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NOTE:

This is the accepted manuscript of the following article: Hunting, K. & Hinck, A. (2017). “I’ll see you in Mystic Falls”: Intimacy, feelings, and public issues in Ian Somerhalder’s celebrity activism. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 34(5), 432-448.

See the published version in Critical Studies in Media Communication at the following link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/comt.12062/abstract

“I’ll see you in Mystic Falls”: Intimacy, feelings, and public issues in Ian Somerhalder’s celebrity activism

Kyra Hunting and Ashley Hinck

Abstract: Critics of celebrity activism often assume that fans blindly follow celebrities who invite

them to support celebrity activism and charity. These fans are often imagined as participating in celebrity activism only because their beloved celebrity asked them to — not out of any kind of rational understanding of a political issue, awareness of a public problem, or commitment to a public issue. We contest this view of celebrity activism. Drawing on scholars like Bennett, Ellcessor, and Chouliaraki, we argue that the case of Ian Somerhalder demonstrates that a commitment to a celebrity may actually be connected to a commitment to a public issue. We trace the ways in which Somerhalder plays with the slippage between television celebrity and his character, arguing that such slippage merges the intimacy fans feel for Damon with the intimacy fans feel for Somerhalder and imbues Somerhalder’s environmental appeals with the values his on-screen character comes to represent in The Vampire Diaries. We argue that Somerhalder deploys themes and ideals from The Vampire Diaries in his communication with fans and in his activist appeals. Ultimately, Somerhalder’s celebrity activism demonstrates how intimacy with celebrities might function to connect fans to public issues in powerful ways.

Keywords: television; celebrity activism; social media; affect; The Vampire Diaries

“Ready for our date in Mystic Falls?” Ian Somerhalder asks, sporting a smirk and his

character Damon’s daylight ring in a Facebook post (Somerhalder, 2014a). A week later the

environmental organization The Ian Somerhalder Foundation posted a video to “prepare you for

that moment when Ian Somerhalder pulls you in and sucks your blood” (Ian Somerhalder

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Foundation, 2014b). These flirtatious overtures solicited entries to a contest to raise money for

the Ian Somerhalder Foundation’s work to “execute positive change for the planet and all of its

creatures” (Omaze Organization, 2014). The contest’s winner was awarded a trip to The Vampire

Diaries set for dinner, dancing, and the opportunity to shoot a scene with Somerhalder. In the

post, Somerhalder thanked the viewer and urged them to “take the next step and join the ISF

family” before promising “I’ll see you in Mystic Falls” (Omaze Organization, 2014).

Somerhalder has run three other fundraisers like this, raising just under one million dollars.

While many celebrities conduct sweepstakes fundraisers, the way in which these fundraisers are

packaged and circulated by Somerhalder and the Foundation is notable for the unique method in

which it draws upon not only the intimacy of Somerhalder’s celebrity but also the intimacy of

Damon, the character he plays on The Vampire Diaries.

Somerhalder rose to fame playing Boone on ABC’s Lost (2004–2010) and Damon on the

CW’s The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017). Somerhalder’s celebrity activism, inspired by his

experiences growing up near Louisiana’s bayous, has focused on environmental conservation

and animal rights, including oil spill clean-up and coal plant protests. He has testified before

Congress in support of environmental conservation bills, written for The Huffington Post, and

appeared in Showtime’s Years of Living Dangerously (2014– present). However, most of his

activist work has centered on The Ian Somerhalder Foundation (ISF), a non-profit organization

he founded that supports environmental initiatives through programs like youth education,

emergency medical grants for rescue animals, and its signature project, an animal sanctuary. The

ISF is a global network of chapters in places as far-reaching as Brazil, New Zealand, and Russia.

For his environmental activism, Somerhalder has been named a Huffington Post Green Game

Changer and currently serves as a United Nations Environment Programme Goodwill

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Ambassador.

Using Somerhalder’s celebrity activism as a case study, we draw upon on recent work on

celebrity and intimacy to ask: How can a celebrity invite fans to use feelings of intimacy to

engage in civic action? We draw on scholars like Bennett (2014) and Chouliaraki (2012, 2013) to

argue that celebrity activism uses feelings for celebrities to mobilize fans in powerful ways.

These intimate feelings, we argue, need not be divorced from substantive arguments about

politics. Rather, feelings toward a celebrity can be deeply connected to public values and civic

appeals. Ellcessor (2016) has argued that celebrity activism can be knitted into a celebrity

persona to create a connected star text. We build on her claim that activism and celebrity

personae are connected and integrated, emphasizing how this can also fuse with on-screen

characters’ personae and narratives. We argue that these three elements can be knitted together in

ways that not only make a particular celebrity culturally meaningful, but in ways that can drive

civic action through celebrity activism.

Our aim is to explore how a celebrity can function as a bridge to public commitments —

how a commitment to a celebrity can be converted to a commitment to civic action. In this essay,

we demonstrate that Somerhalder’s civic appeals do not rely on fans blindly participating simply

based on their fandom for him or The Vampire Diaries with little connection to public issues at

all. Rather, we argue that Somerhalder’s celebrity activism relies on not only a commitment to a

celebrity but also to an on-screen character and to a public issue, reinforced and unified through

the routinized experience of social media. Somerhalder’s appeals are grounded in values that are

extended from The Vampire Diaries television series and strengthened through Somerhalder’s

enactment of those values in his celebrity persona on social media.

