought it to people's attention, but they left out the most disgusting parts. hopefully people will read the whole thing on his site. i was so disgusted, i almost wanted to send it to every known publication out there, but that's too much energy to waste on a human being such as himself.
here we go
Karmavampire - what was it that made their performance so-so in your opinion? Whatever the issue I hope he sorts it by July when I'm seeing him! Hopefully by July he'll be over the lovey dovey stage and into the getting annoyed by somebody's little quirks stage and able to concentrate on the performance!
Where's this new post? I need something to take the bad twitter taste out of my mouth
Yes, this is too complicated. Honestly, I don't care about Trent anymore. I've spent so much time and energy on him and I think it's time to move on. His attitude recently has been kind of a letdown for me and I really don't feel like spending more time on him and his life. He doesn't know me, he's not gonna thank me for offering him support. I feel sorry for him cause I know he's going through stuff, but he should know how to handle trouble in an adult way already, the guy's 44, come on. Yes, his apology felt even worse than the original comment. Regardless of how I feel about him and his fiancee, I think he should take a look around before throwing such a hissy, cause while it's true that some people are crazy psychos, and some of the girls on MS are perfect examples of that, he's not exactly free of guilt here either. So yeah, that's it. Don't know if he's ever gonna come back, but from now on I'm just a fan of the music, whatever he does outside of NIN is completely irrelevant to me.
Well I'm seeing them in July (and at the Sonisphere festival) so I'll let you know if the men in white coats come for him.
I think it comes to something when he can spend 20 whole minutes berating someone on twitter thus drawing attention to them. (not that they didn't royally deserve a bitching).
Amen to it just being about the music Cat.
Isabel,
Regarding a new post: well, a certain someone is a very busy person, but I'm hoping she can fit in a post soon. We were discussing it, but it's kinda tentative. Let's just say "soon."
you need to bring Dierdre back. she's cool.
Ask and you shall receive, Cat!
This comment section is the equivalent of Mom Jeans. For christ's sake, you guys.
There're too many comments on here for me to remember who said it, but whomever said that Trent is acting like this is the first time he's been with a girl or in love or whatever - nailed it!
Karmavampire, I think I love you.
Too cool that Deirdre made a return appearance in the NINerverse. She is the voice of reason that this situation calls for.
In JR news (thanks for asking)...I had to cancel on going to a juicy wedding (with my prote--coworker) because of my new puppy. She is cute as a button, but I am not cut out for the whole "caring-for-another-living-thing" stuff.
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