#holivia

Credits to the people who pointed it out. Gotta share it here for monitoring and archiving lol.

Well, well, Wellington… what a small world.

Jade’s a friend of Zara. She’s with her for the most of her stay in LA so far. That’s them at a freakin’ Sunglass Hut last Saturday (?).

On the left is Jade with Tom Skoglund (fresh from his IGS). He’s a manager from Full Stop Management. He tagged along HSLOT and seemingly babysat Olivia during the Holivia stunt.

Another very suspicious connection for the book… just like that first one with Strictly’s Stefania and Soccer Aid.

What are we brewing here.

https://x.com/blueblrdhoneyy/status/2014751774112911685?s=46&t=KM1Y22XQBNGo6oNfvMQrQQ

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MY GOD

rant incoming, strap in folks.

ive seen a shocking amount of longtime larries lately downplaying the severity of harry and louis' situations, acting as though their signals and codes are "coincidences," and pushing the idea that harry and louis have full control over their PR moves when that has never once been the case in the past 15 goddamn years. and its not just disappointing, its frustrating. where has everyone's critical thinking gone? what changed?

you all talk about how much holivia damaged harry's public image and compare holivia to mcdumblinson, but then in the same breath act like louis is choosing to stunt with zara. is the cognitive dissonance that thick? or are you all now suggesting harry willingly participated in holivia? both of those potential options concern me, frankly.

we can all agree zara is actively damaging louis' public image, right? so, why on earth would louis be stunting with her of his own free will? are you suggesting he's that stupid? because hes not. louis is incredibly intelligent and to pretend hes stupid enough to continue pushing this stunt when its clearly not helping him is insulting.

but i know what question will be begged: "they're multi-millionaires! they're grown men now! dont you think they have the money and freedom now to do what they want?" if that was the case, there wouldnt be anymore stunting. ever. money does not equate to freedom, nor does age. has everyone suddenly forgotten the kinds of contracts these men are under? the professionals they are stuck working for?

in terms of pure financials, yes, they probably could buy out of their contracts. and where would that leave them? blacklisted from the biggest companies in the industry, smeared in retaliation by the media those companies own, and honestly? their lives could be at stake. think of how many incredibly famous artists have died for political reasons or because they challenged the agencies that own them. this isnt to fearmonger, this is to bring up PRECEDENT. precedent you all seem to have willfully forgotten.

but even on top of all that, are we forgetting that these boys have been groomed since they were 16-18? jeff azoff has been scouting harry since 2013, and hes only one example of the terrible people these men have been surrounded by since they were teenagers. harry and louis have never escaped sony. when they respectively escaped syco, they both signed to other labels sony owns. harry has been signed to columbia (and the azoffs) since 2016, and louis has been signed to his companies and labels since 2020 when syco music dissolved. which makes me beg my own question- what the fuck do you all think has changed? in the past 5-9 years (respectively) what do you posit has changed to give harry and louis this freedom youre all claiming they have? theyre still closeted. theyre still being forced to stunt. theyre still being forced to surround themselves with shitty people.

louis looks beyond uncomfortable in every photo with zara. he is clearly not doing this willingly. harry is a genuinely good person, hes not willingly hanging around the likes of KID HARPOON, who GROPED HIM AT THE 2023 GRAMMYS. or did we all forget that? i think we did. zara is from love island, a show louis HATES. shes the type of person he never associates with normally. the azoffs are RIFE with controversy that could make its own fucking masterpost. if you think our harry and louis, two very smart, very kind, very intentional men, are WILLINGLY surrounding themselves with these types of people, you are biting the media koolaid and HELPING THE PROPAGANDA SPREAD.

AND ON TOP OF ALL OF THAT, i want to REITERATE that these two men have been lied to and coerced and groomed since they were teens. that means, in case none of you have ever been in abusive dynamics with authority, that they likely dont know all of their escape options. firstly, their options for escape are few and far between, and at absolute BEST would end their careers and turn them into GP punching bags because of the smear campaigns that would follow any pushback or contract buyouts. secondly, the professionals and lawyers theyve been surrounded with for the past 15 years are all cogs in the industry music machine. even back on TXF we know their lawyers were paid off by syco to push them in the desired direction with what they signed. that was just one reality tv show, and its a microcosm of the industry at large. not only do they have limited options, they dont even know what all of those options are. its not like their abusive managements are gonna tell them how to leave. thats not how this works.

but again, even if they had access to all of their options, even if they had access to unbiased legal advisors, even if they wanted to end their careers- they wouldnt escape without being hurt in some major way. im not talking out of my ass here. look at other cases of major celebrities who have left their labels or publically denounced the industry. look into major artists who have mysteriously died. hell, look into the p. diddy case and the people he put hits out on. open your fucking eyes and look at the precedent you older fans were AROUND FOR. i wasnt even HERE, and i can see it.