To demonstrate this, we blend approaches from media studies and rhetorical studies in

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order to examine how Somerhalder’s activist rhetoric draws upon meaning from The Vampire

Diaries television text, creating a distinctive form of celebrity activism that is integrated with a

fictional character and text. Our rhetorical approach to civic appeals examines the way in which

citizens are invited to participate in public culture, while our textual approach to television media

examines the ideology conveyed through narrative and visual framing. We find that appeals,

principles, and iconic images introduced in the television text reinforce the civic appeals and

celebrity building work done on social media by both Somerhalder and the Foundation.

After examining the literature on celebrity activism and detailing our methodological

approach to television and social media texts, we begin our analysis by examining the ways in

which Somerhalder encourages slippage between his celebrity persona and his on-screen

character. This, we argue, knits together Somerhalder’s off-screen activism with the values his

on-screen character embodies. The next section traces these connections. We argue that

Somerhalder performs values of ‘loving relationships’ and ‘messy middle grounds’ from The

Vampire Diaries in his celebrity persona and deploys these same values in his environmental

activism. Lastly, we examine the implications offered by the case of Somerhalder’s celebrity

activism.

Celebrity activism: feeling public issues

Celebrity activism has a long history. Since at least the development of radio and

television (Turner, 2002/2014), Hollywood stars like Clint Eastwood and Jane Fonda have taken

on activist roles in social movements and electoral politics (West & Orman, 2003). Recently,

celebrity activism has become remarkably common (Brockington & Henson, 2014; Thrall et al.,

2008). A sample of the 100 most famous celebrities, revealed that 90% were active in advocacy,

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engaging 4.16 issues on average (Thrall et al., 2008). Brockington and Henson (2014) assert

“Celebrity is now part of the way that most major charities, and particularly development

charities, go about raising funds, raising awareness and lobbying for their causes” (p. 432). For

the biggest stars and biggest charities, celebrity activism is par for the course.

In many ways, feelings of intimacy are at the very center of both celebrity and celebrity

activism. Redmond (2006) says “Contemporary fame speaks and is spoken about through the

language of intimacy: it is a word, concept, practice, sellable commodity that smoulders at its

very core” (p. 36). Celebrities simultaneously maintain ‘social distance’ as famous people we

will never meet, while revealing intimate aspects of their personal lives through interviews,

photo shoots, press events, and unauthorized paparazzi encounters, which of course are always

manufactured (Rojek, 2001, p. 12). This creates a onesided or asymmetrical relationship between

celebrities and their fan-publics. We know intimate details of celebrities’ lives while, in theory,

they know nothing about ours. However, such one-sidedness hardly dampens fans’ feelings for

their beloved celebrities. Rojek (2001) explains, “One peculiar tension in celebrity is that the

arousal of strong emotion is attained despite the absence of direct, personal reciprocity” (p. 12).

Fan studies scholars calls these feelings of intimacy, emotional investment, and commitment

“affective identification” (Hills, 2002; Van Zoonen, 2005; Yockey, 2012). In fact, these feelings

of intimacy with the fan-object’s characters are a defining feature of fandom (Hills, 2002; Van

Zoonen, 2005, p. 63). When these affective ties are experienced across a length of time, a

parasocial relationship develops. Some fans of celebrities respond to the celebrity as if they were

a friend even though they are not (Dibble, Hartmann, & Rosaen, 2016; Horton & Wohl, 1956).

The intimacy and familiarity at the center of contemporary celebrity culture is also at the

center of celebrity activism. Scholars argue that celebrities invite audiences to engage in their

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activist and political causes through emotional connection which is cultivated through intimate

relationships between celebrities and fans. In an analysis of Brad Pitt’s activist work to rebuild

homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Fuqua (2011) argues “Pitt functions as an

affective proxy through which other citizens may feel that they are making a difference simply

by feeling” (p. 193). Chouliaraki (2012) explains that this kind of celebrity activism mixed with

humanitarianism “prioritizes the ‘authentic’ emotions of the celebrity and our own connectivity

towards her” (p. 17). Through celebrities, we feel outrage at suffering on the other side of the

world.

For critics, this over-reliance on feelings means that celebrity activism falls short of basic

criteria for proper and productive civic engagement. First, celebrity activism appears to lack

substance (Kellner, 2010; Wheeler, 2012). Rather than rely on any kind of policy expertise,

celebrities invite audiences to engage in their activist and political causes by feeling what the

celebrity feels. Chouliaraki (2012) argues that any feelings of outrage and sadness that might

have the potential to be politically powerful fail to translate to any kind of public commitment.

These feelings remain tied to the celebrity instead of the public issue. Underlying the accusation

that celebrity activism lacks substance is an assumption that fans are “brainless consumers who

will buy anything associated with the program or its cast” (Jenkins, 1992, p. 10). In this view,

fans support whatever charitable cause their favorite celebrities support with little need to know

anything of substance about that particular cause. Secondly, by prioritizing emotional

connections to the celebrity, celebrity activism does a better job of strengthening fans’ ties to

celebrities than strengthening fans’ ties to public issues (Brockington & Henson, 2014; Hawkins,

2011). Feelings are connected to celebrities rather than public issues. Indeed, celebrity activist

campaigns often appear self-serving — benefiting the celebrity, their persona, and their brand

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more than the public issue at hand.

