Music

The Ian Watkins is Innocent Facebook group is completely insane

by Mark Teo

December 3, 2013

The sordid case of Ian Watkins, the former singer for Lostprophets, has been difficult to watch. As the details leaked from the trial, people began to distance themselves from Watkins, and rightfully so: Yesterday, his band issued a statement emphasizing their shock over his actions. HMV, both in the U.K. and Canada, stopped carrying Lostprophets albums. And things got even more terrifying when an ex-girlfriend told Wales Online about his plans to impregnate her in order to rape their baby—and the photos he sent her of him abusing children, some as young as 5. Accordingly, fans everywhere took to Twitter to share their shock, anger, and disbelief.

Hang onto that last word for a sec. There has been a lot of disbelief—naturally, some fans openly condemned him. But others refused to believe his guilt—some of whom were mocked openly in the Twittersphere.

Guys, we were wrong. “Mr Steal Yo Girl” has confirmed that Ian Watkins is innocent, he just lied to the courts… pic.twitter.com/aOpa3EcWr7

— Michael (@MichaelPhillipz) November 26, 2013

Meanwhile, some were disappointed that, at one point, “Ian Watkins is innocent” was trending on Twitter.

The fact that “Ian Watkins is innocent” is trending is disgusting

— Smithie (@emilie_hannah) November 26, 2013

Others, still, grew disillusioned with Watkins. And for good reason.

Not even gonna lie, I was holding onto a little bit of hope that Ian Watkins was innocent but now I hope he rots in hell

— 子猫ファック (@ureshiihime) November 26, 2013

Nonetheless, some fans remained ardent in their support for Watkins. And despite the allegations against him, we understand why: It’s difficult to hear that a childhood hero’s a monster. It’s difficult to separate the work of an artist with the actions of a perverted man. And it’s hard to condemn music that, frankly, you enjoy.

But many fans took their unconditional support to very, very strange places. They created twisted rationales explaining Watkins’ innocence. Even after the singer’s guilty plea, they held onto a innocent-until-proven-guilty mantra. And they took to Facebook to mobilize their sheer, batshit insanity.

The first group to catch our eye was the now-defunct I Support Ian Watkins group. Here’s some cached screenshots of the page, which reportedly began as soon as Watkins was arrested last December. As the case ramped up, the page received volleys of hatred, as evidenced by this status:

Next, the page received threats that it was being reported by the police. And while the page’s admins correctly noted that the group’s existence isn’t illegal, it certainly confused free speech with outright stupidity.

Finally, the page administrator caved into the pressure and shut down the page. He or she, however, remained staunch in their support of Watkins, and even threatened that they’d be back after finding some “real fans.”

But while the I Support Ian Watkins group was an exercise in earnest stupidity—and a case where free speech went terribly, terribly awry—it wasn’t even the most ludicrous Facebook support page. No, that page went to the over-the-top Ian Watkins is Innocent group, a Facebook page so preposterous that it felt like a parody. We’re not sure if it was.

But even if it was a parody, it undoubtedly attracted true-blue Lostprophets diehards, attracted by the intoxicating stench of stupidity. Right before the group went down, here was its tinfoil hat-toting last update.

See what we mean? It sounds like the paranoid ramblings of someone who’s in denial about the Apollo moon landing. But unlike I Support Ian Watkins, the page didn’t buckle under the pressure of naysayers—during Watkins’ trial, for example, the page claimed that it drew power from haterade-drinkers.

Reaching back into October, prior the trial, the site even took to circulating photos emblazoned with “innocent until proven innocent.” Guys, that’s not how the justice system works.

When Watkins was placed on suicide watch, too, the fans of the group took that as a sign of his innocence. “The fact that Ian is feeling so depressed over all of this,” they wrote, “is a clear indication of his innocence.”

They even attempted to rally outside the courthouse prior to his trial. Thought we suspect that the only members of the public who attended the trial were, like, Alternative Press writers who live-tweeted the event.

They even posted flattering photos of Watkins, claiming that this mug couldn’t possibly harm a fly! Right?

Um, maybe. By the time we got to the post above, we were seriously considering the authenticity of the page. Finally, we dug up this post from last June which is too gross—to misled—to actually be true. Members of the group were advocating killing disabled children.

We’ll let the post speak for itself.