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American Horror Story Fan Accounts Go on Strike to Protest Ryan Murphy's Silence

Fan accounts are "tired" of promoting the show on their own.
  • Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates in American Horror Story: Freak Show (Photo: Michele K. Short/FX/Everett Collection)
    Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates in American Horror Story: Freak Show (Photo: Michele K. Short/FX/Everett Collection)

    American Horror Story fans are fed up, and they're going on strike.

    Since the series premiered in 2011, viewers have kept up the buzz surrounding the series with devoted fan accounts. The series has built a deeply loyal fanbase online, but now, those very same fans have launched a boycott out of frustration with show creator Ryan Murphy. Fans behind the AHS accounts claim Murphy is purposely keeping details about the upcoming eleventh season under wraps, and they have accused him of relying on them to market the show for free.

    The boycott began with the AHS Zone Twitter account, which announced on July 25 it would go dark until Murphy released more information about the upcoming season. "Effective August 1, many AHS news accounts will be partaking in a social media blackout and will not promote @AHSFX or #AHStories until #AHS11 is formally acknowledged," it wrote.

    Included in the tweet was an open letter to FX and Ryan Murphy, accusing them of capitalizing on "the ever-theorizing fans to drive up engagement and create hype about the forthcoming season." The letter adds that the fan accounts are "tired" of "thanklessly maintaining enthusiasm for the show."

    "We speak for the fandom in saying that we've grown bored of having to excite ourselves," the letter continues.

    Effective August 1, the letter states, fan accounts will go dark to mirror Murphy's silence until some kind of promotion for the show is officially released. Other fan accounts involved include AHS Daily, AHS Source, Horror Story News, and AHS News Feed.

    Further angering fans, Murphy also blocked the AHS Zone Instagram account after the blackout announcement.

    Primetimer has reached out to FX for comment but did not hear back by the time of this publication.

    American Horror Story is available to stream on Hulu.

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    Deena ElGenaidi's writing has been featured in Nylon, MTV News, Insider, The AV Club, and more. You can follow her on Twitter @deenaelg.

    TOPICS: American Horror Story: Season 11, FX, American Horror Stories, Ryan Murphy, American Horror Story Franchise