While critics take aim at celebrity activism for its over-reliance on feelings, such feelings

may not necessarily be counter-productive. Affect scholars have demonstrated how feeling can

be politically powerful (Ahmed, 2004/2014; Protevi, 2009). Papacharissi (2015) argues that

publics come into being through feeling — citizens feel their way into public issues. Fan studies

scholars have begun to explore how feelings toward a fan-object can be channeled into political

work (Bennett, 2012, 2014; Jenkins, Shresthova, Gamber-Thompson, Kliger-Vilenchik, &

Zimmerman, 2016; Yockey, 2012). In these cases of fan activism, active audiences decode

meaning and extrapolate complex moral lessons from media in ways that are significant for them

in their personal and civic lives (Fiske, 1989; Hall, 1980; Radway, 1987). Fans think with

popular culture to engage political issues (Jones, 2009). For example, a love of Harry Potter led

fans to call for intervention in the Darfur genocide in 2007 (Hinck, 2012). Fans were invited to

be like Harry, Hermione, and Dumbledore and to do what they would do if they were here in our

world. This appeal, in part, called for them to imagine and identify with the feelings and rage that

these fictional characters experienced. If a celebrity can function as a fan-object, then feelings

might be moved through a celebrity to a political issue in celebrity activism.

Methods and texts

In this essay, we analyze three types of texts: 1) seven seasons of The Vampire Diaries

(2009–2016), 2) Ian Somerhalder’s Twitter and Facebook posts, and 3) the Ian Somerhalder

Foundation’s Twitter and Facebook posts. Facebook and Twitter serve as primary locations for

the Ian Somerhalder Foundation’s appeals for civic action directed towards its supporters. While

seemingly discrete texts, they function as a kind of paratextual triangle in which any textual

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starting point potentially leads to and shifts our understanding of the other two (Gray, 2010). The

Vampire Diaries shapes our understanding of Somerhalder and ISF’s activist logic and

intensifies particular features of Somerhalder’s celebrity persona. We argue that these texts

interact with one another to create a milieu in which value systems are circulated and reinforced,

para-social relationships are built and maintained, and action is invited, called for, and

demanded.

We used screenshots to archive the Twitter and Facebook posts from the Ian Somerhalder

Foundation and Ian Somerhalder (Ian Somerhalder Foundation, 2014a; Ian Somerhalder

Foundation, 2014b; Somerhalder, 2014a; Somerhalder, 2014b). Our archive contained 690 of Ian

Somerhalder’s Facebook posts from 2012 to 2014, 754 of Ian Somerhalder’s tweets in 2014,

1,189 of the Ian Somerhalder Foundation’s Facebook posts and 659 of their tweets in the same

periods. This archive of posts and tweets was reviewed using an open-coding model to establish

major themes. Our code list consisted of 86 items for Ian Somerhalder’s posts and 90 items for

the Ian Somerhalder Foundation’s posts. Our code list included categories of rhetorical moves,

topical references, and language patterns. Rhetorical moves include categories like calls to

action, asking questions, expressions of gratitude, or compliments or invitations that reached out

to fans/foundation members. Topical references included categories like environmental causes,

activism, and The Vampire Diaries. We identified language patterns by looking for frequently

repeated terms (like the use of ‘awesome’ or ‘awe’ by the Foundation) and categories of

language (like ‘togetherness’ words and ‘feeling’ words). After this initial qualitative coding, we

then performed a closer textual analysis of posts in the commonly occurring categories in order

to understand the patterns we were seeing in relationship to the textual analysis of the series that

was performed. Posts and tweets were analyzed in relationship to how their elements interacted

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with one another, other posts and tweets, and The Vampire Diaries series itself.

Slippage between celebrities and characters

Somerhalder connects his fans’ feelings of intimacy with his activism in part by playing

with the boundaries that separate Somerhalder (as actor) and Damon (his The Vampire Diaries

character). Television celebrities like Somerhalder already face the potential for slippage

between actor and character. Television’s familiarity can “construct and foreground intimacy and

immediacy” (Marshall, 1997/2014, p. 355). Television is viewed within the familiar space of the

home, utilizes a serial structure where repetition creates familiarity, and often focuses on

emotional and interpersonal themes. Fiske (1987/2011) asserts “Classic Hollywood stars were

bigger than their roles, and were remembered or promoted by their own names not those of their

characters. Television personalities merge into their characters or are submerged by them” (p.

150). The structures of television mean that television celebrities are already imbued with

familiarity and intimacy, thus making them more prone to be sutured to their characters.

Somerhalder takes this tendency and encourages it, at times explicitly playing with the

boundaries between self and character. Somerhalder’s social media feeds regularly feature

images of him as Damon and quotes from Damon. In one instance, Somerhalder posted as

Damon sharing a snapshot of Somerhalder’s on-set chair, describing it as “the other dude’s

chair” (Somerhalder, 2014a). Images showing Somerhalder sporting Damon’s distinct half-

smile/smirk, particularly at red carpet events, blur the line between Damon and Somerhalder.

While many actors’ personal styles strongly differs from their characters, Somerhalder frequently

wears clothing that is reminiscent of Damon’s, most notably dark T-shirts with a dark apparently

leather jacket – particularly notable for an animal rights activist. He has even occasionally posted

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pictures of himself out of character wearing Damon’s well-known ring and frequently wears a

similar ring of his own on the same finger. This effect was particularly pronounced when

Somerhalder was dating costar Dobrev at the same time as his character dated hers on the series.

