Bratayley- Life After Vlogging... Bratayley who? Part 17

[rosieposie16]

Y'all, with the recent passing of Chadwick Boseman, I've been thinking about Caleb as well. I've been grieving Chadwick as an actor (from what we know of him) and as the man who portrayed one of my favorite MCU characters, T'challa. And that's where my grief is. And it, sorry for sudden crudeness, fucking sucks. This sucks more than your "average" celebrity death for so many reasons. I'm thinking of those little kids who are gonna find out that the first leading character who looked like them is gone. But even among that and the other reasons, I can't help but still think "I never even met him, why am I so sad?".


But when I remember those young kids who watched Bratayley back when Caleb died, I can't stop but think about how that could possibly impact them as well.


Yeah, they NEVER knew him like a friend or relative, but they still saw a good portion of his day to day life. They saw the day before he died, for God's sake. They saw him behaving in a way that was worrying to many. I think he was just tired, but to a little kid his behavior with the knowledge he was about to die is scary.


I mean hell, they saw a memorial for him even if it was just virtual. And the family kind of did a half truth when they took a break from vlogging because when they posted up again a week and a half later they still had fresh footage from the previous days to the point where you could hear one of Caleb's friends say he was picking music for the funeral. So even their break right after he died still had fresh wounds. So these little kids have seen nearly half of a boy's life, they saw the day before he died, they saw a memorial of sorts, and they saw some footage of the family and their friends right after his passing. That's a lot. More than you'd see for Chadwick's family, or Carrie Fisher, or Robin Williams.



Idk y'all, I know their lives are online and they can't get rid of it, but for God's sake. This isn't normal. Those little kids aren't grieving Caleb the way MCU fans are grieving Chadwick. They probably do, to an extent, feel like they really knew him. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but it really does highlight how much of their lives are open to the public and often as a product to be consumed rather than as little family home videos.

[Dakine]

New thread title suggestions?

[lmmomSD]

Y'all, with the recent passing of Chadwick Boseman, I've been thinking about Caleb as well. I've been grieving Chadwick as an actor (from what we know of him) and as the man who portrayed one of my favorite MCU characters, T'challa. And that's where my grief is. And it, sorry for sudden crudeness, fucking sucks. This sucks more than your "average" celebrity death for so many reasons. I'm thinking of those little kids who are gonna find out that the first leading character who looked like them is gone. But even among that and the other reasons, I can't help but still think "I never even met him, why am I so sad?".


But when I remember those young kids who watched Bratayley back when Caleb died, I can't stop but think about how that could possibly impact them as well.


Yeah, they NEVER knew him like a friend or relative, but they still saw a good portion of his day to day life. They saw the day before he died, for God's sake. They saw him behaving in a way that was worrying to many. I think he was just tired, but to a little kid his behavior with the knowledge he was about to die is scary.


I mean hell, they saw a memorial for him even if it was just virtual. And the family kind of did a half truth when they took a break from vlogging because when they posted up again a week and a half later they still had fresh footage from the previous days to the point where you could hear one of Caleb's friends say he was picking music for the funeral. So even their break right after he died still had fresh wounds. So these little kids have seen nearly half of a boy's life, they saw the day before he died, they saw a memorial of sorts, and they saw some footage of the family and their friends right after his passing. That's a lot. More than you'd see for Chadwick's family, or Carrie Fisher, or Robin Williams.



Idk y'all, I know their lives are online and they can't get rid of it, but for God's sake. This isn't normal. Those little kids aren't grieving Caleb the way MCU fans are grieving Chadwick. They probably do, to an extent, feel like they really knew him. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but it really does highlight how much of their lives are open to the public and often as a product to be consumed rather than as little family home videos.

