Twilight Thursday [12]: Caught In A Cheating Scandal

"I love you. It's a poor excuse for what I'm doing, but it's still true." Edward Cullen, Twilight, p. 366

Twilight Thursday is a feature I created to share my love of all things Twilight. I'm a huge fan of the books and movies, so every Twilight related topic I have to talk about will fall under this feature. Even though I vowed to never write a review of these books, I'm not opposed to sharing my opinions or defending the franchise I love. For any questions, comments, etc., about this feature or Twilight, feel free to leave a comment or email. I'm up for any/all Twi-Convos! This feature is not likely to be weekly.

Disclaimer: This feature is directed at Twilight fans. Whether you're a fan of the books and movies; or just the books; or just the movies... Twilight Thursday is a place for friendly conversation. Me, being such a big Twi-Hard, will be greatly offended if anyone leaves negative and hurtful comments in regards to any part of the Twilight franchise. Please be nice! Also, all posts will most likely contain spoilers. Please do not read anything written under the Twilight Thursday feature if you do not want anything spoiled. You've been warned

The night of Tuesday, July 24^th, is the night millions of Twi-Hards' hearts broke around the world. That night, two magazines dropped a bomb announcing Kristen Stewart had cheated on her boyfriend Robert Pattinson with her Snow White and the Huntsman director [Rupert Sanders]. Chaos, heartache, and anger ensued. Twitter blew up with questions. Accusations were hurled left and right. Denial was heavy in the air. Yet after everything was said and done, fans were left with a bitter achy hole in their hearts. Not only because Kristen did a bad thing, but because the image of forever love thanks to Edward and Bella was now shattered.

I’ve debated if I wanted to write up anything about this scandal, for a while I wasn’t going to. I wanted to remove myself from this whole situation, but unfortunately you cannot be a big fan like I am and escape this. Almost daily, I’ve had friends and family bringing it to my attention and asking questions. I tried to go into denial… hardy-har-har. In the end, I decided to write up a post from the Twilight franchise stand-point.

But first I’ll share my thoughts on the scandal itself:

All that Tuesday night, I was trying to believe the magazines were lies, and just another trick from the tabloids. I spent hours chatting with Twilight, and Kristen, fans and poured over the one leaked photograph there was. Most people were taking the “This is a complete fabrication!” stance; however, I never wanted to be in complete denial just in case it ‘was’ true. People Magazine and US Weekly aren’t quite as trashy as others, so I had a sinking feeling they weren’t telling lies. By Wednesday afternoon everything was confirmed. Kristen had issued a statement… no more trying to pretend my happy “Robsten” was in fact happy. She had done it. She had cheated.

 "I'm deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I've caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected. This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I'm so sorry."- Kristen Stewart's statement from People Magazine.

At first, I was broiling mad. I didn’t want to look at anything with her picture on it. That all changed by Wednesday night. My mom and I were talking about it, and she stopped me short by saying, “She did a bad thing. There’s no denying that. But it doesn’t change my opinion of her. She has to live with this, because she may have just lost the love of her life….” My thoughts were something like this, “HUH?!” and then, “You’re right. Of course.”  Minutes later, all the anger was replaced with sadness because although I’m a fan, I’m also human and I never want to see people hurting.

Every day since the scandal broke there’s been rumors popping up all over. I’ve been following some of them, but overall? I really don’t care. I have a life, and tracking Rob and Kristen’s is a little too freaky, so I ignore the feeds that show up, and the new magazines on the stands. My final stance is this: Leave Rob and Kristen alone. They have things to work through IN PRIVACY! They’re two people who should be left to deal with this on their own; and not have millions of people trying to snoop in on their personal business.

As a fan of the Twilight franchise I wanted to share my thoughts. For one, I wouldn’t be writing this at all if I hadn’t already been posting in the Twilight Thursday feature. Second, I’ve had some concerns on how fans will react when Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 hits theaters. Finally, what will become of this franchise since fans seem to be divided?

1. I’m still excited for Breaking Dawn Pt. 2! It makes me a little sad to see the new pictures of Edward and Bella that are now coming out. Then again, the scandal is only two weeks old, so I think the pain will lessen over time; and by the time the movie comes out I’ll be okay with this. 
2. A lot of the fans I’ve talked to are still on Team Kristen and ready for the movie.  On the other hand, I’ve seen some comments from fans saying “It makes me sick to see pictures of Edward and Bella.” So, what becomes of the franchise?

