Whaler
| Synonyms: | ZSJ fan, ZSJ believer |
| See also: | 813, tinhat, Junzhe |
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In Word of Honor fandom, a whaler is a Zhang Zhehan fan who does not believe the theory that his Instagram account is controlled by someone else. Essentially, it is a derogatory term used by fans who do believe the theory. More polite synonyms include "ZSJ fan" and "ZSJ believer". Fans who use these terms define whalers as fans who believe that "Zhang Sanjian" (ZSJ) is Zhang Zhehan (ZZH).
Zhang Zhehan fans who do not believe that the Zhang Zhehan posting on Instagram is a fake named "Zhang Sanjian" do not have a term for not believing the theory. Not believing the theory is considered the default position both within and outside Word of Honor fandom. Instead, everyone else refers to fans who do believe the theory as "conspiracy theorists" (although some "whalers" may or may not believe in an alternate set of conspiracy theories about Gong Jun).
A definition from bizarrequazar, a conspiracy theorist:
"Whaler" is a term we use to describe people who either have fallen for or knowingly support a scam that is taking advantage of Zhang Zhehan being unable to say that he’s not involved in it.[1]
Both groups of Zhang Zhehan fans (whalers vs. Instagram skeptics) think of themselves as fans of the real Zhang Zhehan and the other set of fans as not true fans. Thus, when someone on social media uses the hashtag #theRealZhangZhehan, it's not clear without more context which view they support.
Context
Zhang Zhehan is a Chinese actor who played the lead role in the dangai drama Word of Honor. His costar was Gong Jun. Their ship name is Junzhe. Some fans who ship them believe that they are in a romantic relationship in real life; these fans are called tinhats. A smear campaign destroyed Zhang Zhehan's career on August 13, 2021.
On twitter the term whaler first appeared in early May 2022 and seems to be a reference to a whale merchandise design sold by Zhang Zhehan or someone associated with him. Sometime after he was cancelled on August 13, 2021 and lost his verified accounts on Chinese social media, an unverified account named Zhang Sanjian started posting. (The name "Zhang Zhehan" became sensitive, forbidden words on Chinese social media, so he would have been unable to create an account with his own name.) Some fans thought it was him, but others did not. When Zhang Zhehan's verified Instagram account, zhangzhehan_super3, was reactivated in April 2022 and started posting again, there were some brand elements/merchandise in common with the ZSJ account, leading some fans to assume that Zhang Sanjian must be Zhang Zhehan and leading other fans to assume that the Instagram account was no longer controlled by Zhang Zhehan.
In late April/early May he posted a letter and video of himself that indicated that he had not had any contact with Gong Jun in months, they were not friends, and that Gong Jun was working against him and using CP marketing without his consent. He also made some disparaging remarks about m/m shipping in general. This was upsetting to Junzhe shippers, and especially upsetting to the tinhats. In the video he seemed to address tinhats in particular and implied he no longer considered them his fans.[2] Therefore, the tinhats believe that the video is fake and that the Instagram account is controlled by whoever is behind the "Zhang Sanjian" account. To them, whalers are not really fans of Zhang Zhehan, since they are "actually" fans of "Zhang Sanjian".
Zhang Zhehan has continued posting photos and videos of himself to his Instagram account. He has also met fans in public, released music, and held concerts in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Conspiracy theorists (not just the tinhat shippers, but also solo fans who doubt the identity of the Instagram) believe that one or more impostors are impersonating him on these occasions, that the fans he met were paid to lie, and that images and videos are altered in some way to make them look like him.
Multiple Definitions?
The definition may be changing or may just not be used very consistently. For example, sometimes whaler refers to anyone who is "duped" by the Instagram account, but sometimes it's used to describe people who "know" that the Instagram is fake and are actively participating in the "scam gang" tricking fans into believing that "Zhang Sanjian" is Zhang Zhehan.[3]
This July 2023 twitter exchange indicates that "whaler" might be reserved for Zhang Zhehan fans whose efforts to promote him are annoyingly excessive:
[nerdyjellyfish]
maybe i'm missing some discourse and this sign is about something else, but if someone supports zsj, listens to zsj music, and says so publicly, i can call them a zsj fan/whaler/"zzh persona" fan. that's literally what those words mean.[4]
[bluemorningsoup]
The term “whaler” is associated with ZSJ fans who promote him, who buy his merch, and who spam-tag like their lives depend on it. You have to admit it has a derogatory connotation. Or has it changed to become “everyone who doesn’t condemn the Instagram as an impostor operation”? If it’s the latter, whether we like it or not, that’s most of the world, and this exclusionary behaviour is what I am concerned about.[5]
Usage Examples
Sorry not all just jellyfishes. I stan in dividing the fandom.
Haizhe - sweet solo fans
Whalers - zsj fans
Jellyfishes - toxic solo fans
wordofhonorfan, May 2022[6]
Agree. Let's make it clear, 👉 Zsj fans are whalers also called Hi.Zhe. Zzh fans are jellyfish aka Haizhe. Zzh and Gj fans are CPF.IvelineDB, May 2022[7]
This is what #TheRealZhangZhehan wants from his fans. To be well behaved, well mannered and nice. Not whatever toxic water army shit XYH, ZSJ and co. are brainwashing whalers to be. Whalers are not fans of #ZhangZhehan. #ZhangSanJian is NOT ZhangZhehan.dillylene, December 2022[8]
I'm waiting for Justina,whalers and the entire #Zhangsanjian community to start defending AI art. Coz they intend to do the opposite of what common sense do.
Like that Kris Wu case, If we promoting earth is round, they will defend that the earth is flat🤡🤡
Whalers 💩 need to know that when the real ZZH comes back, they need to stay away from him & to never f*cking come & claim to be his fans. Whoever believes #Zhangsanjian is totally an anti of #ZhangZhehan okay !!!mk_chronos, February 2023[10]
I think this person is a full time whaler. Look at what they say. This sounds like whalers’ script for me. It means they are part of the gang & are spreading zsj on purpose. I don’t care abt fandom, defending zsj is enough reason to be mass blocked.mk_chronos, August 2023[11]
References
- ^ reblog of "Whalers Blocklist", Archived version, 20 November 2022.
- ^ "Since no matter what I wear, it will make a lot of people 'ship cp', then I design my own favorite clothes. As long as those who like and support me want to see and listen and are willing to resonate with me, then I will come to you unswervingly. For those who don't want to wake up, I can only say that our fate is over." Translation by Chinese star news: Zhang Zhehan said: who is the evil force that framed me? I'm sure you already have the answer., Archived version, youtube video, May 3, 2022.
- ^ this is why we always say, if zsj and the scam gang had any proof that gj was indeed behind 813, pls sue him! Don’t hide behind fake videos and sly insinuations! on the flip side, gj is suing whalers for falsely accusing him of this. Enjoy the power of the law whalers 🥰, Archived version, tweet by _zuokanyunshu, 21 August 2023.
- ^ tweet by nerdyje11yfish, Archived version, 17 August 2023.
- ^ Tweets by bluemorningsoup: first tweet, Archived version, second tweet, Archived version, 17 August 2023.
- ^ tweet by wordofhonorfan, Archived version, 12 May 2022.
- ^ tweet by IvelineDB, Archived version, 21 May 2022.
- ^ tweet by dillylene, Archived version, Dec 23, 2022.
- ^ tweet by agikun, Archived version, Dec 27, 2022.
- ^ tweet by mk_chronos, Archived version, 10 February 2023.
- ^ tweet by mk_chronos, Archived version, 15 August 2023.