my last point is anecdotal, but stick with me here. when you are a victim of an abusive authority figure- in HL's case, the entire industry full of abusive CEOs and managers- for as long as they have (15 years, mind), it becomes less scary to stick to whats familiar. they know its bad, they clearly hate stunting and being closeted, but its a familiar fire to burn in. i know that feeling. i spent 17 years under an abusive authority figure and during the brief windows where i thought i could feasibly get out, i was too scared and far too conditioned to try. taking a stab at HL, id guess this is where theyre at. maybe they could, in some lucky way if everything were to align, escape and minimize the harm they suffer from it. but theyve been conditioned against trying, conditioned against believing in that possibility, and conditioned to go along with what theyre told.

so again i ask, what do you all think changed? why do you think harry and louis are suddenly free to do as they please, after all these years, when theyre still signed to the same companies and still showing signs of distress? when theyre still coding their clothes as a subtle cry for help- which, by the way, never stopped. why on earth did everyone up and decide they stopped coding their clothing? because 1 popular larrie blog said it, and the rest of you parroted it like gospel? was a real reason ever given for that spontainious conclusion, or are you all just reverting back to the comfort of willful ignorance and slurping up the media slop?

nothing has changed with their situations. a lot of you just seem to have stopped fighting for them. its easier to be complacent, to only care about when new music is coming, to not worry about harry and louis as people. to not worry about supporting them and making sure they know that some of us pay attention and know their truth. some of you are losing those tenents, and its upsetting to watch as a newer larrie who has all the conviction in the world to fight for these boys and show them that they are supported.

the attitude ive seen from some of the older larries on here lately is akin to what id expect from the GP, or solos, but not larries. you are all smarter than this and you damn well know it. the downplaying and disregarding of things like louis' plead for our support, the coded clothing, the subtle hints that theyre still being controlled, is actively helping their managers and PR teams sell narratives like mcdumblinson. through your complacency, saying everything is "just a coincidence" or "the boys' choice," you are aiding the enemy in their pursuit.

I remember Olivia had a VIP pass during LOT and that's why she was there in almost every show, and that pass had access to backstage, but I've read somewhere that she wasn't authorised to go backstage alone. She needed to go with a member of H's team.

Another thing I remember is that at the last show she was seen at, they took away her pass and moved her to a different section😂

Hiiiii sweetheart,

wait, they took her pass in the middle of the show? *wheezelaughs self into eternity* 🤣🤣🤣

...

...

Okay, I let that (beautiful) fact marinate in my noggin and from my personal and professional experience, I suspect that her getting that certain VIP pass might've been an accident right from the get go, meaning she might have received a pass at entry that she wasn't meant to get anymore, because perhaps the person who put her on the list selected the wrong pass to go with it out of habit ('cause she always used to get that one, you know?) or the person working the guest list perhaps misread the list (skipping a line in the rush happens very fast..) and someone noticed it later when they saw the pass she was wearing, so they corrected the mistake. And I want to make a point: often that mistake doesn't even get corrected if it's not severe (for instance, someone who was only meant to get a photo pass getting an AAA pass would be severe), because it can be a big negative hassle to do so. To bump a kind-of-celebrity-guest (who is also -to the public and most concert staff- "dating the main act of the show") down from their pass is kinda like telling a kind-of-celebrity they got upgraded to 1st class on a plane and then having to tip-toe up to them and telling them it was a mistake and they were actually only meant for Business Class... you can imagine the tantrum -- but in the case of that particular show, it must've been really important to Harry and his team that she immediately wouldn't get that access anymore 👀

Still, it's possible that she got her usual VIP+backstage escort pass and then something happened on the fly, for example something was published (I can't remember on the spot what it was - the "break-up" announcement aka. the official end of the stunt? if anyone knows, please feel free to put it in the comments 💕) in the middle of the show and H's team decided they wanted her gone from that section right away and revoked her current pass. And iirc, she apparently just got a different VIP pass instead, right? One without the backstage access, which in a stadium can mean she had to also switch audience sections.

Back to the general topic of backstage passes for real partners and stunts:

I'm not in a position to say what kind of passes older stunts or beards have gotten, I'm sorry. But as far as I remember they were never allowed to roam all backstage areas freely at all times. And for current and future stunts, I highly doubt this will change. The kind of pass that O had, VIP + backstage escort, is what sounds the most plausible to me for both parties to still get their acting job done and then see ya 👋🏼

After what I read up on in Gina's @twopoppies' Holivia tag about Olivia's several boundary-crossing behaviours, I'm not surprised in the slightest if she was never allowed backstage unsupervised.

Having a VIP pass + backstage escort (so the pass Olivia apparently had) means that not the guest is the one to decide when to go where, but the person from H's team has sole say in that and will have instructions from H or his (tour) management on where to let people go and which areas are not to be accessed. For example, during the Holivia stunt, if H theoretically would have had wanted the last 2 hours pre-show and the 1st hour post-show to himself and his personal guests (with AAA passes), then the member of H's team would not let Olivia enter H's dressing room and possibly adjacent areas during that designated time. (each artist has their individual requirements for pre- and post-show backstage/dressing room population)

I talked about AAA passes in my comment to a question Daisie @daisiesonafield-blog had to this post and I'll quote my comment here and pad it with a bit more info:

AAA (Access All Areas) passes are usually the most limited and are usually given to family, partners/spouses, and close friends, but in theory they can be given to anyone the artist/agency chooses. Guests with an AAA pass are usually the only ones who are allowed to enter (all) backstage areas unsupervised.

