‘I've seen Lana Del Rey 60 times – now I get death threats from other superfans'
But, upon landing back at LAX, he turned on his phone to find that fellow fans on TikTok had escalated their long-running hate campaign against him. They had moved beyond death threats and online trolling – and were threatening to report him to ICE. Yes, that ICE: President Trump's much-feared Immigration and Customs Enforcement department. Ricardo's crime? Attending too many of Del Rey's concerts.
Since 2012, when Del Rey's chart-topping debut album Born to Die first established her as a pop superstar, Ricardo has seen her live 60 times. His videos have received over 27 million likes on TikTok. On Instagram, where he mostly posts pictures from Del Rey shows and with the star herself, he has more than 10,000 followers. Ricardo's social media presence has pushed him to the forefront of one of pop's most strident – and increasingly toxic – fandoms, but with infamy (and attention from Del Rey personally) has come vile abuse and real-world threats.
'They try to portray me as a villain'
The dark side of fandom has been well documented, with fans known to verbally attack or threaten anyone who might criticise their idol, but fans turning against each other for being 'too much' of a fan is a disturbing new development.
'I've faced relentless backlash over the past three years,' Ricardo tells me over Zoom. Fellow Del Rey 'stans' (or superfans) have started to spread rumours on TikTok that his regular presence at the barrier at concerts is a result of him intimidating, or even physically assaulting, other (often younger, female) fans. He vehemently denies the rumours. 'I remember, after a show in Boston last year, there was a whole rumour about me going to jail because I'd apparently punched a little girl,' he says. 'They try to portray me as a villain … it's had a profound impact on my mental health and my private life.'
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