Photos of them together were sometimes indistinguishable from frames of the series. Taken

together, this creates a visual mirror which serves to reinforce a blurring of, and slippage

between, Somerhalder and Damon.

This slippage, we argue, is at the center of Somerhalder’s celebrity activism. First, it

allows the intimacy fans feel for the character to bleed into and reinforce the intimacy fans feel

for the actor and vice versa. Somerhalder invites fans’ intimacy with Damon to also become

intimacy with Ian. Secondly, the character slippage serves to suture Somerhalder’s

environmental appeals with the values the reluctant hero Damon represents. Somerhalder’s

activist identity becomes entwined with both ISF and his character, Damon, and so do his activist

appeals. As the line blurs between Damon and Somerhalder, the line between their values also

blurs. In the next section, we will argue that Somerhalder deploys this slippage in specific ways

as he enacts values from The Vampire Diaries text in his communication with fans and his

activist appeals.

Connecting The Vampire Diaries, celebrity persona, and rhetorical appeals

When originally introduced in the series, Ian Somerhalder’s character Damon is

portrayed as a villain and the chief antagonist. Our first glimpse of him is a quick shot of his

hand after he has killed a young couple. As the series progresses, however, Damon becomes a

grudging ally to his virtuous brother Stefan and Stefan’s girlfriend Elena. Soon, Damon’s own

romantic attachment to Elena becomes clear, transforming the narrative to one largely driven by

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various quests and a love triangle. As Damon’s feelings for Elena grow, eventually becoming a

mutual romantic relationship, Damon’s moral character shifts from antagonist to anti-hero to

hero. Eventually, Damon becomes a moral force in the television text, motivated by and enacting

a commitment to loving relationships and messy middle grounds. These two central values from

the television text are pervasive in Somerhalder’s social media posts and Somerhalder’s and the

ISF’s environmental appeals.

Loving relationships

Over the course of The Vampire Diaries, loving relationships are revealed as the

motivating factor for Damon as a character. He initially becomes a vampire because of his love

for a woman a century prior to the series. His romantic feelings for Elena are key to Damon’s

transformation into a hero in the series. Relationships are depicted as redemptive and as a path

for action for the greater good, and the intimacy relationships bring is depicted as explicitly

transformative. Damon ultimately comes to believe he cannot be good without Elena in his life.

While the plot of most episodes of The Vampire Diaries focuses on action and intrigue, the core

of the series is about loving relationships, and most of the characters’ actions and frequent

personal sacrifices are driven by their loyalties to one another. Their actions often serve a greater

good, protecting their home town and even the world, but the need to protect or avenge those you

love is the core driver of most action in the series.

Somerhalder enacts this value in both his communication with fans and his rhetorical

appeals for environmental activism. In his celebrity persona on social media, Somerhalder

communicates in ways that demonstrate he values loving relationships. Like many other

celebrities (Baym, 2012; Bennett, 2014; Markham, 2014; Marwick & Boyd, 2011), Somerhalder

cultivates a close and personal relationship with his followers. Marshall (2010) calls this type of

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celebrity persona a public-private persona: more personal than the official communications from

media marketing and publicity agents, but still intentionally public and aimed at fans. One way

in which Somerhalder creates intimacy is through language that emphasizes togetherness. Over

10% of Somerhalder’s Facebook posts and over 12% of Somerhalder’s Twitter posts explicitly

use language that evokes a sense of togetherness. Somerhalder consistently asks fans to “watch

with me,” whether discussing an episode of The Vampire Diaries or an important environmental

speech.

On Somerhalder’s and the ISF’s Facebook and Twitter, communication is constant and

intimate, replicating the everyday rhythms of communication that social media users are

accustomed to having with friends and family. Somerhalder posts several times a week,

sometimes several times a day, and often in ways that replicate daily rituals. Posts like “good

night beautiful world…” (Somerhalder, 2014b) or descriptions of the morning weather are

common in Somerhalder’s Twitter presence. Furthermore, both Somerhalder and ISF’s social

media incorporate topics that are similar to those a user’s friend or family might post, including

photos of Somerhalder, cute videos of animals, and inspirational quotes. In this way,

Somerhalder manages the ordinary/extraordinary paradox (Bennett, 2014; Dyer, 1979) in ways

that encourage intimacy between him and his fans. By posting or tweeting not just very regularly

but in ways that mark both time and the rhythms of life, this communication mirrors the

interactions users have with real-world intimates, creating the image of a close relationship

between Somerhalder and his fans. Somerhalder and the ISF deploy this ‘loving relationships’

value in their activist appeals. This happens in a number of ways. First, both the ISF and

Somerhalder frame activist communities as a loving family.

Somerhalder and the ISF explicitly refer to ISF members as the “ISF Family”. When

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talking about civic initiatives or the planet, Somerhalder uses “our” more frequently than “my”

— despite the fact that this is indeed his charity and his initiatives. For example, Somerhalder

often touts ISF’s accomplishments by saying “We did it!” (Somerhalder, 2014a), emphasizing

relationships over individuals. Bennett (2014) argues that Lady Gaga uses “We did it!” to

emphasize the partnership and intimacy between Gaga and her fans. Somerhalder, too,

emphasized this intimacy but did so in a way that aligned with the ‘loving relationships’ value

from The Vampire Diaries series. For Somerhalder, being activists together is like being a

family-one key type of loving relationship.

