Sometimes having super-engaged fans is a great thing — until all of the sudden it isn’t. Just ask Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider.
From the outside looking in, it’s hard to see anything other than stardom when we look at actors and celebrities like John Schneider. To us, he will always be the fan-favorite character Bo Duke that we all grew up watching. He and the rest of the cast and crew from Dukes of Hazzard provided fans hours upon hours of entertainment in the 1980s. But all of that fame also comes with an online price.
We see thousands of likes and comments and don’t really think anything of it other than, it must be nice to have thousands of adoring fans. But it’s not all “OMG I LOVE YOU” messages that are being sent to these stars. Sometimes, it’s just straight-up hate mail. The 61-year-old actor told Closer Weekly back in May that he does, in fact, have social media. And he admitted that sometimes he lets the negative comments get to him more than they should.
“I have my Facebook page and a YouTube channel, and I read the comments,” Schneider admitted. “I don’t know why I do. I can read 1,000 wonderful things, but the one troll who feels their only purpose in life is to be nasty to me — well, I remember every word. I don’t know why. I wish compliments lasted as long as insults, but they don’t.”
‘Dukes of Hazzard’ Star Not Letting the Internet Trolls Have the Last Laugh
John Schneider and other celebrities alike are in a unique place in the spotlight. We have unprecedented access into their lives thanks to social media and various news outlets. And while that is a treat to many of us genuine fans out there, it’s also a double-edged sword that leads to online bullying and harassment. John Schneider, like countless others, knows of this all too well. And sometimes it’s the hateful words of strangers that hurts the most.
But Schneider has always been someone determined to succeed. In the years following starring on the Dukes of Hazzard, John Schneider has also been successful as a country music singer. Not only that, but he has involved himself in theater and co-starred in several other popular shows like Smallville and Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots.
Either way, John Schneider says that he does not plan on stepping away from the game anytime soon. He says that he has enough projects to last him until he’s over 100 years old!
“Oh no! Retire? I could not imagine,” he said. “We keep making the movies we love. I write every day. I’ve got enough completed screenplays that even if I live to be 120, I am still not going to live long enough to finish all the stuff I want to do!”