My daughter was an OG Bratayley fan. Caleb's death hit her hard. And even though she is special needs, she was still astute enough to know that it was weird to be so shattered at the death of someone she didn't know. She watched the livestream of the memorial and cried, and said "I don't know why I am so sad. I know I didn't really know him, but I feel like I did." But they have a lot of fans who don't have that sense that they don't really know this family. They believed that the "happy family" they saw was real, and there were even comments when the rumors first surfaced about Billy cheating that "that's not the Billy we know". Right. They don't _know_ Billy. Or anyone else in the family either. They don't get that their arguments against "haters" ("we only see 15 minutes of the day) also apply to their feelings that they "know" the Leblancs. What they saw was a carefully edited and curated story, just like reality TV. It's not just the Lenlancs either. Most successful YouTube families have these rabid fans who believe that the families are who they present in the vlogs and are ready to defend them against any "haters". I don't understand it at all. Are their home lives so terrible that the fantasy of the YouTube family is that much better? Or do they just have parents who work hard and are too tired to be "fun" like "Mrs. Katie" and can't afford to buy them LV backpacks and brand new iPhones every year?
I was broken up by John Lennon's death, and Robin Williams'. Sometimes celebrity deaths touch you more than others. But the way some of these fans still obsess over Caleb and photoshop him into prom pictures and add current photos of Annie, is just weird and creepy.
I'm rambling. But this fandom and the blind devotion other Youtubers receive are fascinating to me. I think their would be a great thesis in it for someone. What leads someone to worship a YouTube personality?

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[TheLoneStranger]

Idk y'all, I know their lives are online and they can't get rid of it, but for God's sake. This isn't normal. Those little kids aren't grieving Caleb the way MCU fans are grieving Chadwick. They probably do, to an extent, feel like they really knew him. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but it really does highlight how much of their lives are open to the public and often as a product to be consumed rather than as little family home videos.

You aren't over thinking it. It was the articles about how this family were live streaming a random 13 yr old boys funereal for "his fans" that drew me to them in the first place. I assumed his mom had to have some serious psychological issues, like Munchausen by Proxy, to be desperate for such levels of inappropriate attention. Then I discovered a whole world of people "famous" for nothing but selling their children's privacy online. It is absolutely not normal, and unhealthy for both the people who have monetized their privacy and those who seek it out.

The kids that watch them most definitely think they know these people. They spent 30 min of "quality time" with them every single day for years. They know their fears, their dreams, their friends, how they are doing in school, they attend every game/meet, every holiday, etc. I think I know more about the LeBlancs than my own family members at this point. However, as an adult, I could understand that it was a carefully a curated product for consumption and they were not "including us in their family". Kids don't seem to understand that, which is why they are always so hurt when the deceptions/realities of family vloggers are eventually revealed. I feel like a lot of kids watching are looking for parent/friend/sibling relationships they don't have in their real life, which makes them fall deeper into the fantasy of it all.

I have no doubt that some kids genuinely grieved Caleb as a friend or family member, and I find it just as disturbing today as I did when I wondered if Katie might have killed her kid for attention. To be clear, I didn't think that for long, but I still find the psychological profile of parents who exploit their children to be quite troubling.

[Lisatheacrobat]

I completely Understand how you feel. For me that same feeling came with the news of Christina Grimmie. It was the first celebrity i genuinely loved and cared about and the manner of her death was so violent. So i understand That grief. I didn’t Know her, i never met her but i still grieved. I still grieve to this day. I know she had a lot of young fans too. I remember meeting a girl a year after her death who had been in line at the time of the shooting. She was only 12. I can’t Imagine the impact it had on her.

I never blamed the kids for grieving when this felt like a friend because the intimacy of his life made them feel genuinely close to him and you can see that same action in how they act towards Annie and how they treat her.

I think what irks us here isn’t that the kids grieved in a way that mimicked a friend. But the fact that their channel exploded and the family picked fame and money over taking proper time to heal and risk losing the attention they had. So in turn the girls ended up suffering and it seems like it took a toll on the parents. I think There was a lot of grief that caused them to divorce. It’s hard to know what it’s like off camera, but even on they felt like they just tolerated each other and kept pushing the girls to do more stuff to keep them occupied. It was a train wreck ready to happen.

