Eddie Brock and his alien symbiote other half aren’t having the best of weeks so far, with the upcoming Venom movie receiving an overwhelmingly negative response on Twitter now that the social media embargo has been lifted. But while we know of plenty of genuine viewers with few nice things to say about the feature, it’s also been speculated that the wave of bad reviews is being partially orchestrated to draw audiences to a far more acclaimed film that’s making its way to cinemas this same weekend.
According to an allegation that’s making its way around social media, fans of Lady Gaga are trashing Venom using fake Twitter accounts as a means of diverting filmgoers to A Star Is Born. Speaking to Buzzfeed, one Gaga fan explained this coordinated effort as follows:
“It’s us Gaga fans creating fake ids to trash Venom premiere,” Twitter user @ LGMonster95 said. “They both are getting released on the same day so we want more audience for A Star Is Born.”
Evidently, some comic book fans have caught wind of this alleged conspiracy and are spreading the news online.
Beware of fake #Venom movie reviews. There are people trying to promote Lady Gaga's #AStarIsBorn and are fabricating negative reviews. Look out for bots and only trust proper and regular reviewers. pic.twitter.com/v9xznuN5R7
— thatmaniac 🕷️🕸️ (@That1Maniac) October 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/AtomicSpidey/status/1047018012300185600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1047018012300185600&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmarvel%2F2018%2F10%2F02%2Fvenom-negative-review-lady-gaga-a-star-is-born%2F
With reports that Marvel devotees are in turn sharing bad reviews of A Star Is Born, this strangest of conflicts between Venom and Gaga supporters is escalating rather quickly, though it wouldn’t be the first time that fans of a comic book movie have called foul play upon seeing the negative response to a new release. Lord knows, the team at Sony would probably sleep a little better if it turned out that most of these reviews were fabricated, seeing how they’re banking on Venom doing well enough to spawn sequels, not mention its own cinematic universe.
In any case, you can decide for yourself whether or not the new Venom is worth all the hate when it hits theaters on October 5th, or you could heed the warnings and go see A Star Is Born instead.