13 Celebrities Reveal How They Really Feel About Fanfic

For many readers, our love of fan fiction was forged in relative isolation. Not that it was a secret, or ever should have been — but outside of a cool, fic-reading friend or the people you followed on Tumblr, it could be hard to communicate the thrill of reading about your favorite characters on sites like Archive of Our Own (AO3), Wattpad, LiveJournal, or Fanfiction.net.

After all, the fan-fiction community was a place to explore our creativity and indulge our curiosity, which is likely why most of us kept it close to the chest and shared it only with others doing the same.

Sure, the medium is still pretty niche, but it’s undeniable that fan fiction is having her moment. The Love Hypothesis, Prime Video’s smash new rom-com, is based on Ali Hazelwood’s novel, which started out as the author’s foray into Star Wars (specifically #Reylo) fan fiction. Kaia Gerber has shared that she writes fic about a nonhuman subject, and Mckenna Grace divulged her penchant for fan edits of The Hunger Games years before she joined the franchise herself. Her embarrassment every time it’s brought up will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt sheepish about sharing their own fandom creations outside the online community.

But the fact that fics, art, and edits are being discussed in the mainstream at all is exciting — an opportunity to better understand what transformative work can mean to people.

Ahead, 13 stars (some already readers, others new to the buzz) share their thoughts on fan fiction.

“I love fanfic. I have a theory that the hottest, coolest girls wrote fanfic when they were teenagers. And that is true of every girl I know who has written fan fiction.” — Lucy Freyer, Adults

“I’ve never read fan fiction, but I understand why people do. It’s hot, apparently! Is it AO3? I’m gonna go on there and look for something I like.” — Lili Reinhart, The Love Hypothesis

“I went to an all-girls school, and a girl would bring a USB in and be like, ‘I’ve got a bunch of stories.’ I didn’t know that it was fan fiction. They were Word documents, and we would share them. Where are they now? Surely deleted. Everybody talks about AO3 and stuff, but I’m like, Did anybody else have the Word documents?” — Shabana Azeez, The Pitt

“I am for it. Fandom is why we do it. And as a fan myself, I totally get it. I’ve never had the focus to write something, but I almost would. I’ve read some, and sometimes, I have to stop.” — Paul W. Downs, Hacks

“I love fan fiction. I did a show called Snowpiercer, and the fan fiction was so intense for that show, especially for my character having a thing for this other character on the show. The writers saw it, and they wrote it in because the fan fiction was so strong. They got their way. It’s like a collective creative brain. And if [the fans] get to see something that they thought of come to fruition, that’s really cool for them. It keeps them watching. It keeps them happy.” — Lena Hall, Your Friends & Neighbors

“It’s so titillating. It’s so exciting, and it’s such a fun way to expand a story that you know and love. I’m for it. I’ve read it.” — D’Arcy Carden, The Five-Star Weekend

“I’m pro-fanfic. I love it. It’s so fun that people are creative that way, but I feel like the fanfic is always sexy — which I enjoy. One time, I read fanfic where the boys on Friends were kissing each other. It was good.” — Jeff Hiller, Widow’s Bay

“I don’t read a lot of it, but I know that it’s super, super popular, and it’s awesome that fans create their own art while engaging with entertainment. That’s the biggest honor. If I made a piece of art and then someone was like, ‘I love this art so much, I’m going to make my own art that inspired me,’ that’s a huge deal.” — Madison Hu, Rooster

“People are always talking about Spock and Kirk and how they have these looks. I’ve been on YouTube, and people cut together clips from Shatner and Nimoy and their love for one another. It’s very funny.” — Paul Wesley, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

“I enjoy it. I’m sure there have been shows that have been built off of fan fiction. I mean, some of this stuff can get outrageous. I don’t go too deep into the ether, but the stuff I’ve seen is cool overall … There’s been a lot of [Dr. Shen and Dunkin’]. I’m pretty much married to that thing at this point. I love it.” — Ken Kirby, The Pitt

“I only do Instagram. I see the artwork that fans do, and I love it. There are some magnificent artists, but I have not seen fanfics. I have to check it out. I’m curious what they would say.” — Karolina Wydra, Pluribus

“I don’t really know much about it, but I do know that at one Star Trek convention in Germany, a fan created this magazine where Kirk and Spock had a romance.” — Christina Chong, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

“I don’t have friends who are in the world of fanfic, but I’m sure that there are plenty just because of the different sections of the Avatar fandom. I’m sure there are different ships and things like that. I’m all for Zuko and Sokka, though.” — Dallas Liu, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Additional reporting by Rachel Chapman and Ryan Britt.