Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson and those endless relationship rumors
Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson's cozy red carpet and buzzy press moments promoting their new film "The Naked Gun" has the rumor mill working overtime. Are these two a couple or not?! "Let the Liam and Pam dating (rumors) be true, I'm shipping them so hard right now. The world needs this," one X user wrote. Another: "Pam and Liam is the best news I've gotten in 2025 so far."
Skeptics are out there, too: "Hello. Everyone understands that the Liam Neisen/Pam Anderson 'relationship' is fake and only for their movie, right? Or am I jaded and insane."
It can be trying when those around you won't stop guessing your relationship status. This difficulty is magnified for celebrities, who see their relationship ups-and-downs become the subject of international news headlines and social media trends.
Until the rumors are confirmed, it's fine to speculate in private and see hope for the pair. Don't let your gossiping go too far, though. Parasocial relationships can be innocent. But when they get out of hand, "stan culture" can lead to everything from "addictive tendencies" to "stalking behavior," according to research.
Is there a psychological component?
Everyone spends part of their day being unproductive – it's OK if yours involves gossiping about celebrities. This idea has as an underlying psychology: the idea of "celebrity worship."
Research by Dr. Randy A. Sansone and Dr. Lori A. Sansone, published in 2014 in "Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience," found that so-called "celebrity worshippers" might "harbor concerns about body image (particularly young adolescents), be more prone to cosmetic surgery" and could display "narcissistic features, dissociation, addictive tendencies, stalking behavior, and compulsive buying." Studies revealed that those with intense celebrity worship levels were more likely to struggle with their mental health.
The saturation of celebrity culture in media provides some explanation for public interest. Some level of celebrity worship, then, is inevitable. But that doesn't mean it will always reach the "stan" level. Casual purveyors of celebrities might find Neeson and Anderson cute, albeit not worth talking about.
In case you missed it: Pamela Anderson celebrates 'Naked Gun' release with Liam Neeson in sweet new photos
Guess all you want, but be careful
David Schmid, associate professor of English at the University at Buffalo, previously told USA TODAY some celebrities don't get involved more directly with their fans in an effort to not bite the hand that feeds them.
We've always demanded a lot from celebrities – for them to be absolutely unlike us but also relatable. "A celebrity cannot possibly satisfy both of those requirements at the same time," Schmid says.
Schmid thinks stan culture need not be demonized, but used as a force for good. "A big part of the pleasure is the purity of the obsession, and the purity of the extremity," Schmid says.
Guess all you want about Liam and Pam. Just don't go to drastic extremes on social media to prove your point in the process.
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