Alongside the communal and familial language discussed above, Somerhalder’s social

media also activated the ‘relationship’ frame with romantic visual and verbal elements. As was

seen in the Omaze case, Somerhalder often used flirtatious language, telling San Diego Comic

Con in a tweet to “Pucker Up” [sic] because he “can’t wait to give you a kiss” (Somerhalder,

2014b). When announcing a Foundation award, he explains that he “wanted to have an intimate,

passionate moment” with fans with his audio message (Somerhalder, 2014a). These posts imply

a more romantic connection to his fans, which he reinforces in the use of ‘xo’1 and ‘love’ to sign

posts and tweets. This form of intimacy is also evoked in the photographs Somerhalder posts,

which include images of him blowing kisses, shirtless, and on his bed. Gift economies are central

to relationship building in fandom, and Somerhalder mirrors this dynamic by offering his fans

access through images of private spaces or backstage and intimate language.

The tone of Somerhalder and ISF’s activist appeals reinforces this frame. Both ISF and

Somerhalder utilize an intimate tone even when they talk about environmental issues and civic

action. The ISF posts content frequently. Mirroring the everyday, intimate style Somerhalder

enacts while also relying heavily on images of Somerhalder or cute animals, silly polls, and

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participatory questions. ISF adopts Somerhalder’s style, joining him in his enactment of loving

relationships from The Vampire Diaries.

Somerhalder’s rhetoric frames loving relationships as a reason to perform civic action.

Indeed, Somerhalder models this himself. Somerhalder became an activist when he watched the

BP oil spill wreak havoc across his home state Louisiana in 2010, a narrative he repeats across

the ISF homepage and his Facebook page. Furthermore, Somerhalder models a commitment to

animal rights grounded in family connections. Somerhalder regularly refers to his dog Nietzsche,

his cat Moke, and his other pets as his children and himself as their father. For example,

Somerhalder posted a photo of himself embracing his cat with the text “Being a Dad…Morning

vet visit with moke before heading to my 1st Day of work for Season 6 of The Vampire Diaries!”

[sic] (Somerhalder, 2014a). Somerhalder frequently posts images of himself cuddling with one or

more of his pets. Overall, Somerhalder frames his commitment to the environment and animals

as grounded in personal connections gained through loving relationships.

Somerhalder invites ISF members to perform the same kind of activism he does — an

activism performed out of a commitment to loving relationships. While a number of ISF

initiatives have relied on this strategy, one of the biggest was the 2014 fundraiser organized

around Somerhalder’s 35th birthday. Somerhalder and the ISF invited members to donate 35

dollars in honor of Ian’s birthday. Somerhalder’s appeal invited fans to donate because it was the

birthday wish of someone they cared about. Thus, the fundraiser became an act of celebrating,

honoring, and supporting a relationship between ISF members and Somerhalder. One ISF

member named Haley followed Somerhalder’s model of philanthropy. For Haley’s 13th

birthday, she asked friends to donate money to ISF instead of giving her gifts. Donating money

became a way to ‘support’ one’s relationship to another.

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Somerhalder’s 35th birthday fundraiser and Haley’s 13th birthday fundraiser are not the

only initiatives that use this strategy. The Ian Somerhalder Foundation also organized

Valentine’s Day fundraisers in 2013 and 2014. Ian asked “Will you be my Valentine??” [sic] in

posts promoting Valentine’s Day T-shirts and cards ‘sealed with a kiss’ (Somerhalder, 2014a).

On Facebook, Somerhalder wrote about how his activism is grounded in this kind of loving

relationship:

When showing love to those around you, remember it doesn’t take a material object to let

those around you know you care. Show them how you feel and spread some love not just

to the people around you but to this amazing planet (Somerhalder, 2014a)

For Somerhalder, loving relationships are a key reason to do environmental activism. The value

of ‘loving relationships’ extends from The Vampire Diaries to Somerhalder’s celebrity persona

to his celebrity activism. Damon values the loving relationships in his life on The Vampire

Diaries, working to protect his family, friends, and love interests. Somerhalder integrates this

value into his celebrity persona, inviting fans to see themselves as part of loving relationships

with each other and with him. Lastly, Somerhalder and the ISF ground their rhetorical appeals in

the ‘loving relationships’ value, inviting fans to enact that value through environmental activism.

Messy middle grounds

In The Vampire Diaries, Damon is presented as an unusual hero. While most other

characters in the series are presented as consistently good or bad, Damon regularly does ‘bad’

things for the greater good or people he loves. This is consistent with a core element of his

character, exemplified in his consumption patterns, a messy and impure approach to ethical

decisions. Most other vampires in the series either eat humans indiscriminately or abstain. Stefan

is emblematic of such abstinence, representing a kind of ethical purity. Damon, conversely, eats

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for pleasure as well as sustenance, sometimes directly from people, balancing his own pleasure

with any harm he might cause. As a result, Damon’s relationship to consumption is ethically

messy. However, his moral imperfections and compromises are treated as crucial parts of his

character’s effectiveness in the series. Consistently, Damon serves as the character who does

what is necessary to protect the people he cares about and he often serves the greater good. But

in doing so, Damon often engages in violence and deception that ideologically purer characters

condemn him for. As the series goes on, Damon’s ethical decisions take on ever more complex

moral dimensions. While he is willing to sacrifice and endanger himself for those he cares about,

he is also willing to cause harm to one person to save many and bloody his own hands while

allowing others in his group who condemn him to remain pure.

