How Sam Heughan Really Feels About Outlander Fandom

When Starz's Outlander premiered in 2014, fans of Diana Gabaldon's novel series were joined by millions of viewers obsessed with the story of time-traveling nurse Claire and her romance with Highlander Jamie Fraser.

The newly formed fandom quickly proved to be one of the most active in modern pop culture, holding regular meetups, visiting locations where the show was filmed, and following the cast members both digitally and physically.

To get a photo with Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan, who play the main characters, fans are willing to go to any lengths, including queuing for hours and camping out. However, the fandom does not always approach the actors with love and support.

It turns out that some Outlander fans proved to be quite toxic and took things too far. When Season 5 was airing on Starz, Sam Heughan took to Twitter to address all those people who had been harassing him and his loved ones over the years.

'After the past 6 years of constant bullying, harassment, stalking and false narrative, I am at a loss, upset, hurt and have to speak out. It's affecting my life, mental state and is a daily concern,' the actor wrote.

Sam went on to say that he and those closest to him have had to deal with all kinds of online bullying, and it got to the point where he couldn't keep quiet about it anymore.

'My costars, friends, family, myself, in fact anyone I'm associated with, has been subjected to personal slurs, shaming, abuse, death threats, stalking, sharing of private information and a vile, false narrative,' Heughan wrote. 'Sending items or stalking my private accommodation, they have harassed my work colleagues and constantly tried to hack our email and personal accounts. I'm so hurt by this.'

The things the Outlander star has apparently been harassed for include the craziest and most private topics, such as his sexuality, disregard for the COVID measures, and cheating fans out of money. Of course, all these dirty allegations are false and none of the above is up for public discussion.

Sam Heughan promised to ban anyone who tries to harass him in the future.

Thankfully, this horrible experience has not turned the actor against his fans. Sam understands that the bullies make up only the smallest percentage of Outlander's huge fandom, so the star thanked everyone for their support at the end of his lengthy message.

'To every fan that has supported me and the work I do, THANK YOU. I'm so grateful, from the bottom of my heart,' Heughan wrote.

Episode 1 of Outlander Season 7 premieres on Starz on June 16, 2023.

Source: Twitter.