[There’s also artist passes, tour crew passes, local working crew passes, press passes, photo passes, etc. — all have specific perks and rules. Most passes will be tied to guestlist spots, except local working crew passes, because those people obviously arrive at the venue MUCH much earlier for load-in (loading all backline into the venue). Press passes are sometimes also given out earlier than doors (entry for general public), when radio/print/screen interviews with the artist happen inside of the venue and take place long before stage time (show time). In some cases, i.e. huge stadiums, there can be different levels of access within the backstage areas and VIP areas and there’s different passes for all of those. For example a pass for someone who's not allowed into the artist dressing rooms, but allowed into the catering and rec areas. Usually those passes are wristbands or laminates with different colours, which the security personnel then has to pay attention to. With big shows (artist-wise), local working crew are generally not allowed into artist dressing rooms, only in case of emergency or with explicit permission.]

How do guests receive their passes? On the guestlist itself there will be an “AAA” marked in a column next to the names, so they get handed over those passes right away. Sometimes, when guests enter through the back entry / underground entry because they do not want to or can’t be seen entering, then they will be handed those passes (usually as a big stickie pass, a wristband, or a laminate) directly from the band manager or tour manager or someone from the show production team.

In the case of H&L, when hypothetically only Louis publicly attends a show and H can’t be seen, they can be given AAA passes so one or both of them can stay in the dressing or rec rooms or move around backstage during the show. Still, in this case, there's usually also an additional escort from their own team or the show's artist's team, especially if he/they doesn't/don't know the layout of the venue well, so he's/they're not getting lost or accidentally walking into a public hallway. In many venues you can kind of still see the part of the show from backstage areas/tunnels/on-stage sidestage, too - or hear it, at least. It always depends on the specific layout of each venue from where someone could watch the show without being spotted by the general audience.

I hope this answered your questions, sweetpea!!

...and I know exactly...

...how it ends.

I’m trying to understand more about H and L’s careers and had a question after going through your industry tag. I’m confused about how the management team and record label work together. I get mixed opinions on whether the artist is more controlled by their manager or label. I asked ChatGPT (lol), and it said they collaborate, but management protects the artist while meeting label requirements. That makes sense in Harry's case because Jeff has done a good job overall, and they seem to have a good relationship. But what confuses me is Jeff’s role during the holivia mess, where the director seemed more like Jeff’s client than Harry, especially with rumors about Azoff’s financial interest in the film's success (which was very clear imo). Also, Harry clearly seemed upset at that time ( I don't think he was upset at Jeff specifically, but more angry about the whole situation).

I’ve also read from someone who works in the industry that the Azoff contracts are very restrictive, and I thought that kind of contracts were more label-related than a management thing.

Could you clarify the role of each team, please?

Thanks so much! :)

It’s really nuanced, and honestly, everything depends on the contracts. There’s no definitive answer to this.

Label contracts and management contracts are totally independent. So in theory, you could have a strict label contract while having a management team that actually has your back. On the other hand, you could be signed to a more flexible label (like an independent one) but have a management team that’s more controlling. And sometimes, the label and management are completely aligned, which means they’re working together in ways that may or may not benefit the artist.

From my understanding:

Label → They’re investing the money, so they own the artist’s music and control how everything is marketed. The artist is contractually obligated to deliver music, and the label decides when, how, and sometimes even what they release. The bigger the artist, the more control the label will want (whether it’s influencing their image, sound, or release timeline, etc). Therefore, I’d say the more restrictive contracts and “control” are coming from the label side, in general. Because it’s their investment, they’re the ones putting money into it 💰💰💰

Management → They work for the artist, not the label. But that doesn’t mean they’re always on the artist’s side, I mean, they have their own interests, too. You can have a strict management contract while being on a more flexible label, or vice versa. At the end of the day, management’s goal is also profit. They’re not the artist’s best friends; they’re there to negotiate, advocate, and execute day-to-day career decisions. They can’t override the label, but they can push for better deals, marketing, and overall strategy.

About Holivia, I don’t know if Jeff was prioritizing Olivia as a person over Harry’s feelings, but listen… I’m going to hold your hand when I say this: management’s job is to handle an artist’s career, not their personal happiness. It’s business. The Azoffs are deeply connected in Hollywood, and it’s pretty clear they had financial and industry interests tied into Harry’s success as an actor, especially DWD.

I think that the biggest thing that makes fans frustrated with management teams is that it’s hard to separate personal relationships from business decisions. Harry seems close to the Azoffs, so it’s natural we assume they’d protect him personally. But should we really see it that way? Or should we be looking at it through a business lens rather than personal loyalty? Because that’s how the industry actually works. I know it sucks, and we all want to protect Harry, but it’s not how it works.