I’m not sure of the context about Colin O’Donoghue’s tweet about OUAT fandom bullying but honestly talking about OUAT and the Outlander fandoms is like comparing apples and oranges.

As far as I know the fan feuds in the OUAT fandom are regarding character ships, not real life person ships. I’m not sure what bullying Colin was referring to in terms of fans “protecting” him. It seemed that some fan was harassing him because they wanted him to follow them. If Colin was referring to that fan being bullied because fans reported her for harassing him then (unless I am missing something) he has a very odd definition of bullying. But I really don’t understand the whole situation so I will reserve judgement.

But in the Outlander fandom shipping involves real life people--NOT characters--and some of the SamCait shippers have gotten to the level of tinhatting, where they invent conspiracy theories to support the ship and bully Sam’s and Cait’s probable real SOs and anyone else who gets in the way of the ship. 

This was Sam’s comment regarding fans self-policing in a March 2016 interview in Marie Claire:

MC: What's the craziest thing a fan has done to get your attention? SH: I probably can’t say, because I think it’s a bit embarrassing. But they’re great, they generally are very, very well-meaning and very supportive of everything we do. And some time it might go a little too enthusiastic, but they’re also self policing as well and they have a great community of support for each other. [emphasis added]

Given this it sounds like Sam approves of the “self policing” in the fandom. JS

Furthermore, Sam seems to approve of the policing that his friend Shatner does in the Outlander fandom.

Shatner calls out fans who harass Sam’s probable SO and other fans or people who get in the way of the ship. He asks people to report those fans. He also calls out the dangers of real person shipping. Sam seems to have no trouble with him doing so. Consequently, I don’t believe Sam has any real problem with fans calling out these behaviors either. 

Yes, we NSTs need to be careful not to be too harsh when we call out fans who are harassing Mac but honestly I think if the fandom remained quiet about this and didn’t report it, the bullies would come to believe that the fandom condones this behavior.

If OUAT fans were harassing Colin’s wife because they wanted him to be involved in real life with Jennifer Morrison I have a feeling he would feel a bit different about fans calling other fans out for trying to protect his wife (or even himself) under those circumstances. If OUAT fans said some of the things about his wife that they have said abour Mac, Colin might find himself at times jumping in to admonish these fans like Sam has done regarding Mac’s harassment:

“Do not obey in advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You’ve already done this, haven’t you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.” -Professor Timothy Snyder, Historian, Holocaust/Third Reich expert

Nothing suits the purposes of a tyrant quite so efficiently as self-censorship and self-policing.

A common reaction to rising authoritarianism is to keep one's head down, hoping it will offer protection, when in practice almost the reverse is true: Every person who puts their head down makes a better target of the one behind. If those defying the regime are a manageable number (if), they can be dealt with first. Then those simply speaking out. By the time it matters if you share the wrong links or speak disloyal phrases on the phone, it is far too late. 

The trick is never letting it get that far. To speak up more than could ever practically be censored.

No regime can sustainably target a near-majority of its own people - not and last. So speak your mind as much as you can, for as long as you can. It isn’t just talk: You are defending a free society, and free people in it.