Will Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 suffer at the box office because of this? Only time will tell. However, Summit Entertainment is moving full ahead with their press promotions. By now, most everyone can believe Robert and Kristen are professional enough to do their jobs in a respectful manner. If by then, they still aren’t on speaking terms, I whole heartedly believe they will be cordial towards the other; and the press tour will be a success. In the end, fans love the SAGA more than they do the actors.

Will Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 suffer because fans are angry at Kristen? Again, only time will tell. Like I said above, I think fans truly love this Saga more than they do the actors. If anyone is like me, it’s going to sting a little bit to see these actors playing ‘loving’ roles when their personal lives are a mess. Overall, fans want to see the last movie in the franchise, and I doubt they’ll let this scandal ruin their love for the movies.

Why does this scandal hurt so dang much? Well, fans always want to see their beloved couples be together in real life. It’s a given! Whenever we watch television and fall in love with a couple; or watch a movie (like in this particular case) we WANT to see the actors together in real life. I think it HURTS SO DANG MUCH because to us it’s as if Edward and Bella have broken up. It’s really hard to differentiate actors from characters. We need to remember that Edward and Bella are FICTIONAL. Their epic romance was first penned on paper. Nothing is perfect. Nothing is as ‘happily-ever-after’ as Edward and Bella are. To fans, when we saw Robert and Kristen together it was like constantly seeing Edward and Bella. Not true, my friends. We need to step back and see why we’re so upset about this. Is it because we love Robert and Kristen so much… or is it because we HATE the idea of Edward and Bella broken up?

What do we do now? Let’s not let this scandal rip apart the fandom. We’re known to be gracious and loving. It’s time to step up and show our support as a whole. Pointing the finger and flinging hateful words isn’t going to get us anywhere. It’s time to dive back into the movies and fall in love with our beloved Edward and Bella, and remember that Robert and Kristen are two human beings that deserve privacy and our support. Kristen is NOT a bad person. She made a mistake. That is all. It’s time to move on and let her deal with the consequences of her actions. Every horrible word that’s being tossed in her direction is probably something she’s already said to herself. Kristen and Robert may never get back together; or, maybe they will, but it’s not for us to be divided over. TEAM TWILIGHT ALL THE WAY! Watch the movies. Listen to the soundtracks. And make plans to go out and show this franchise how much we love it on November 16^th!

My note to Kristen:

I’ve been watching your movies before Twilight even came about. I’ve watched just about all of them before, during; and will continue to even after Twilight is finished. To me, you did something that is pretty low. Cheating is not something I condone, but I take the stance of hating the act and not the person. What you did could have cost you your love. Robert. That to me is something no other punishment can top. This is for you to live with, but I do hope that one day you can smile and move on. Let this be a lesson, as I’m sure you’ll never do something like this again. You’re young, and you make mistakes. Learn, be happy, smile, and keep doing your thing. --- As a fan, I’m here to support you, Robert, and even the Twilight films. Everyone deserves a second chance. Go find yours!

As a sign that I’m still supporting Kristen, my family and I went out last week and watched Snow White and the Huntsman! Surprisingly, it was easy to forget the scandal and just enjoy the movie. Everyone enjoyed it. The theater was pretty full for it being a movie that's been out a while... and then the scandal. People even clapped when the movie was over. A sure sign that life will get back to normal! Also, I plan on re-watching all of the Twilight movies soon. In order to get myself ready for the last movie, and to also rip the band-aid off this boo-boo on my heart, haha!

I’ll leave you with words from Bill Condon, the director of both Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 and 2. In this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly, they’re covering Breaking Dawn insiders, and Bill has spoken out on Kristen’s scandal. I think he put it better than anyone else. I hope we ALL take his words to heart and live it out.

“The fact is, these are actors playing parts, and maybe it’s not such a bad thing that people be reminded of that both of these actors gave heart and soul to the Twilight movies, not only during shooting, but also by navigating so graciously the whole life-in-a-fishbowl aspect of the phenomenon. Above all they have always shown great respect for the fans who made these movies such a success. Now it’s time that some of that respect be returned to them.”

-Bill Condon/Entertainment Weekly out on Friday 8/10/12