Lady Gaga Fans Accused of Writing Fake ‘Venom’ Reviews to Support ‘A Star Is Born’
On Oct. 5, two films will premiere: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” and Tom Hardy’s “Venom.” Despite the fact that “” has already drummed up significant hype, garnering a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and awards buzz, Gaga’s fan base is apparently taking it upon themselves to make sure the movie gets as much opening day attention as “.”
Once the social media embargo for “Venom” broke following the superhero movie’s red carpet premiere on Monday night, some Twitter users noticed negative reviews floating around Twitter — but it was noted that many of these critics used the same exact wording.
By Margeaux Sippell
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com)
One tweet that seems to be copy and pasted by several accounts reads, “i am the biggest marvel fan but I just watched #Venom and I don’t know what to say.”
When reached by BuzzFeed , one of the accounts who shared a fake negative review of “Venom” told the outlet, “It’s us Gaga fans creating fake IDs to trash the ‘Venom’ premiere. They both are getting released on the same day, so we want more audience for ‘A Star Is Born.’”
While official reviews for “Venom” have not yet been released, fans who are rooting for the Sony comic-book film have taken to similar tactics to fight back on Twitter.
Warner Bros. and Sony, the studios behind “A Star Is Born” and “Venom,” respectively, have not yet responded to Variety‘s request for comment.
Early tracking points to “Venom” winning this box office war handily, but it might be not be as black-and-white as some fans think. “Venom” is eyeing a debut of around $65 million, while “A Star Is Born” is aiming for an opening in the mid-$20 millions — both solid premieres. However, “A Star Is Born” likely has a significantly lower production budget than a superhero tentpole like “Venom.” The two titles are also targeting drastically different audiences.
