Maitland Ward has explained why she sees trolls as just a different form of fan. Watch here:
For an actor, moving from a Disney teen drama to pornography isn't exactly a well-trodden path.
As such, it was a bold decision by former Boy Meets World star Ward to try her hand in adult film back in 2019.
In Hollywood, people warned her she was making a terrible career choice, and online, trolls sent her abuse. But to Ward, trolls are simply unpleasant fans - an outlook she adopted from the set of her first acting gig.
"I think I am able to compartmentalise the trolls." the 45-year-old told LADbible.
"I was told once when I was on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, when I was young - 16, 17, 18 - I was told that when they counted the fan mail, they did not count negative or positive fan mail.
"They would only count the number of the letters, because you could have the most negative fan mail, but if you had people actually writing to say they hate your guts and you're trash and all this, they're invested in you, and they're watching you, and you've triggered something in them, and you have made them watch the show.
"So, I think a lot of the negative comments is people watching the show - even though they're doing it in a negative and twisted way, they're still fans, in a weird way."
This view is backed up by the fact these trolls aren't just anonymous web surfers - some of them are paying customers.
Ward explained: "They're driving your numbers up to. It's amazing to me to hear when trolls actually buy everything you have.
"And then they hate you - but they're buying everything you have.
"Like, they'll come on any of my platforms - whether it be Deeper or whether it be my OnlyFans - and whenever a random troll comes on, it's like, 'You just purchased my stuff?!'"
While this mentality is puzzling, it's thankfully not something she has to encounter too often.
Ward approximates that about 80 percent of the messages she receives online are positive, and the support she received was fundamental when she made the move to porn to be her 'authentic' self.
If a troll ever does rear its ugly head, she knows she can put her feet up and allow her followers to put them in their place.
She said: "I have great fans who will totally police that situation, and it's really good.
"There's been, of course, trolls that come on and they'll just get them out of town.
"So, I think fans, they get fed up with it too. Like with the trolls, they just ruin things. And then they get mad because they're your fans, so they're defending you.
"But I really appreciate that when they do, so I don't have to get involved, especially for any like really bad trolls... Let them just take care of it."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Sex and Relationships, Social Media
Jake Massey