By Kyra Hudson, Staff Writer
Several Xavier-themed celebrity fan accounts have gained popularity throughout the last few months.
The XU fandoms Instagram accounts consist of @XUArianators, @XUHarries, @HarriesOfXU, @XUHotties, @XUBarbz, @XUSwifties.
These accounts include highlights of Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift, respectively.
The accounts reshare popular videos of the artist or influencer, as well as fan art of the celebrity and commentary from fans. Similarly, owners of the university-inspired Instagram fan accounts include individual aspects about their corresponding university while still retaining the essence of a typical fan account.
The Xavier Taylor Swift fan account, @XUSwifties, currently has over 180 followers on Instagram and their bio reads: “@TaylorSwift is the queen of our hearts. Not affiliated with Xavier University (but looking for an advisor to become a real club!).”
The account owner, who chose to remain anonymous, spoke about the account’s rise in followers in addition to their connection to the other XU fan accounts.
“I made the account about this time last year, and it really started to blow up this semester,” they said.
The owner shared their inspiration for initially creating the account.
“I saw some of these other fan accounts from other universities and thought ‘this is so cute; I want to do that,’” they said.
The other XU fan account owners all post content relating to each other’s Instagram accounts, which allows them to collaborate on imaginative posts, promote the other XU accounts and share followers across their Instagram pages.
The @XUSwifties account owner described how they have all become friends by connecting through their love of designing this type of content and their love for these artists.
“Everyone is so nice, and @XUBarbz, the Xavier fan account for Nicki Minaj, is so creative making the edits for the accounts,” they said.
Whether rooting for the Xavier basketball team and hiding a picture of Harry Styles in the crowd or creating a text chain between all of the XU fandom accounts, they all frequently post on Instagram.
The account owners continue to connect with one another by attending celebrity-themed events together, such as the recent Taylor Swift party at Bogart’s music venue in Clifton.
“It is such a great community, and I would love it if we were all able to hang out and one day have a listening party,” the @XUSwifties owner said.
Though none of these accounts are currently affiliated with the university, the XU celebrity-fan account owners are interested in establishing a formal XU fandoms club or pop-culture club but are looking for an advisor and anyone who would be interested in becoming a board member for the club.
“Make sure to follow all of the accounts. If you know anyone who is willing to be an advisor for the club or anyone who would want to be a board member, feel free to DM us,” the owner of @XUSwifties said.
The medium of Instagram, the account owners are always welcoming new fans to their social media pages and hope to grow their fan bases to create a welcoming Xavier community with the commonality of admiring these famous and talented artists.
“The more the merrier,” the owner of @XUSwifties said.