Assassinate the character

FEAR IS A KILLER

I remember watching Will Smith shove that fake reporter in his face. The troll tried kissing Will during a paparazzi melee and Will just wasn’t having it.

After paparazzi cameras recorded the incident, Smith thought his career would be in question. Why? Because prior to that, we’ve always seen Will as the happy celebrity. The good, well behaved, family man with the #goals relationship and superstar children. That one smush shattered all of that.

At least that’s what Will thought would happen.

What actually came from the viral moment was mostly praise. Praise because fans finally saw a glimpse into who they gleaned was the true Will Smith. Not the polished Fresh Prince, but the most honest version of himself.

This past summer, Doja Cat lost half a million Instagram followers after a series of contentious statements towards her fans. Despite what many would consider a PR nightmare, especially considering this was in the lead up to dropping her Scarlett album (which is out now), here’s how Doja responded to the situation in this Harper’s Bazaar interview:

“My theory is that if someone has never met me in real life, then, subconsciously, I’m not real to them,” she said. “So when people become engaged with someone they don’t even know on the internet, they kind of take ownership over that person. They think that person belongs to them in some sense. And when that person changes drastically, there is a shock response that is almost uncontrollable.  …  I’ve accepted that that’s what happens. So I put my wigs on and take them off. I shave my head or my eyebrows. I have all the freedom in the world.”

Freedom? That’s how Doja internalizes losing a number of followers any one of us would kill to have. But why would Doja feel more "free” now than she did before making those statements and shedding all those followers?

Here’s what I’m learning: it makes more sense to assassinate the character than to be forced to live in it.

As writers publicly sharing our thoughts, we’re all playing a role. Our art and our opinions shape and frame a character that people connect with. But once we start receiving the validation we’ve worked for, fighting to keep it becomes our main objective.

When we fight to keep this character, we unintentionally give into fear. We believe that if we step outside the frame that’s been created for us, the success will somehow go away. That fear impacts our creativity, which is the very thing that established our character in the first place.

Assassinate the character. That’s the solution.

When Will shoved that guy in the face, it freed him. It made everyone who watched that clip cheer for a moment of emotional honesty. He wasn’t a celebrity, wasn’t a movie star, wasn’t the Fresh Prince; he was someone reacting in the way many of us would in a similarly intrusive situation.

He assassinated the character.

Even if the statements Doja Cat made leaves a bad taste in your mouth, it was a clear reflection of who she is and not the character she’s supposed to play.

“My life my rules my style my attitude.”

That’s another quote from Doja after telling her fans they need to, “get off your phone and get a job and help your parents with the house.”

Doja Cat’s album dropped on Friday, September 22. It already had three singles in the top 40, including a number one hit with Paint the Town Red. Her album will likely be top 5 during its first week.

All of this success despite Doja assassinating her character.

This is not a simple path. The fear of how our true character will be perceived can seriously injure our creative process and output. So we dance, we tiptoe, we straddle, we get close, but we rarely truly reveal. But that revelation is what will set you free.

And when I say free, I mean free to create without fear or resignation. Free to be ourselves in all situations and not feel like we need to hide the parts our character we want expressed.

Do you know what this level of freedom does for your creativity? It’s hard to even put into words. But it’s also a level of authenticity, true authenticity and not virtue signaling, that we should strive to achieve. Getting there instills a type of peace that fuels our creativity in ways we can’t imagine until we’re in that space.

So I say assassinate the character, eliminate the fear, and write from a place of truth. The results will speak for itself.