(1/2) To understand the rumors, gossip, betrayals, obsession, idealization then devaluation, and unfounded paranoia around Kennedi, you only have to understand that she is literally a Girardian scapegoat. That’s it. The fact that she was spammed, becoming a meme in the process, allowed for community discussion on her, which led to community ownership of her. And this means treating her like a mimitic toy more than a person. Including people who claim to be her friend. Then came the participation of those “friends,” leaks about her personal life, the reddit leak (you really think a stranger did that?), and the nudge nudge win wink in the know posts you still see to this day that serve no purpose other than to send a signal to Ken and let everyone else hoping to do the same that they’re in good company. Those friends actually vacillate between insulting her and defending her, then leaking her info and trying to cover it up. It isn’t rational.
This is a reflection of people’s pent up inner evil. Knowing that there’s a parasocial audience lets their baseline need for destruction flourish, but then they are then battling with their need to not give fully into it. It’s less about her as a person and more about her as a representation of community that for a moment someone have power over, and in the process feel like they have power over another human being. All the bad shit you think you repress comes out when part of a group especially when anonymous. This is universally appealing and most people don’t even realize when it’s happening that it’s just feeding their own ego psychosis. And since there are so many of these people in the same position wearing masks and telling each other they’re something other than what they are all at the same time, they start to drop hints about who they are and how they knew Ken in ways they think only fellow people in the know could pick up on. Then they start triangulating information together. Doesn’t even matter that it puts her at more risk as long as they get the rush from gossiping. Then they feel special for knowing someone “famous.” They probably tell people they meet that they knew this one girl who has stalkers while leaving out they’re fuel on the fire. They don’t give a fuck about her. It’s all secondary to her. She’s a conduit.
If her ex is actually posting here, that’s more complicated and I won’t even try to touch that.