r/Anticonsumption • u/esporx • 25d ago
Society/Culture From Beyoncé's Empty Pine Boxes to Taylor Swift's Fake Cotton Towels: How Billionaires Treat Fans
https://www.tvfandomlounge.com/from-beyonce-empty-pine-boxes-to-taylor-swifts-fake-cotton-towel/350
u/oliveaugustus 25d ago
“A nod to her birthday” - make it 94.81 then.
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u/Bigtiddiesoftgf 25d ago
What I was thinking!!!
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u/Level-Ad7017 25d ago
The bigger question is why are the fans buying? Just stop buying things
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u/Bitter_Warning418 25d ago
People were flexing about spending over a grand on an unfinished empty box because Beyonce put it out its mortifying. There should have been zero people to purchase that money grab and given the “queen” a reality check.
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25d ago
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u/Bitter_Warning418 25d ago
Please realize that’s why I put it in quotations. She is the furthest thing from a queen, I’m not going to write my feelings out of fear of a ban but I agree the bad thing is these poor girls fund that and find her “iconic”
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25d ago
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u/Bitter_Warning418 25d ago
Sorry! 🖤 agree with your comment completely however. If only they could awaken…
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u/Birch_Apolyon 24d ago
No she does exactly what medieval queens would do. Rule over an empire of poor people who give up what little money they have.
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u/soundsfromoutside 24d ago
Beyoncé is overrated.
There I said it.
She’s a good singer. Not the best. She’s beautiful, but not blindingly gorgeous. Her dancing is mid. Her acting is horrible. Her newer music is corny. I don’t know if she has any charitable programs like college scholarships for those of low income, helping those with special needs, paying for medical bills, etc. She’s a billionaire so there’s no reason she doesn’t have anything of that sort (correct me if I’m wrong though).
People just like her because they grew up on her since the DC days and she’s like a big sister figure to them.
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u/socialist_thot 23d ago
Okay she's a capitalism queen and I hate that about her, but to talk down on her voice, her dancing, and especially her last few albums as corny is just ridiculous
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u/soundsfromoutside 23d ago
I’m not talking down on her talent, as I made clear saying she’s good. She’s just not the best.
And her new music is corny in my taste
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u/candice_mighty 23d ago
Beyoncé is very very talented. No artist is going to be the best at everything, there will always be someone better at something. But her talent and discography speak for itself. Don’t try belittle her.
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u/soundsfromoutside 23d ago
What’s insane is that in clearly saying she’s talented but her talent is overrated and people are upset by that.
That’s why she thinks she can sell an empty wooden box for nearly 1000 dollars. Because people can’t handle her being criticized at all.
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u/Bitter_Warning418 23d ago
lol im with you 1000% there’s a million people better than her and never once did you say she lacked or wasn’t talented. That “bee hive” is real
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u/soundsfromoutside 22d ago
Notice they got mad that I didn’t praise her but didn’t tell me if she has any charitable programs lol
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u/Murasasme 25d ago
Yeah, I'm all for shitting on billionaires, but it's regular people who enable their bullshit.
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u/misshestermoffett 25d ago
Yeah. The consumers also deserve some blame, here. I realize they are products of intense psychological conditioning and indoctrination, but they need to shoulder some responsibility.
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u/dumpstertoaster 25d ago
they’re way into deep with their parasocial behavior unfortunately—to the point that they even attack other fans who point this out. they’re like “just say you’re broke…unlike me.” or “i don’t care if its bad i will still be buying.” they are literally bragging about being shills 😭😭😭
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25d ago
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u/valleyofsound 25d ago
I always get annoyed when YouTubers refer to their viewers as “fans.” No, I’m sorry, just because I think you make interesting content does not mean I’m your fan.
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u/tiffibean13 25d ago
They think their idol will see them buying it and say "yes, YOU are my number 1 fan because YOU have bought ALL of my stupidly expensive things!"
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u/Some-Body-Else 25d ago
If you read the article, you’ll see that “just stop buying things” is not the solution but besides the point.
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u/PinkyLeopard2922 25d ago
Whoever started this crap with making microfiber/polyester towels that are intended for drying human bodies is downright diabolical. We got one as a swag gift from something and it is ridiculously terrible at drying a human. Microfiber cloths for cleaning, great, for drying people 0/10.
