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May I add something to the discussion on Ethan’s social media use? He said this in an interview with Schoen Magazine recenly:

“I think there’s also often a barrier between people, and that barrier is the internet– you were just talking about seeing the videos of these interactions [between me and fans] online, and it’s amazing that those interactions reached so many people. But that was really between me and just a couple of people that were really there and we were having this moment together, in person, and that’s a really beautiful thing, to take away the barrier of social media and be able to meet people and talk to them, and be real people with each other. I mean, it’s kind of amazing, and to be able to do it in the excitement of something that we’re all really passionate about has been super fun.”

So I honestly think he’s not really into using social media in general anymore but stills very much enjoys meeting people, just face to face. I’ve talked to people who met him quite recently and they only had good things to say. So he probably really IS mostly using Instagram only to promote stuff now. Which I also find sad but I can’t really blame him for not posting personal stuff on there anymore after his personal life got pulled apart so publicly, tbh.

Hello anon!

Yeah, I always felt like Ethan is the type of person who thrives off of being around people. He's a "people person", you could say. I'm glad he can still be his charming self lol!

It is sad, especially when you notice that he stoped posting personal posts pretty early on. iirc the last personal post he made before his instagram purge was his baby reveal post (for lack of a better term, haha). I'm not including the Mother's Day post because that one is still up.

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I’m hoping to apply for a postgraduate degree (here in Ireland so not sure if it’s similar or not!) so your update actually did bring me some peace knowing I wasn’t exactly the most studious person with undiagnosed ADHD at the time, but I think I’ve found something I would love to do and just need to push myself and apply!!! So glad you’re enjoying it ❤️

Hello!

If you have your heart set on what you want to study, go for it and apply! Also, I don't know how it works in Ireland, but you should be able to get accommodations for your ADHD.

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Update to this anon: 7 weeks in and I'm enjoying it! It's challenging, but in a good way.

have you started grad school yet? if not how are you feeling about it? 💖

I haven’t yet, but I start next week!

I’m excited because I’ve been wanting to do this program since I graduated high school, but I’m also nervous because I heard that graduate programs are a lot more work djfjdjd.

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Y'all what happened to the Assassins musical fandom?? It was thriving off the backs of like 5 blogs 2 years ago, and now there's barely anything dfgdbfg.

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Something I will give Ethan credit for is still using his platform to raise awareness. Like if he’s not gonna post on his socials the way he used to, I’m glad he still does that at least.

(Hi! I was one of the main anons during ozgate! Happy to be back lol) Re: the talk about ethan being a different person now: I am of the personal opinion that he’s been consumed by the grande of it all, and the fallout from it. he’s so unpersonable in interviews and on red carpets now, he was so much more enjoyable when he leaned into being the kinda goofy guy instead of this forced half-smile in a black suit boring thing he’s doing. It’s very clear to me that he’s been given a very narrow selection of lines to say in response to questions and stuff like that, he seems too rehearsed and stiff now as a result of media training trying to separate him from the scandal and making him and everyone else walk on eggshells to the point that they don’t even really seem human. Also, he’s barely spoken about anyone that isn’t Ariana. Like most of the wicked cast (unfortunately), Wicked has fully become the Ariana Grande show where the whole thing revolves almost exclusively around her, and that’s only going to be increased with ethan because he’s publicly dating her. I feel like his whole persona now is ariana grande’s boyfriend who barely smiles anymore. Sorry if this is a harsh opinion but it’s just how I truly feel.

Hey, welcome back!

You know, I was having a hard time putting into words why I thought he seemed different, and you’ve worded it perfectly. Like he’s cute in the interviews he’s done with Marissa, but in the ones where it’s just him he’s become so awkward. The only interviews I enjoy watching are Cynthia’s tbqh.

And it’s so weird to watch not only as an Ethan fan, but also as a Wicked fan. Honestly, I try not to watch too many of the interviews because I just want to enjoy Wicked without having to think about the weird relationships between the cast members dkfjdjd!

And you’re so right about people making it all about Ariana. I give credit where credit is due, she was amazing in the movie, but she’s also not the only lead. And yeah, in every Ethan interview I’ve come across they ask him about Ariana. Like he brought a lot of depth to an otherwise uninteresting character in the musical, why don’t they ask him more about Boq??

Anyway, hopefully this all made sense. It’s after midnight and I’m tired lol!

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(Hi! I was one of the main anons during ozgate! Happy to be back lol) Re: the talk about ethan being a different person now: I am of the personal opinion that he’s been consumed by the grande of it all, and the fallout from it. he’s so unpersonable in interviews and on red carpets now, he was so much more enjoyable when he leaned into being the kinda goofy guy instead of this forced half-smile in a black suit boring thing he’s doing. It’s very clear to me that he’s been given a very narrow selection of lines to say in response to questions and stuff like that, he seems too rehearsed and stiff now as a result of media training trying to separate him from the scandal and making him and everyone else walk on eggshells to the point that they don’t even really seem human. Also, he’s barely spoken about anyone that isn’t Ariana. Like most of the wicked cast (unfortunately), Wicked has fully become the Ariana Grande show where the whole thing revolves almost exclusively around her, and that’s only going to be increased with ethan because he’s publicly dating her. I feel like his whole persona now is ariana grande’s boyfriend who barely smiles anymore. Sorry if this is a harsh opinion but it’s just how I truly feel.

Hey, welcome back!