I completely understand losing a celebrity you loved. That grief is very real and it’s painful. I never felt like the fans grieving was bad. Though the constant edits of him in a cap and gown with comments about how he will never get the chance and the tagging Annie in it is over the top. Same with editing him into basically any major life event these girls will have. Then tagging them and expecting them to be thrilled to see their deceased brother in moments they know they can’t live out. If it hurts losing someone you never met. Imagine your brother and imagine doing it at 10 and 7. Then imagine having millions of strangers constantly shoving the fact that he died in your face for years.

[lmmomSD]

Oh, yeah. Those posts shopping him into the pictures of Anthem were particularly creepy. I'm sure it was painful enough to know how close he was to Paige and know that he wasn't going to get to hold her baby, and then to have these stans alter photos and tag them must have been so weird.
I think in some weird way they must believe that they are "honoring" Caleb. But my dad died when I was pregnant with my son. If someone I didn't know photoshopped him holding my infant son and tagged me, I wouldn't be happy.

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[rosieposie16]

Oh yeah, I completely forgot the editing when I made my original post. That part genuinly does creep me out to an extent. AT best, a drawing or those little video edits they do are acceptable IMO. They show genuine creativity, and around 99% It's respectful and I see no issue with it.

But with the photoshopping, it really REALLY bothers me, in particular because there are families that do that by their own merit with a professional editor when their child dies, but it's **their** choice to make as the ones tied to the deceased. Or, if we're using other public figures as examples, I saw that Paris Jackson reposted one for her dad's birthday just a few days ago when I saw it on my explore page. But she's made it clear she's okay with it by reposting it and being nice about it and even using it to celebrate her dad. The Leblanc's and Paige haven't done that at all. And the nature of the editing, aka amature editing skills, it makes it even creepier.

It still wouldn't be completely okay if they were some random person who was good at, but it would be slightly more comforting than the twelve year olds who swear up and down that they KNOW this family.

[LimeGreenRanger]

The Eh Bee kids still have some sort of privacy, although we have our issues with them in this house and my younger niece isn't allowed to watch them most of the time.

Can I ask why? I'm curious. It's been so long since I've watched any of their videos but I still follow them on social media and, over the years, they've become too preachy and entitled for my taste. It seems like no one can escape the effects of fame and money...

Of course! From just a personal standpoint, my sister and I (I live with her and help with her two daughters while I do grad school) have the same views as you about the mother. To me, she comes off like a know-it-all and that she's better than everyone else. They've made fun of vlogging families and act like they're so much better than the other family channels. In a sense, I suppose they are since their kids have their privacy, but at the end of the day, are they really any better?

Why we actually don't want her watching is because of the way Gaby treats the father (and sometimes the mother, but it's mostly the father). I've noticed that in so many of the videos, Gaby is rude/disrespectful and tends to be condescending towards him. Her behavior, even if it's just for the skit, isn't really something we wanted my niece to watch. Thankfully, she doesn't watch too many Family vloggers anymore.

That's interesting. I actually don't mind the preaching from the mom because she puts her money where her mouth is. She does a lot of charity work. But I can see how it would get annoying. I definitely don't watch them all the time. And I'm behind you with not letting your niece watch videos where kids are being condescending to their parents. Not that parents automatically deserve respect, because some are lousy people (cough, cough Katie and Billy)
We didn't let my daughter watch "The Little Mermaid" when she was little. People thought we were nuts, but Ariel was a TERRIBLE role model. She lied to her father, ran away from home, gave up her _voice_ (symbolic?)-- and for what? A guy she thought was "cute". She didn't know anything about him, just that he was good-looking and danced with his dog. Superficial much? I mean, at least Mulan ran away from home to protect her father.


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Oh, wow! I didn't know about her charity work. That's cool! I've actually heard a bunch of people complain about The Little Mermaid for the same reasons, so you aren't alone. It's crazy, because we're discussing actually monitoring kids' media consumption, and then you have poor Hayley who has been raising herself on the internet/social media for several years now. I hope I'm wrong, but I feel like she's going to grow up way too soon with everything going on in her life. We already saw it a bit with the Instagram issue from a while ago.

