Based on Genevieve Padalecki’s Instagram stories, we’ve come to learn that she caught COVID-19.

Her husband and her spent the better part of how long jetsetting maskless in Italy, though? They behaved as though there was absolutely no pandemic going on. We also know that Jared himself has not been wearing a mask when he should have been, when he was in close contact with various fans of his work, and to a point in Texas of all places where the Delta variant is absolutely raging. As much as I wish Gen well and hope that she does not spread it to her husband or other members of their family, such as their children who are all too young to be vaccinated, I feel like a lot of this could have been avoided if they had waited to go to Italy until the pandemic was well and truly over, or even if they had consistently worn masks, especially while in Italy. I feel like a lot of things that could have been avoided — or, at the very least, mitigated — by adhering to advice given from reputable agencies and following proper safety protocols, but the ball seemed to be dropped on absolutely all ends. It really does seem like some people think that getting vaccinated (and being in comparatively good health) will completely prevent you from coming down with COVID-19, and this is definitely not the case, especially with the Delta variant as contagious as it is. It seems to be virulent, too.

As someone for whom COVID-19 infection could potentially be tragic, reading about all of this from the vantage point that I have has been incredibly frustrating, to say the least. I avoid crowds. I shop online when I can, migraines from extended electronic use being damned since COVID-19 infection would be a lot worse for me. I wear a face mask as needed. My oldest son consistently wears a face mask now as needed, and my youngest son has made progress keeping one on his face for longer periods. We all use hand sanitizer as needed, and we don’t take trips outside of the house unless we have to. Have so many people really forgotten that we are in the midst of a pandemic, or is it only the chronically ill and/or disabled people and their families who remember? Because given recent events in general, I would really, really like to know…

Over my course of… being active in the Supernatural fandom, I’ve come to notice a bit of a division — namely the extremely enthusiastic fans of Jared Padalecki (Sam), or as some people like to call them, Jarpad fans/stans. They are a lot more enthusiastic over anything and everything Jared does as compared to fans of Jensen (the “Ackles Army”) or even fans of Misha Collins. As far as they are concerned, Jared Padalecki can do no wrong, especially when he has done wrong… there’s always another explanation for it. They ignore the fact that Jared has doxxed people going on the benders that he started to become known for in 2015, giving enough specific information about businesses and companies that he felt (or feels) has wronged him that the identities of individual employees have been divulged, even if it came with a bit of detective work. They ignore the fact that Jared goes on these benders to begin with, never apologizes, and has gone on these benders for years. The most recent one is the “et tu, brute?” one when he was not in the loop about the Supernatural prequel, galvanized his army of stans and had them raging at anyone and everyone even remotely involved in the fact that he — as someone who currently has nothing at all to do with the show — was not “kept in the loop”. He only “apologizes”, which is once in a blue moon to begin with, after his army has done substantial damage… and he knows exactly what he is doing. He is a grown adult. It is obvious that he knows exactly what effect his words, and galvanization, have on people. It bothers me quite a bit.

And, I mean, there’s the public intoxication bit and the drunken bar brawl Jared had, although we still don’t know if his drink was spiked and this caused him to behave in the manner he did (although he literally tried to evade arrest by flashing cash at the cops, I will mention that much, because that is 100% Jared there).

Don’t even get me started on the maskless jetsetting that he and his wife did to Italy, either.

There is clearly a problem within our fandom, and it is the behavior of the J1/Jarpad stans. I rest my case.

This had me laughing my ass off. It’s one of those “you definitely had to be there to get it” things.

This might have had something to do with an AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) that Jared Padalecki had not too long ago where, when given the opportunity, I asked him if he would ever consider apologizing to Robbie for his now-infamous “et tu, brute” Tweet, and I asked him if he would ever reconsider having the public temper tantrums that he’s become known for having on Twitter since… about 2015, I want to say. Stands puts up with so much shit from other people that I find it bizarre and perplexing that my questions during his completely valid AMA would have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, but I digress. They tend to work with a lot of Supernatural actors selling products, and I don’t think I’m going to be buying any more products for them or giving them any more patronage. Shame, though, because what I wanted to ask them is if they were going to resume selling the Impala purse (“clutch bag”) at any point in the future, but whatever. If you don’t want my money, you don’t want my money. You’re making that clear all on your own.