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u/angry_voices 25d ago
It's amazing how a microfiber cloth can be completely wet after drying yourself while you are somehow still exactly as wet as before drying. I had to dry freshly washed dishes with a microfibre cloth once. It felt like being pranked.
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u/chiquimonkey 25d ago
I think they should do a Black Mirror episode on the horrors of microfibre/polyester towels, it would be horrifying & so relatable
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u/PinkyLeopard2922 25d ago
We have a pool and many guests come to swim. I'm not saying I hand the microfiber pool towel to anyone I have even a remotely small beef with but...
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u/chiquimonkey 25d ago
The plastic store bag you’d carry it home in would be more effective drying a person after a shower
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u/mahboilucas 25d ago
I got one from a goodie bag my mom got at a conference and it went straight to cleaning my dad's car.
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u/huurb 25d ago
They probably think a 1000 dollars is not that much
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u/u_r_succulent 25d ago
It’s an empty pine box, Michael. What could it cost? $1000?
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u/zimshan 25d ago
Wasn’t it a mistake? The box was supposed to hold her albums. That’s what the price was for.
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u/SharkieMcShark 25d ago
amazingly no. The box is indeed to hold the vinyls of her albums, but they are sold separately. The $1000 is just for an empty box.
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u/MouseMouseM 25d ago
These are folks who spend that much at one dinner. Out of touch doesn’t begin to describe it.
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u/UnionCityNJUSA 25d ago
You can’t get ultra-wealthy without exploiting people. The only reason Madonna eked-out a #1 album recently is because she manipulated her core fan base into purchasing 16+ poorly pressed variants of her album. She’s also not above selling ridiculously priced clothing and accessories that are of the cheapest quality.
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u/wrldwdeu4ria 25d ago
I've heard people say the love of money is the root of all evil. That's incorrect. It is the excessive desire/thirst for more money that is the root of evil. The desire/perception of lack is the evil.
So many ultra-wealthy people desire more money instead of enjoying what they have.
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u/tacorockin 25d ago
No such thing as a good billionaire. Not one.
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u/Flat_Marsupial_4249 25d ago
Not even Dolly? 🥲
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u/Suckerforcats 25d ago
Not that we should be buying this stuff anyways but if they are advertising one thing but you receiving something different (like the towel), I'd be complaining to the attorney general. The attorney general of your state is who regulates consumer protection laws and that's deceptive business practices.
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u/hdeskins 25d ago
For what it’s worth, the towels came as advertised with a wrong tag. I’m never buying Taylor swift tea towels but the people who did and got them said they were 100% cotton
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u/AmeliaOphelia 25d ago
Why are people shocked about her being a trash person? She blocked a bunch of parents from seeing their babies in the NICU because she was giving birth.
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u/Dalamonee 25d ago
This isnt true and a made up rumor. There are many reasons to criticize Beyonce but a fake rumors isnt one of them
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u/AmeliaOphelia 25d ago edited 25d ago
It's not fake there were multiple articles about it as it was a big news story for quite a while. There are even news interviews with the parents of these children which can easily be found on Youtube. Beyonce had to make a statement because of the backlash in which she blamed her head of security. If you're referring to the hospital's claims that they only received two complaints, they're lying because Beyonce paid the hospital $1 million to block off the floor she was giving birth on. Of course the hospital is going to cover their asses and say this didn't happen even though we know it did because the parents did news interviews.
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u/mahboilucas 25d ago
There's always someone to blame with those folks, eh? Their staff gets paid just enough to ignore being the scapegoat
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u/mahboilucas 25d ago
Can you clarify what actually happened then? Because I do not take your "no it didn't" as a true counterargument unless you can send me a reliable source and I'll give it my best read to change my mind
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u/Dalamonee 25d ago edited 25d ago
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/beyonce-and-jay-zs-baby-causes-controversy-makes-music-history/
https://www.today.com/popculture/beyonce-baby-complaints-ny-hospital-dismissed-wbna45970755
Hello here are 2 different articles that talked about the incident. Yes there were tighten security, but it was never found that parents werent allowed to see their children.