You know, I was having a hard time putting into words why I thought he seemed different, and you’ve worded it perfectly. Like he’s cute in the interviews he’s done with Marissa, but in the ones where it’s just him he’s become so awkward. The only interviews I enjoy watching are Cynthia’s tbqh.

And it’s so weird to watch not only as an Ethan fan, but also as a Wicked fan. Honestly, I try not to watch too many of the interviews because I just want to enjoy Wicked without having to think about the weird relationships between the cast members dkfjdjd!

And you’re so right about people making it all about Ariana. I give credit where credit is due, she was amazing in the movie, but she’s also not the only lead. And yeah, in every Ethan interview I’ve come across they ask him about Ariana. Like he brought a lot of depth to an otherwise uninteresting character in the musical, why don’t they ask him more about Boq??

Anyway, hopefully this all made sense. It’s after midnight and I’m tired lol!

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I will always hold such a special place in my heart for Ethan - especially for his art and the people that have come into my life from being his fan. And I really want to see him continue going from strength to strength, I want Wicked to be the start of many amazing things! But it does feel like we’re looking at someone completely different. Understandably so, the media scrutiny and bullying he faced was insane. Some valid, some incredibly nasty that I know I wouldn’t be the same after if I experienced it. But even entirely excluding his personal life he feels like a whole new person and it’s strange I guess? I still don’t know how to feel, in the least parasocial way possible

Yes, I feel the same. Not only have I met some awesome people in the fandom, but being his fan also introduced me to some incredibly talented people (Lilli Cooper, Nick Blaemire, etc.) that I have also become a fan of.

And you're right about the fact that he seems like a completely different person. I admit that I've kinda been denying it, but it's true. Even with what's left of his social media presence, I feel every other post is either something promoting Wicked or a photoshoot (which are also promoting Wicked). And don't get me wrong, I love Wicked and I love everything about the movie, but I miss his personable posts! And is it weird of me to say that I miss when he was super interactive with fans? Because I do miss it.

(And I admit that it is hard to talk about this stuff without sounding parasocial. Despite my best efforts, I fear I may have come across as very parasocial through out my time posting on this blog sdkgjn!)

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hi this is anon from before, thank you for answering my question! you’re right, that’s so many life changes in such a short time. wild how much can happen in a few short years sometimes. it must be slightly surreal for fans from before wicked etc happened. (must be slightly surreal to live through too tbh)

I'm so sorry, I don't know how I missed the notification for this!

As someone who's been his fan since 2018, it is very surreal. Even in the months leading up to when they officially announced his casting (it was a very poorly kept secret lol!) I feel like started changing because he just suddenly stopped posting on social media for months.

As I'm typing this, Ethan's red carpet photos are being posted online! If you told me 5 years ago that Ethan would be walking the red carpet at the Oscars, I wouldn't have believed you haha.

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Ethan at the Oscars tonight!!

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I'm curious about your post about pre-wicked interviews and have to ask: how do you think he's changed?

Hey anon!

I think the biggest thing would be his rise in stardom. In those interviews he did in 2021-22, he was promoting projects that seem so small in comparison to the promo he's doing for Wicked (not that I think those projects are "small", but you get what I mean).

Also his life circumstances are just different. 3 years ago he was married, had circle of artistic friends he frequently collaborated with, and was a working actor. Now he has a kid, is divorced, is dating his co-star, who knows if he still interacts with most of those friends, and like a I said above, his fame skyrocketed.

It's a crazy timeline we live in, anon.

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Not to bring *that* up, but I just have to say that it's super weird listening to Ethan's old pre-Wicked interviews (the ones from summer 2021 - summer 2022 specifically). It's just crazy to me how much has changed in only 3 years.

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I’m kinda hoping that the Wicked deleted friendship montage appears in some form because I kind of wanna see Buff Boq 🤷‍♀️

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I think this is the first time Ethan has actually posted Ariana on his ig…

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Omg Ethan’s had like 4 photoshoots over the course of 3 months. He famous, famous now.

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in the least dramatic way possible - how did you cope during the run up to wicked? i still have complicated feelings

By “cope” do you mean like “recovering from Ozgate”? Cuz to be totally honest with you anon, I try not to think about it too much skfjdndn! Every once in a while I get the urge to reread the messages y’all sent me during that time, and I still find it hard to believe that we really went through all that for a couple of weeks😅.

I still have complicated feelings about it too. Especially with the article that Lilly published a few weeks ago. A lot of people were saying that she “exposed Ethan and Ari”, but I don’t know if I agree with that. She barely even mentioned them at all. But what really hit me was how she spoke about how if affected her relationship with her patients, and having her privacy violated by tabloids. Which is extremely valid btw, even people who claim to be her biggest supporters talk about her too much. If you really want to support Lilly, just leave her alone!! Please!!

Sorry this got a little long. I know you said no dramatics, but I think I got a little dramatic 😭.

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have you started grad school yet? if not how are you feeling about it? 💖

I haven’t yet, but I start next week!

I’m excited because I’ve been wanting to do this program since I graduated high school, but I’m also nervous because I heard that graduate programs are a lot more work djfjdjd.

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welcome back! is now a bad time or a good time to confess i've been stalking your blog for four weeks and have been feeling too awkward to follow?

Hahaha!! It’s all good, I appreciate the honesty 😂.

Anyway, don’t be afraid to follow if you really want to! I may not be as active here as I once was, but I still get a kick out of people interacting with my posts.