Facebook fan page rules deal devastating blow to tribute acts and impersonators
Kelly O’Brien looks like Dolly Parton, sounds like Dolly Parton and has even been endorsed by the country legend herself.
But she’s among a community of tribute acts who say Facebook rules are seeing their pages shut down, as the platform doesn’t allow people to pretend to be someone well known or speak for them without permission.
Working 9 to 5 as Dolly Parton
O’Brien, who has been performing as Dolly for years, had 4,500 followers to her page which was recently taken down, and says she built those up after a page she had with 15,000 followers was taken down last year.
She says it’s devastating.
“This is my full-time job – it’s not something that I do on the side.
“This is something I take very seriously, I work really hard, I pay a lot of money – like [Dolly Parton] says, it takes a lot of money to look this cheap!
“And then all of a sudden, all that work you put into your business, it’s just gone, and you’re like, ‘Wow, where do I go now?’… So, it’s very sad.”
Facebook’s parent company Meta says they do allow fan pages but require users to make it clear that they are not the actual celebrity and are not “speaking in the voice of” that person or act.
Hayleigh Bosher is a senior lecturer in Intellectual Property Law at Brunel University.
She says Facebook – and other sites – are following rules designed to protect artists.
“From the perspective of the social media platform, they have to make sure they’re upholding the rights of rightsholders to avoid being sued themselves.
“So that’s the reason why they’re probably seen as quite proactive in taking down content because we have these rules in copyright that say if the platform enables the copyright infringement then they can become liable.
“But if they take it down then they’re protected – so that’s why they will be quite proactive about having a system in place.”
As the price of concert tickets continues to rise and some artists retire from touring altogether, finding an alternative version of their favourite star is really the only option for many fans.
And for those whose careers rely on impersonation, not being able to share details of their shows with their fanbase on social media is fatal.
“On your page comes: ‘We have community standards against impersonation’ and you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s actually my job’!” Said O’Brien.
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“So, this is crazy, right? It’s just crazy that this can happen, and it’s not just happening to me, it’s happening to hundreds of tributes, impersonators, and some drag queens.
“Where else, if you love Dolly Parton, where are you going to go? Except to see a tribute and you want them to be as good as possible, and especially for artists that have passed – Whitney Houston, George Michael – these people are keeping the music alive.”
Facebook say they’re working to reinstate O’Brien’s page but for many others the conflict remains – championing tributes while abiding by copyright rules designed to protect the original artists.
They’re getting through 70kg of rice a day and the wholesaler has run out of noodles. Yes, Sumo returns to London on Wednesday.
It’s just the second time a Grand Tournament has been held outside of Japan – and this is a sport that has records going back more than 1,500 years.
It’s 34 years since the Royal Albert Hall hosted the only previous such event on foreign soil – and the appetite for tickets meant all five days sold out immediately.
Much of the focus is on the two grand champions or yokozuna, the 74th and 75th men to attain the rank.
They’re the Mongolian Hoshoryu Tomokatsu, plus Japan’s Onosato Daiki – who this year became the quickest wrestler to achieve the rank in the modern era.
“I’m happy that Sumo is back after so many years,” Onosato said. “I hope I can show the UK fans how fantastic Sumo is.”
“Being a yokozuna has a lot of responsibility,” Hoshoryu told Sky Sports. “We have to show everyone an example of what a yokozuna is – and that’s very difficult.
“My uncle was a yokozuna – and I’m happy to follow in his footsteps. But I came here to London as a yokozuna which he didn’t, so I’m even happier.”
The two are already great rivals.
Onosato Daiki became the quickest ever to achieve yokozuna rank. Pic: AP
At the recent Aki Basho – the most prestigious tournament on the sumo calendar – the pair finished with identical records after 15 days of bouts.
It all came down to a final play-off between the two yokozuna – the first time that had happened in 16 years. It was Onosato who came out on top on that occasion.
Hoshoryu says he is a big fan of basketball and football. He follows Chelsea, although his favourite players are going back a bit: “Didier Drogba and Petr Cech. He’s the ‘keeper. I like this guy!”
Early starts and a hearty stew: The life of a rikishi
The wrestlers – or rikishi – have a rigorous training regime.
They live in communal blocks called stables and practice starts early. Perhaps surprisingly, everyone skips breakfast. After training and practice – and for the younger rikishi, chores – the wrestlers all eat together.
The staple of their diet is chankonabe, a hearty stew packed with meat and vegetables. The feeding of the 40 rikishi who have come over for the five-day tournament is a challenge in itself.
Donagh Collins, the CEO of co-organisers Askonas Holt, said: “We are going through 70 kilos of rice a day. Somebody told me that the wholesaler for the noodles has run out of noodles. We’re really pushing the system here.”
The ring – or dohyo – is just 4.55m in diameter and quite small when two giant wrestlers leap at each other.
The aim of the fights is to either get your opponent onto the floor – or, more spectacularly, shove or hurl them out of the dohyo, so spectators in the ringside seats may be getting extremely up-close to the wrestlers.
The last time the tournament was in Britain, the massive Konishiki, known as the Dump Truck, took centre stage.
The giant Hawaiian was the heaviest-ever rikishi coming in at 287kg – or 45 stone. That’s a lot of wrestler to dodge if he comes falling out of the ring towards you.
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The Royal Albert Hall may be firstly a concert venue, but it has hosted the likes of John McEnroe, Lennox Lewis and even Muhammad Ali.
And for the next five days, the cream of the world of sumo will be thrilling the crowds – provided a new noodle supplier is found.
What is a yokozuna?
Yokozuna is the highest rank in sumo, with its name meaning “horizontal rope” and refers to the rope worn around a competitor’s waist as they enter the ring.
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