On social media, Somerhalder enacts this kind of messiness in his own life by adopting

an ethos that embraces a messy middle ground between an ideal and reality as part of his

celebrity persona. Somerhalder resists presenting an always prepared, perfect and polished

version of himself on social media. Rather, Somerhalder presents himself in both successes and

failures. On Facebook and Twitter he celebrates his Teen Choice Award nominations but credits

his fans for the accomplishment. In other posts, Somerhalder frames his experience as an actor as

an incomplete process. In one Facebook post, Somerhalder says “As an actor you hope to never

stop growing and each new role guarantees that” and in another he credits his acting teacher

(Somerhalder, 2014a). Somerhalder frames his acting success in ways that embrace a messy and

impure middle ground, between an ideal he and his audience may imagine and a more pragmatic

reality that acknowledges the role others play in his success and his limitations.

The quality of Somerhalder’s images reinforces this movement between a perfect

celebrity ideal and a messier, more pragmatic reality. Somerhalder presents an idealized self by

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sharing images from professional photo shoots that frame him in flattering ways through

lighting, makeup, and editing. However, Somerhalder also shares images he took himself with

less professional expertise, including an image of him wearing a hoody snuggling with his dog,

an image of him using an inhaler when sick on set, and an old family photo from Somerhalder’s

childhood. In other Facebook posts, Somerhalder eschews expertise and perfection in favor of

the practical or realistic. For example, in one Facebook post, he writes “Much of life is like a

television show. You have ups and downs. You never know where it’s going to go”

(Somerhalder, 2014a). In another Facebook post, he adds “You don’t always win. But every time

you lose, you get better” (Somerhalder, 2014a). In both posts, Somerhalder embraces the

messiness of our practical everyday lives.

This messy and impure middle ground is reflected not only in Somerhalder’s celebrity

persona but in ISF’s civic appeals as well. Somerhalder and the ISF eschew a kind of purity

associated with some other environmental or animal activist organizations. For example, while

Somerhalder frequently highlights his love of animals, his support of animal sanctuaries, and his

disdain for factory farming, he has said on Twitter that he does eat meat but that he works to only

eat animal products from humane farms and sources (Somerhalder, 2014b). This position is

echoed in a Foundation post explaining how meat eaters can be “good guys,” too (Ian

Somerhalder Foundation, 2011). In another example, the ISF encourages members to adopt pets

when possible but then explains how ISF members can make ethical decisions if they choose not

to adopt by distinguishing between breeders and puppy mills. For both the ISF and Somerhalder,

activism is enacted through ethical sourcing. On the ISF’s social media, consumption-related

posts were nearly as common on the Foundation’s page (41 posts) as posts about climate change

(49 posts) and were the most common type of environmental issue-related tweet.

18

A messy and impure approach to ethical decisions is also reflected in the way

Somerhalder and the ISF frame the actions requested of ISF members. Somerhalder’s particular

brand of environmental activism focuses on what range of actions can be done, both individually

and collectively, with various degrees of effort. Fans are not asked to endeavor for perfection to

belong to the ISF family. Abstinence is not required for activism. Rather participation and

awareness is privileged as posts provide fans with a variety of ways, small and large, to engage

in activism and celebrate them for their contributions. These contributions— ranging from

donations given to celebrate Ian’s birthday to posting a picture of one’s pet dressed for

Halloween to political action to stop fracking —are all lauded by ISF and Somerhalder as

valuable participation. Any given appeal often allows for a range of involvement. While some of

the consumption-related posts were about reducing consumption (through DIY or recycling

options), many focused on changing the nature of one’s consumption to more eco-friendly

options. Similarly, campaigns against fracking asked for participation that ranged across sharing

a post, making a donation, and appearing at an event. For Somerhalder and his Foundation, the

message is: If you can do X but won’t do Y, you are still welcome in the ISF activist community.

Somerhalder models this kind of impure activism. He is frequently photographed in what

appears to be a leather jacket, while the Foundation simultaneously discusses vegan options for

shoes and clothes. Rather than label this disconnect hypocrisy, disconnects like this indicate

ISF’s and Somerhalder’s focus on messiness and accommodation. In the context of the series

that brought many ISF members to the Foundation, this mixture of small changes with national

or global projects makes sense. Not only does this make action accessible for the (frequently

young) fans who are involved with the organization, but it is also resonant with The Vampire

Diaries and Somerhalder’s character, which regularly demonstrates that messiness and

19

compromise is more efficacious then purity.

Damon in The Vampire Diaries models a messy ethical existence in which decisions and

actions need not be ideologically pure, but instead embraces messy middle-grounds achieved

through practical accommodation. Somerhalder reinforces this value, performing it on social

media for his fans. This messiness also grounds the environmental activism appeals ISF and

Somerhalder make. Like the ‘loving relationships’ value, this value extends across The Vampire

Diaries, Somerhalder’s celebrity persona, and environmental activist appeals.

