CM Punk is the latest professional wrestler to send fans a message asking them to respect boundaries in public spaces.
On Sunday night, Punk posted to his Instagram stories, writing:
"Hey guys! Love y'all, but friendly reminder to respect privacy and boundaries. Airports are not a meet and greet. If I have to ask you to please stop following me multiple times you have crossed a line. Please stop this. Thank you. (And stop using your children as a shield or an excuse)"
Wrestlers and other celebrities asking fans to respect boundaries have become more common in recent years.
Lynn Zubernis, Ph.D, a clinical psychologist and author of the Psychology Today blog "The Science of Fandom," believes that celebrities being approached in public spaces has increased due to social media leading "some fans to feel closer to celebrities than they are."
"In an era of constant social media, it may be easy for more fans to lose sight of the one-sided nature of their connection to celebrities," she wrote in an article published on Sunday.
Rhea Ripley expressed similar frustrations last year about fans following her at airports.
"People need to respect that no means no! At airports do not follow me outside. Today has put me off completely! I will not sign ANYTHING that isn't a personal photo of us anymore. Hate me, I don't care. Disagree with me, try putting yourselves in our shoes for one bloody day."
Cora Jade sent a message to her fans earlier this year asking that they refrain from sending fan mail to her home rather than the WWE Performance Center.
"I love and appreciate all fan mail but if you are going to send it please refrain from sending it to my personal address or more importantly my parents'. All fan mail can be sent to the PC addressed to me :)," Jade wrote.
In 2022, Bianca Belair shared on her Instagram stories that a fan ran up to her car following a show asking for a photo.
"I love my fans but Do NOT FOLLOW me from the venue. We drove 20 minutes from the venue, sitting at a red light…a fan just ran up to the window, tapped on the window trying to take a picture. Scared the sh*t out of us…Do NOT RUN UP to my car window while I'm sitting at a red light at 11 pm tapping on the window. It's not safe for me. It's not safe for you. [I] try my best to stay around and sign as many autographs and take as many photos as I can…It may seem harmless and all in fun to you, but that wasn't right or fair. I was legit scared. BOUNDARIES."
Last October, New Japan Pro Wrestling issued a statement asking fans to respect the personal boundaries of wrestlers outside of wrestling spaces.
"New Japan Pro-Wrestling kindly asks fans to respect personal space of wrestlers outside of designated events, as well as to respect the operations of local businesses around NJPW shows," the promotion wrote.
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