It's easy to bash on superheroes whoring herself for sex porn videosJeremy Renner's fan app, but is that really making the internet a better place?
To say Renner has had a tough summer might be the understatement of the season. The actor — best known in 2019 for his role as Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films — has received heaps of criticism over the past few months on nearly every aspect of his professional life. From his fledgling music career and partnership with Jeep to his Man of the Woods-esque Amazon store and the fake camping photoshoot to promote his products.
But what's reallycome under fire as of late is the 48-year-old's personal fan app: Jeremy Renner Official.
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Renner launched the unique app in 2017 as a way to "connect directly" with fans around the world in a "shared environment," according to the Hollywood Reporter. It links to his Spotify music, fan website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube accounts like a social media catch-all, but it also provides a special feed for Renner to share exclusive content and chat with users.
The app is far from new, but as Renner hate stirred online people began criticizing it again, and waves of trolls took advantage of the app's lack of verification by impersonating users — including Renner himself — and posting offensive comments.
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The troll problem grew so messy that on Wednesday, Renner announced he'd be shutting the app down. Hours before the news, however, I downloaded the app to see what all the fuss was about and ended up speaking with five loyal users about why the app means so much to them and how it felt to learn it might be shut down forever.
SEE ALSO: Kate Bishop is all you need to know about the Disney+ 'Hawkeye' seriesFor those who have yet to explore the app (and may now never have the chance,) upon downloading it you're greeted with a full-screen video of Renner in the woods explaining what's what.
"Hey it’s Jeremy. Thanks for joining. Good to see you here. So here’s what this thing's about," the actor says to fans gazing at him through their screens. "This is a way for me to connect with real fans — superfans. It's impossible for me to really get back to anybody on social media, there’s just too many people, so this is a really great way for me to spend time in a more intimate way and share with you guys."
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Renner explains that the app will feature contest giveaways, behind-the-scenes info on movies and music, and real-life updates. "Not in the shower or anything crazy like that," he clarifies, but the app will act as a space for him to share more than he would on social media, without the company of every other celebrity account in the world.
After I made my account I noticed the app's feed looked... exactly like Instagram, only more confusing. If Renner was overwhelmed by social media, why he would make yet anotherspace to have to update and engage with fans? Not sure! But he did, haters be damned.
The download incentive
While the app might sound silly to people who think Renner is a fairly mediocre Hollywood dude who's simply too unremarkable to have his own online space, his real fans love it.
Dorothy, a 39-year-old who began admiring Renner in 2012 after watching The Avengers, downloaded the app in 2017, right after it was announced. (Dorothy, along with all other individuals interviewed, did not feel comfortable sharing their last names because of the recent attacks on the app.)
"I researched his other films and just fell for him and his work," she said in a Facebook message. "I downloaded the app the second he mentioned in on Instagram because I wanted to simply follow my favorite artist," Dorothy said. "One thing that I love is that unlike Facebook and Twitter where you have to share space with politics and news you get to just have a peaceful space of just Renner and Renner fans. It is a RENNERTOPIA!"
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Melissa, 45, has been a fan of Renner's since seeing him act in the 2002 film Dahmer, where he portrayed the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, but hasonly been using the app for about six months. She thinks it's a great place to interact with Jeremy, but also loves the opportunity to meet fellow Renner fans. "I have made some really great friends from this app that I would have never found without [it,] and that is the most amazing part," she said.
Karen, 40, who's also been using the app for a few months, agrees. "It has connected me to a great bunch of people that I talk to regularly and would not have otherwise met," she explained.
And some users, like Kim (who, at the time of writing this article was listed as the No. 1 fan on the app's Fanboard) began using the app to learn more about the actor. "I use it to get an insight into who the guy behind the roles is, what is important to him and what he chooses to share with us," she said. "Reading his replies gives me a better idea of who he is as a person, and sometimes it is nice to be able to get an answer to questions or ideas."
Getting on Renner's radar
Though the app was once solely full of Renner fans, not allof them get the chance to interact with the star daily, because, well, he has songs to sing and Jeep commercials to make. But the way engagement works in Jeremy Renner Official is what makes the app so different from other social media platforms.
When Renner posts on the app users are able to comment, just like Instagram, but each of those comments can be then be "boosted" with stars. Stars are earned by posting in the FanFeed and being active on the app (writing comments, watching videos, or interacting with others,) and they can also be purchased by really hardcore fans willing to drop some dollars.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable The app is free to download, but in-app star purchases range from $1.99 to $99.99. The users I spoke with, however, stressed that while many people think the app is a "cash grab" on Renner's part, most users they know earnstars rather than purchase them so the app remains completely free.
Users can boost their own comments or others with the stars, and the top three fans with the most stars on a post typically receive direct replies from Renner.
"He replied to me a couple of times," Karen said. "Once it was for my littlest kiddo (via me). She adores him as Hawkeye... He was super sweet and responded [to say] that he was pretty sure he was her biggest fan now. She had been in the ER and he followed up a few days later on the post to see how she was."
"It means a lot when you can see he genuinely appreciates the fans and wants them to know it."
Renner also replied to Heather, 45, (a fan of his since seeing The Hurt Locker) on a special day. "For my birthday, friends on the app gifted me with stars so I would get a response," she said. "That's the neat thing, we try to make sure everyone has a chance to be the top fan and get a response from our favorite celebrity."