Conclusion: celebrity activism and civic action

Critics of celebrity activism assert that celebrity activism lacks substance and does a

better job of strengthening fans’ commitments to celebrities than their commitments to public

issues. However, Somerhalder’s activism demonstrates that, in some cases, the commitments to

celebrities and commitments to public issues need not be so separate — they might be much

more deeply connected than critics assume. In this essay, we demonstrated that the values

Somerhalder and the ISF draw on in their environmental appeals are the same values

Somerhalder enacts in his social media posts with fans and the same values Somerhalder enacts

in his performance of his on-screen character. Somerhalder and the ISF invoke these values in

their environmental appeals, grounding invitations for civic action in values fans have already

embraced. Somerhalder encourages this connection by inviting slippage between his celebrity

personae and his on-screen identity. Intimacy fans feel for Damon merges with intimacy fans

feel for Somerhalder, and Somerhalder’s environmental appeals become imbued with Damon’s

on-screen values. As a result, allegiance felt to both Damon and Somerhalder can be activated in

environmental appeals that explicitly and implicitly evoke them.

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While Somerhalder’s celebrity activism may contest critics’ concerns over the

relationship between intimacy and celebrity activism, his case exhibits a number of other

possible limitations. First, Somerhalder’s celebrity activism relied heavily on Omaze

competitions in which fans would make a donation for a chance to meet Somerhalder. While

these were not the only types of campaigns or actions, Somerhalder’s dependency on these types

of fundraisers brings up questions of who can participate in Somerhalder’s campaigns and what

kind of participation is most valued. Secondly, there is some disagreement among Somerhalder’s

fans over how to engage Somerhalder’s social media: through appreciation of his action, support

for his activism, or engagement with him as a sex object. Future research should examine how

fans, too, negotiate these blurred lines. Thirdly, questions linger over the future of Somerhalder’s

celebrity activism now that The Vampire Diaries series is over. Because Somerhalder’s celebrity

activism depends on the slippage between his character and his celebrity persona, Somerhalder’s

celebrity activism may be significantly limited in its power, reach, and/or longevitity now that he

is no longer playing Damon on television. Future scholarship should explore how celebrities

might adapt their strategies after shows end.

Ultimately, Somerhalder’s case of celebrity activism presents two important implications

for scholars. First, this case demonstrates the value that the analysis of television texts can

present to other inquiries of analysis, including research on fandom, celebrity, rhetoric, and civic

engagement. Without an analysis of The Vampire Diaries television text, Somerhalder’s activist

rhetoric would look vacuous. However, as a rhetorical scholar and media scholar writing this

essay together, we were able to trace the ways in which meaning moved through television texts

and social media posts across celebrity and activist contexts. Leveraging analysis of television

texts ensures seeing even the implicit connections in fan and celebrity activism, thus resisting

21

quick dismissals of such activism as lacking substance. Scholars of fan and celebrity activism

often focus on cases that contain an explicit reference to the source text as in the case of the

Harry Potter Alliance (Hinck, 2016; Jenkins, 2012). Somerhalder’s activism demonstrates that

implicit connections between television text, celebrity persona, and civic appeal exist as well.

The case of Somerhalder’s celebrity activism points to the importance of tracing meaning, public

values, and ideologies through multiple media, even as those texts cross disciplinary lines. This

has become even more important as publics become increasingly mediated and media audiences

become increasingly diffused (Livingstone, 2005), blurring “traditional boundaries between

work and leisure, education and entertainment, domestic and civic, local and global” (p. 9).

Secondly, this case illustrates one rhetorical strategy that relies upon social media’s

unique culture and features. Internet studies and celebrity scholars have demonstrated that social

media has intensified celebrities’ performances of and fans’ expectations for intimacy. While in

the past, fans relied on intermediaries like gossip writers for access to celebrities, on social media

fans can now interact more directly with celebrities (Marwick & Boyd, 2011). The directness of

this communication creates a sense of proximity, closeness, and intimacy (Bennett, 2014). On

social media, it is easier than ever to experience intimacy with your favorite celebrity. This

makes understanding the relationship between celebrity activism and feelings of intimacy even

more important. Somerhalder demonstrates one rhetorical strategy that utilizes these feelings of

intimacy in powerful ways. No doubt there will be others. Future research might investigate

other ways in which feelings of intimacy with a celebrity can function as a bridge to

commitments to public issues. Ultimately, Somerhalder’s case calls scholars to take celebrity

activism seriously, to consider how public commitments might be drawn out of feelings of

intimacy between fans and celebrities, and to explore ways in which celebrities’ messages

22

constitute and contribute to fan activism.

23

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this manuscript was presented at the 2014 American Studies Association

Conference in Los Angeles, CA. The authors thank Liz Ellcessor and the members of the Queen

City Writing Group for their feedback on earlier drafts.

Note

1. xo is commonly used as an informal abbreviation for hugs and kisses.