[mzkitteh]

Wow... I haven't posted on here in forever. Never thought we'd see the need for a new thread but alas here we are.

Throw out some thread titles and I'll make a new one!

[bratayleyundercover]

Wow... I haven't posted on here in forever. Never thought we'd see the need for a new thread but alas here we are.

Throw out some thread titles and I'll make a new one!

“a year after vlogging: messy divorce and pink cowboy hats”

[Lisatheacrobat]

Bratayley: Divorce diaries

[Ahalfblood]

Hey so I would comment more but I kinda hate this site. In the way that it’s always down or slow or crashes half Wald through commenting for me. But a like reading all the comments. I was wondering if any of you guys use reddit. We could make a subreddit and also add a couple of the other topics in there like itsthedonnelys. They have them for fundiessnark aka mlm Utah moms, the labrants snark also the Duggar snark ones. Just a suggestion.

Also neither Katie or billy posted on insta about hayleys birthday which says to me that the socials are being Fought over. I getting the vibes that it’s actually billy that wants to have more privacy on insta for his kids (because Nat and her kid being more private) either way very messy.

[Ahalfblood]

Hey so I would comment more but I kinda hate this site. In the way that it’s always down or slow or crashes half Wald through commenting for me. But a like reading all the comments. I was wondering if any of you guys use reddit. We could make a subreddit and also add a couple of the other topics in there like itsthedonnelys. They have them for fundiessnark aka mlm Utah moms, the labrants snark also the Duggar snark ones. Just a suggestion.

Also neither Katie or billy posted on insta about hayleys birthday which says to me that the socials are being Fought over. I getting the vibes that it’s actually billy that wants to have more privacy on insta for his kids (because Nat and her kid being more private) either way very messy.

[Lisatheacrobat]

Interesting comment about them not ssying anything about Hayley’s birthday. I can’t Imagine anyone would fight over an Instagram account to the point where neither of them could post for her birthday. Unless she’s the one being fought over, but still. It says a lot to me that they didn’t post. Has Billy posted since her birthday? Katie never uses Instagram so it’s whatever. But she posted for Caleb’s birthday this year. I’m surprised she didn’t for Hayley... and if she will for Annie. Especially it being the sweet sixteen of the favorite child. I always saw Annie as someone who would have a My Super Sweet Sixteen style birthday party and especially being in LA. Having tons of people there who don’t know her but are there for the press. And there’s some big name musician performing and then the night ends with them rolling in her dream car as balloons fall to the ground... and now with COVID probably still here to ruin birthdays if she will have a celebration at all? She’s an attention whore and sweet 16’s are big here in America (which is dumb cause who cares if you are old enough to drive, but 18 is the bigger milestone imo) and i always Saw her being the type to make a big deal about turning 16.

[lmmomSD]

Was it her 13th birthday that she had that big to-do that RYH paid for, with the carnival and Carey Elwes came? It really irritated me that she met him in Hawaii and he came to her birthday party-- I know, his daughter is a fan, but dang. I love him. Loved him in The Princess Bride, and in Psych. Stupid to get so annoyed, but he is one celebrity I would totally fangirl over if I got to meet him. And she probably had no clue who he was.

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[Lisatheacrobat]

I believe so. Yeah. It’s nice to have status because even people you never thought knew you existed could show up to your party. I hope she enjoyed it cause it sounds like she may not have another shindig like that again. But then again, stuff like that is why she thinks the world revolves around her and why she gets a pretentious attitude about what car will be her first. Because the worlds always given her nothing but the best. I would like to say a pandemic and her parents divorce humbled her out some, but listening to her talk about what car she expects, looks like her materialistic ways haven’t changed a bit. They must still be living large if she thinks she will be riding around LA in her $88,000 Tesla model X. No car she mentioned was under $50,000. Had to be an SUV and it has to be luxury... she ain’t driving around in no Rav 4 or Rogue...