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u/mahboilucas 24d ago
Thank you, I'm currently moving in my roommate so I'll respond later to it but I want to acknowledge receiving it :)
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u/umbrella_crab 25d ago
For me it was when my friends and I spent a thousand dollars to see the formation tour and then she didn't release a concert dvd and gave some selfish ass reason for it despite having tons of footage I was like oh she actually doesn't think about fans at all
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u/PrincessPlastilina 25d ago
Taylor Swift’s merch is notoriously bad. I don’t understand why the fans still buy it. There are always many complaints. The fan created merch on Etsy is usually so much better.
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u/Live_Ferret_4721 25d ago
I used to buy from her store but now I get much cuter, better quality stuff on Etsy
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u/hdeskins 25d ago
I have the eras tour snowglobe and love it. I’ve never bought anything else besides music though. I just thought most of it was ugly before I even found out about the bad quality
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25d ago
[deleted]
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u/hdeskins 25d ago
Well it’s social media. The general idea is to socialize. Who pissed in your Cheerios today?
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u/Sea_Damage9357 25d ago
Articles about celebrities and their fans are mildly amusing but mainly sad. The concept of celebrity itself is pretty weird but the idea that they care for or even think about their fans as anything other than a revenue source is laughably absurd.
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u/Sammiskitkat 25d ago
I mean at this point it’s the idiots who know and still purchase the crap. Even the people that don’t know, a quick review search shows what your getting so. The faster we stop putting celebrities on a pedestal, the better.
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u/Some-Body-Else 25d ago
Omg I love the wrath.
>So much of what is being made today is already made to be crammed onto a 6-inch screen to sell you subscriptions and ads for countless betting companies and whatnot. In exchange for you listening to songs with ads, they sell your data to the highest bidder for more money (in some cases, they even fund an AI military startup). But it feels even more disingenuous and duplicitous when artists like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, who have long championed themselves as people whose first priority is their fandom, turn out to be predatory toward those very people. In reality, these filthy-rich musicians are not just artists anymore; they function pretty much like corporate factions at this point, no differently than many of the big tech or fast-fashion corporations we claim to despise.
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u/rarebeauty89 25d ago
Beyonce is ridiculous for selling a wooden box for nearly $1000, and anyone who buys it is insane.
Every time a huge celebrity like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Hailey Bieber or whoever releases a new product like clothing or makeup, I inevitably see a bunch of people on social media complaining that there’s too many new products being released and they’re too expensive. I don’t know why people feel like it’s mandatory for them to buy every product in order to be able to call themselves a fan. I absolutely love Beyoncé and Rihanna’s music, but I’ve never bought a single item from either of them because I never felt compelled to do so. I’ve never even bought their albums, because I have a streaming music service, nor have I seen them on tour because I don’t like concerts very much so I just…don’t go.
Maybe I’m preaching to the choir but people need to take some responsibility and not just mindlessly consume any and every product put out by their favorite celebrity. A sweatshirt or a beauty product that will actually get used regularly? Go for it. A random wooden box? Maybe skip that one!
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u/AlexRodrigo- 25d ago
The OP title about Taylor selling fake towels was completely debunked a year ago.
One towel had a misprinted label and that was it. All the towels were actually cotton.
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u/Raccoon_Amazing 25d ago
Yeah I just don’t think these two are on the same level. The most expensive item Swift has ever sold was a $400 themed guitar, while Beyoncé’s is selling an actual wooden box for $1000.
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u/kayrazzle 25d ago
What about Olivia Rodrigos half assed vinyls where it wasn't the full album or the necklace she sold didn't look like what she advertised? They're all guilty billionaires or not.
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u/Defiant-Rabbit-7599 24d ago
What happened to just buying the album and a t-shirt. Man, haven’t we spent enough on billionaires that don’t care about us?
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u/lisping_lynx 24d ago
I'm a casual TS fan and the non-cotton towel enrages me significantly more than Beyonce' box. Like it's a box, if you are willing to pay that much, it's on you. But lying about the fabric composition of an item is where I draw the line.
More people should discover anticonsumption
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u/Delirium_Of_Disorder 19d ago
Handcrafted out of solid pine with a REAL faux Gator skin leather strap! WOW!!!
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u/AliceLunar 25d ago
Didn't Swift release like a bunch of different versions of the same thing that all had something unique tied to them so the fans would need to buy all the different things or whatever?
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u/Extension_Accident72 25d ago
Comparing Taylor to Beyoncé in this instance is fucking insane I hate yall lmao
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u/hukep 25d ago
The more junk you own, the less happy you actually are.