The Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder blames shows toxic fan base for making him quit the show

Very few shows have the fanbase that The Vampire Diaries has had over the years. Developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, the CW show was first released in 2009 and ran for eight seasons till 2017. The Vampire Diaries garnered fans not only during its run, but also after it stopped airing.

Ian Somerhalder played Damon Salvatore, one of the protagonists of the show. Although Elena Gilbert (played Nina Dobrev) fell for Stefania Salvatore (played by Paul Wesley) first, she eventually fell in love with Damon and they had a passionate on and off romance which ended in them being together at the end of the show.

Almost a decade after the show ended, according to I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries, by Samantha Highfill, the Entertainment Weekly editor, Ian Somerhalder blames toxic fans for why he quit the show and eventually working on television as well.

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Ian Somerhalder on how the toxic The Vampire Diaries fans was the reason behind the change in his career

Anyone who has any idea about The Vampire Diaries, knows that since the beginning of the show, the fans are split into Delena and Stelena ships. The first believed Elena belonged with Damon, while the later believed that she belonged with Stefan. As Collider reports, in Samantha Highfill's tell-all, Ian Somerhalder said:

"I was the biggest Delena fan ever until I realized that the fandom had the ability to turn on people and become really, really mean,"

He added that he eventually felt

"disgusted and frustrated by how dark the fandom could get."

It is very rare that an actor, who has greatly influenced viewers with just one character, would say that the fandom is toxic. Thus, it seems that the toxicity of some fans got to him, so much so that started to highly dislike how they were acting.

He also shared how he felt back then, saying:

"I was like, 'Wait, whoa whoa, this is a fictional show with fictional characters, we can't be mean to other people for real.' It did change my appreciation of fandom. I don't like people being mean to one another. It's a toxic cancer to society."

Somerhalder admitted that it's alright to feel passionate about one's love for a show, saying:

"It’s great to feel something about a show..."

He then added how that feeling or passion is not an excuse for unpleasant behaviour, saying"

"but it’s not okay to hurt someone else as a result of your excitement or love for that thing."

This experience taught him something valuable, as he said:

“We just wanted to tell a really deep, heartfelt story, so I learned a lot about society.”

Ian Somerhalder has hardly made any television appearances after The Vampire Diaries ended. He played Dr. Luther Swann in V Wars, but other than that, it is a well-known fact that the actor has pulled back from acting. Speaking about the toxic fandom, Somerhalder said:

“It’s one of the reasons that I left the television business and became an entrepreneur.”

He also said:

“People are vehemently opposed to anything different than what they see in their mind. With the advent of social media, people can just spew exorbitant amounts of hatred into the universe just because they’re not happy with a storyline on a TV show.”

The Vampire Diaries is streaming on Hulu.

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