[Tttttrassh]

It does make you wonder what happens after the fame ends. Going back to school, or a regular job? Over their dead bodies. Hence why LA will continue to be clogged with influencers in rented mansions.

The only exception I know of is Kendall from Dance Moms, who quietly moved back to Pittsburgh a few years ago.

[Lisatheacrobat]

It does make you wonder what happens after the fame ends. Going back to school, or a regular job? Over their dead bodies. Hence why LA will continue to be clogged with influencers in rented mansions.

The only exception I know of is Kendall from Dance Moms, who quietly moved back to Pittsburgh a few years ago.

For the most part i agree With you. Brynn is also not really out there trying to be an influencer whore and I’m not 100% sure what Maddie is doing these days or why they are still in LA? I just feel like these are rich people who can afford paradise and are sick of shoveling snow for months in jackets that look like stay puft. I know For Katie the weather was a big reason. Or it was the big excuse to cover up the real reason (Caleb was probably the biggest trigger). Idk how much they are actually working. I know Kenzie was working with Sia and released that song Exhale. She did a few talk shows with some major radio stations. I wonder If that song was played on top 40 radio? Man that would make Annie’s blood boil.

But as for the other DM girls, idk. Nia actually seems to be the one doing the most. She was on a soap opera and sounds like she was into fashion and her music is growing. Chloe moved to LA to go to Pepperdine and seems like she wants to get into acting and is taking lessons and classes. Idk what Kalani is doing. She’s probably the one who is buddying you with other YouTube influencers like Ellie Thumann and is going out to the trendy hot spots to get “spotted” by the the Hollywood Fix (aka Internet TMZ) and trying to become a YouTuber. But idk what they do besides shell out ads for products no one wants and then talk about how they had sweet greens Postmated for the 5th time that week...

[bratguru12]

So it seems like Nickelodeon have brought back "The Group Chat" but absolutely no mention of Annie, and advertising Brent Rivera as the new host alongside Jayden.

Interesting. Do you think Annie took a step back from the spotlight and didn't want to be involved, or was this a move from Nickelodeon to distance themselves from the Annie brand ?

[Clemence08]

It does make you wonder what happens after the fame ends. Going back to school, or a regular job? Over their dead bodies. Hence why LA will continue to be clogged with influencers in rented mansions.

The only exception I know of is Kendall from Dance Moms, who quietly moved back to Pittsburgh a few years ago.

For the most part i agree With you. Brynn is also not really out there trying to be an influencer whore and I’m not 100% sure what Maddie is doing these days or why they are still in LA? I just feel like these are rich people who can afford paradise and are sick of shoveling snow for months in jackets that look like stay puft. I know For Katie the weather was a big reason. Or it was the big excuse to cover up the real reason (Caleb was probably the biggest trigger). Idk how much they are actually working. I know Kenzie was working with Sia and released that song Exhale. She did a few talk shows with some major radio stations. I wonder If that song was played on top 40 radio? Man that would make Annie’s blood boil.

But as for the other DM girls, idk. Nia actually seems to be the one doing the most. She was on a soap opera and sounds like she was into fashion and her music is growing. Chloe moved to LA to go to Pepperdine and seems like she wants to get into acting and is taking lessons and classes. Idk what Kalani is doing. She’s probably the one who is buddying you with other YouTube influencers like Ellie Thumann and is going out to the trendy hot spots to get “spotted” by the the Hollywood Fix (aka Internet TMZ) and trying to become a YouTuber. But idk what they do besides shell out ads for products no one wants and then talk about how they had sweet greens Postmated for the 5th time that week...

I dont know the Dance Moms girls that well but most dont seem to do a lot.
Maddie doesnt even post on instagram or YouTube so I have No idea.
Brynn lives with a friend but in Arizona I think?
Chloe is doing the right thing and going to Pepperdine as you said.

As much as I love Sia’s music I feel like she is also using the Ziegler girls for her own gain.