"You feel special obviously," Melissa explained when describing Renner interactions with fans. "Knowing how much he has on his plate at any given moment, the fact that he takes the time to respond to your comment is really cool. It helps you feel connected in a way even just for a moment."
"It means a lot when you can see he genuinely appreciates the fans and wants them to know it. Not many celebrities do that," Karen added.
Dorthy, who received a response from Renner after she posted a clip from a short film she'd worked on, agrees. "It's awesome when it happens," she said about his replies. "To have my favorite artist watch my work is just the best thing ever."
A good app gone bad
For two years the app was running smoothly and Renner fans were blissfully existing in their Rennertopia until groups of joy-crushing trolls caught wind of their fun and invaded the community.
"Someone thought it would be funny to send a bunch of spammers and trolls as we call them to the app," Karen explained, noting that many of the insincere users cloned accounts and used fake names to impersonate celebrities, including Renner.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable "The first wave came after someone [tweeted] that he had posted on the app in response to the question 'what are the plans for the weekend?' with 'I will be looking at porno on my computer,'" Melissa said. This individual was Stefan Heck, who revealed in a Deadspin post on Tuesday that he "broke the app by posting the word porno on it." According to Melissa, Heck's porno post "resulted in an influx of people doing the same, and, in some cases, posting highly inappropriate photos and videos."
The second wave of trolls, Kim explains, was caused by a mocking YouTube video that "led to many of the guy's followers to show up, spam the app, and share pointless or vulgar posts or pictures."
"We aren’t going to stoop to the level that these individuals have," Melissa said on behalf of the app users, but she did note that some people have been posting anti-troll pictures in the FanFeed "to let their voice be heard and to counter some of the horrible things being posted."
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable "Lots of posts and comments right now are actually from people trolling," Kim advised when she found out I was writing this piece. "Without having been on the app for a while it’s hard to figure out what is legitimate and what isn’t."
Amongst frustrated and sincere users, the consensus seems to be that Escapex, the company that runs the app, should have done a much better job managing spam posts and accounts.
"I think the biggest problem is the lack of security and enough people to handle the clean up [of] reported spam posts," Karen said. "The influx of horrible people lately has left us fans a little jaded."
Dorothy added that although she appreciates the app being free, the troll problem didmake her wish it cost money because perhaps a price would have added a security barrier against trolls who weren't willing to pay to join as a joke.
Another huge issue was the lack of verification in the app, which is what made it so easy for any user to impersonate another or to make an account with the name "Jeremy Renner" and upload the actor's current avatar as their own.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Over the past few weeks, Renner (real or fake, it's honestly unclear) has replied to several users that complained about the troll issue, assuring them that the team was "working on cleaning up the app." But much to their dismay, rather than fix the issues it seems Renner decided to throw in the towel.
The end of a Renn-era
Minutes after the actorannounced that Jeremy Renner Official would be "coming down very soon" the app flooded with comments from distraught users.
"Before the troll invasion it was a safe place."
"It's been an evening of trying to quickly trade contact info with fellow fans that have become friends and trying to boost each other’s spirits while reeling from the news," Melissa said. "Jeremy has stated multiple times on the app that he not only enjoyed interacting with fans, but also liked knowing we had a place to connect with each other."
"Before the troll invasion it was a safe place where none of us had an inbox full of fake Jeremy Renner’s trying to scam us. Now, thanks to the trolls, we no longer have that," she added. "And as bad as we feel, honestly we feel even worse for Jeremy."
"It's sad to see someone who wanted to give back to fans and give them a place to connect having to deal with such negativity..." Kim echoed.
Was it really worth the laugh?
As of Friday morning the Renner app is still alive and kicking, and though it's been removed from the app store and the actor vowed to shut it down, the ultimate fate of the once pure digital fan haven remains unclear.
If the app isshut down though, is that really something to laugh at or be proud of? It's just another example of assholes ruining another person's fun online for their own enjoyment. Sure, I think the app is hilariously unnecessary, confusing to use, and poorly secured. I have absolutely no interest in knowing when Jeremy Renner eats onion rings — no matter how delicious they look — and I'm not sure the guy would even place on a list of top 500 celebrities I'd like to meet. But I get why fans of his would be enchanted by the app.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable It seems like most of the hate stems from thinking that Renner himself is a goofball for creating his own social media platform, or for not understanding how people could actually want to download it. But who cares? If Grown Man Jeremy Renner wants to make an extremely Extra, semi-narcissistic social media app that isn't hurting people, then let him. And if his fans feel like downloading a strictly Renner app to stay up-to-date on his every move (which some of them clearly do) then that shouldn't really concern you.
You can be confused about the app and not agree with its users, but you don't have go through the embarrassingly petty effort of making a fake account, infiltrating the app, and tearing the community down. To me, that's an action far more embarrassing than stanning Jeremy Renner.
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When I first started reporting this story I was fully prepared to add to the plethora of app takedowns on the internet, but after speaking with the users themselves and hearing how much joy it brought to their lives, I kind of get it. Would an app be this funny if a cooler Avengers star like Chris Evans were behind it? Maybe I'd be laughing, but I'd sure as hell be downloading it for personal use.
"In anything, whether it's Facebook, Instagram, [or] Comic-Cons, you will always encounter the nay-sayers," Heather said. "I'm apart of this app because I'm a fan of Jeremy Renner... nothing more and nothing less. Those that don't like the app are free to ignore it but for me, I find it fun."
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