24

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Appendix

Ian Somerhalder Code List#tbtActingAnimal welfare/loveAsks a questionAsks fan to do something with himBehind the scenes imagesBirthday postsBlurs the line between Damon and IanCalls for actionCollaborationCompliments FansDirect addressDiscussion of the environment/animal welfareDiscussion of girlfriends or womenExpression of gratitudeEvokes vampiresFamilial languageFan art or memesFans as friendsFacebook friends number updateGirlfriends or womenGood morning/good night ‘post’Honor or awardsIan made video messageIan quotes himselfImage of private spaceInspirational quotesIntimacy languageIntimacy Image (private space, presents in mouth, kissing)Invitation to interact on social mediaISF fundraising postLink to InstagramMaking changeMentions of the Ian Somerhalder FoundationMentions The Vampire Diaries or DamonNatureNeitzsche and “Kids”NOLANon-heart emoji usedNon-Ian quotesOther films discussedPhoto of an animalPhotos of Ian

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Photo of Ian as DamonPhoto of Ian as a childPhoto of Ian and animalPhoto of Ian holding or hugging animalPhoto of Ian with non-The Vampire Diaries celebrityPhoto of Ian with The Vampire Diaries castmatesPhoto of Ian wearing what appears to be leatherPhoto wearing ISF gearPleasePost discusses Ian not framed as IanPost uses bodily languagePost uses feeling wordsPost uses the phrase “his babies”Post uses the word “Beautiful”Post uses the word “Help”Post uses the word “Home”Post uses the word “Love”Post uses the word “Please”Post uses the word “You”Post uses togetherness wordsQueer implicationsRefers to LostRefers to himself as a dadRefers to a holidayRefers to RYOTRefers to Years of Living DangerouslyRelated to a contestRetweetRomantic undertones to postSpecific news or policySupports non-environment causeTalks about his childhoodTalks about petsTalks as if Damon is realTags someone elseText onlyThe Vampire Diaries ImpliedTravel and location infoVideo of IanXOIan Somerhalder Foundation Code List#coalsucksAnimal endangerment or abuseAnimal factsAnnouncement about something Ian is doingArticle or interview with Ian

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Asks a questionAsks to tweet or shareCall to actionCheck this outCollaborationConsumption relatedContestClimate ChangeCute animal videoDirect address to followersEndangered animalsEmojis usedEmotional or feel good animal postEnvironmental postExpresses gratitude/complimentsFamilial languageFashion and beautyFeeling words usedFocus on kids, youth, collegeFocuses on particular animalsFood relatedFuel and energyFundraisingFYIGardening and DIYHoliday mentionedIconographicIllustration or icon usedInspirational quotesInvitation to act onlineLink back to ISFLink to article with videoLink to listicleLink to other websiteLink to YouTubeMentions IanMentions the Vampire DiariesMNNNature factsNews storiesOceansPersonal actionPet adoption/puppy millsPet care tipsPet relatedPetrified costume contest

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Photo in postPhoto of animalsPhoto of anonymous personPhoto of IanPhoto of naturePhoto of objectPhoto of urban environmentPosts says “did you know”Post says “enjoy”Post says “good news”Post says “good question”Post says “thoughts”Post uses cool, awesome, awePost uses cute, adorable, awePost uses feeling wordsPost uses the phrase “good to know”Post uses the word “love”Post uses the word “wow”Post uses the word “you”Post uses togetherness wordsPost uses “watch” to begin postReal world event discussedRecyclingReference to “making change”Quizzes and gamesQuotations usedRetweetRetweet IanRhetorical questionRitual online eventsRYOTSigned as IanSpecific ISF initiativesVolunteeringText only PostUNEPVideo includedXOYears of Living Dangerously

Example of coding analysisMany posts were semiotically rich and had many codes attached to them. Below, we provide an example of the way in which we tacked back and forth between categories developed from qualitative coding and rhetorical analysis. This approach allowed us to see how these elements worked together in order to identify significant themes.

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Example postA December 2, 2014 Ian Somerhalder Facebook post reads: “Thank you guys SO much for your awesome questions!!! It was so fun chatting with you all. Enjoy your #givingtuesday and enter in… for a chance to hang with me in Mystic Falls and shoot a bonus scene ;)….Have an amazing amazing night everyone…”.

The post was accompanied by a picture of Somerhalder sitting cross-legged on his bed with a laptop and cat on his lap, hands resting on his knees and open, and wearing an ISF scarf.

Codes: expresses gratitude/compliments; call to action; uses togetherness words; intimacylanguage; intimacy image; photo of Ian and animal; photo wearing ISF gear; non-heart emojiused; discussion of the environment/animal welfare; ISF fundraising post; post uses the word “you”.

The post starts with an other-oriented framing expressing gratitude, emphasizing the reader (you/your), and complimenting them in the very first sentence. The next sentence bridges the self and other by folding a compliment into a statement about his own pleasure in the interaction. This framing prepares the reader for the ‘call to action’: a plea to enter a contest to shoot a scene for The Vampire Diaries. The request is framed for the insider in a way that emphasizes intimacy in three ways. First, by describing the reward as a “chance to hang with me in Mystic Falls” – it both emphasizes togetherness (with me) and familiarity (through the use of the word ‘hang’). Secondly, the post presumes series fandom by only referring to the show’s fictional setting: Mystic Falls. This statement is followed by a winking face emoji, a mild flirtation that synergizes with the image of Somerhalder in an intimate space, on a bed barefoot, suggesting a familiarity that the prize implicitly will make concrete. The image’s inclusion of an animal, his pet cat, and the ISF scarf also expect fan knowledge and visually represent the environmental and activist causes of the content. The post ends with well wishes: “have an amazing amazing night everyone” [sic]. This statement expresses inclusion and goodwill, both of which are also reflected in Somerhalder’s open body positioning.