I’ve been a fan of Darren for 12 years now. I’ve been connected to his internet fandom for 10 years. I’ve been an adult the entire time and grown with him- I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on the dude. I was around when the photo was posted and also very quickly removed.

We had the discussions around it then, re: rape culture and inappropriate jokes/behaviour but I understand some are seeing it for the first time. If you’re in any way affected by the photo it is 100% valid and don’t let anyone dismiss that. 
But this thread is not about that

This is about how we talk to each other and how we communicate with Darren. 

I’m Raging that there are other people speaking on behalf of others whom they have no right and emotionally manipulating, gaslighting others and making them question what they know and how they feel.

Don’t you dare presume you can do that. 

I’m not going to speak about my own history bc it’s private but don’t you ever assume you know anything about a stranger. No one owes you their personal history. You don’t speak for me and you don’t speak for all victims.

Good people do shitty things sometimes & they can still be good people!! Call stuff out to bring awareness but be careful about the slippery slope into false equivalency. There are shades of grey and humans are morally complex.

(I'm not defending it. I found it deeply unfunny when i first saw it. But thank god we're not all defined by our worst moments & dumb decisions and thank god our problematic shit we did when we were young isn't posted on the internet immortalised to define us forever by strangers

Stan Twitter discourse is so black and white, no context, all nuance and complexity removed & so much of what i'm seeing it equivocating this dumb joke to be the height of rape culture & darren to be a “piece of shit”. I've seen and hear people call him a rapist. This is not okay

(if you're about to go into whataboutism remember what i said about false equivalency. A distasteful joke is not the same as actual violations against another person's rights)
Stop taking this photo out of context insincerely as if we don’t know the kind of person Darren is(cont)

..and strives to be. He’s a good dude who puts his foot in his mouth sometimes, is clumsy on social media, and a bit of dudebro with crude humour. 

We all make mistakes and yes you can call your favs out but over the past year this fandom has gone off the deep end:

- in policing his and others’ behaviour. Not through genuine desire to bring awareness to certain issues but a malformed urgency of virtue signalling to achieve moral superiority and be the Most Woke. It’s so insincere. The hypocrisy and lack of critical thinking is so astounding

You can try to be the most woke person and the room and you can still be a toxic asshole. Some of y’all should not be throwing stones in glass houses
.

The photo- It was 7 years ago. I get it if it’s not okay for you, but that doesn’t mean you can dictate how others should feel
. I know how I feel about Darren and who he is as a person and how he has grown in those 7 years.

I’ve followed him for so long I know he is a good dude bc his actions show me he is & he always strives to Be Better. Better than most people I know. I know how he would feel to know this photo caused people distress & that he would never want this to happen.That is enough for me

But if you’re harassing others and harassing Darren - I don’t wish anything for you bye.

For so long i’ve been too anxious to share my thoughts, my fan support, and I no longer care. Strangers on the internet don’t know me and they don’t know my heart. I don’t need that toxicity in my life.

I hope anyone who is conflicted with reconciling loving Darren and how they feel can find some peace - don't let anyone dictate that process for you or manipulate or guilt trip you into one way of thinking. Use your own discernment.