Jeremy Renner Official (or Jeremy Renner on the Google Play Store) was a mobile app created by American actor Jeremy Renner. [1] He created the app in March 2017 to hear the input and comments of his fans. [2] The app was shut down in September 2019 in part due to the frequent bullying and trolling that the platform had experienced. [3] The app featured optional microtransactions, with some ranging up to roughly US$ 400 despite the app itself being free. [4] Upon shutting down the app, Renner issued a mass-refund for the collectible 'stars' in the app for purchases made within the last ninety days, from the day the announcement was posted. He then posted an apology to the app itself, and the app was deleted from both the Google Play Store and the App Store shortly after. [5]
Upon downloading the app, the user was faced with a video of Renner speaking about his fans and superfans, regular giveaways, and real-life updates. [6] While the app was active, Renner posted regular questions and comments for fans. Renner occasionally livestreamed about his work and day-to-day life. The community developed to include memes, selfies, and a "Happy Rennsday" event on Wednesdays. [7]
The app launched in March 2017 with a promotional contest. Renner's fans were encouraged to download the app and create comments about being Renner's biggest fan; Renner would then choose a winner and transport the winner and a guest to have lunch with him at the Calgary Expo. [8] [9] [10] In the first few months Renner teased behind-the-scenes of projects he was working on, which he now sporadically does on Instagram. [11] The app was similarly designed to Instagram as well, with a near identically styled layout. [7] Around midway through 2019, a hoax account of Renner was made to mock the celebrity, joking about masturbating to porn and defending another hoax account of Casey Anthony. [12]
FastCompany wrote extensively about Renner's app in April 2019, calling it "a surprising new kind of social media". [13] The Ringer stated "Jeremy Renner's Jeremy Renner app is the Jeremy Renner of apps." [14]
After the shutdown of the app, a comedy-based pseudo-app with modular endings was released, called "The Jeremy Renner App Experience", in which the player plays as Jeremy Renner on the day of the Jeremy Renner Official app's shutdown. [15] The app details several different choices on how Renner handles the situation. A six-part podcast was also created to mock the app's deletion, called The Renner Files, featuring Carolyn Goldfarb and Sarah Ramos. [16]
One of the main controversies of Renner's app was its marketing. The app's developers, Escapex, specialized in and grew famous for making similar monetized apps for celebrities. [13] [8] The marketing campaign was based on direct contact with Renner, whose chances were increased with regular payments for "stars", [17] although very few encounters seemed to happen with Renner himself. [18] The multiple problems with the app led the CEO of Escapex, Sephi Shapira, to call the app a "freak situation", and added "Am I concerned about this? Not more than I'm concerned about 50 other things I'm dealing with as a startup company." [17] Along with the marketing failures, the app was seen as misrepresenting itself as seemingly erotic with some advertisements featuring Renner suggestively staring at the camera, despite the actual app being initially considered safe for children. [14]
After its release in 2017, the app was met with waves of harassment and bullying by many users on the app, most frequently by using impersonation — referenced in Renner's apology/deletion notice. [19] Some death threats were made across the app by fraud accounts pretending to be several controversial celebrities, including O. J. Simpson and Casey Anthony. [20]
As early as October 2017, there were claims of censorship, bullying, and "contest-rigging". In September 2019, comedian Stefan Heck publicized his discovery of the fact that replies through the app appeared as if they were sent by Renner himself in push notifications. After several users abused this feature, Renner asked Escapex to shut down the app. [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]
3G is the third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology. It is the upgrade over 2G, 2.5G, GPRS and 2.75G Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution networks, offering faster data transfer, and better voice quality. This network was superseded by 4G, and later on by 5G. This network is based on a set of standards used for mobile devices and mobile telecommunications use services and networks that comply with the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union. 3G finds application in wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV.
In the United States, government shutdowns occur when funding legislation required to finance the federal government is not enacted before the next fiscal year begins. In a shutdown, the federal government curtails agency activities and services, ceases non-essential operations, furloughs non-essential workers, and retains only essential employees in departments that protect human life or property. Shutdowns can also disrupt state, territorial, and local levels of government.
Jeremy Lee Renner is an American actor. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as Dahmer (2002) and Neo Ned (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as S.W.A.T. (2003) and 28 Weeks Later (2007). Renner gained Academy Award nominations for Best Actor for his performance as a soldier in The Hurt Locker (2009) and for Best Supporting Actor for playing a hot-headed robber in The Town (2010).
Matthew John David Hancock is a British politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 2018, and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from 2018 to 2021. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for West Suffolk since 2010. He is a member of the Conservative Party, but now sits in the House of Commons as an independent, having had the whip suspended since November 2022.
Omegle was a free, web-based online chat service that allowed users to socialize with others without the need to register. The service randomly paired users in one-on-one chat sessions where they could chat anonymously. It operated from 2009 to 2023.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is a 2013 American fantasy horror film that stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as the siblings from the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" who are now grown up and work together to exterminate witches for hire. The film is written and directed by Tommy Wirkola. The film also stars Famke Janssen and Peter Stormare as the supporting cast.
Trollface or Troll Face is a rage comic meme image of a character wearing a mischievous smile, used to symbolise internet trolls and trolling. It is one of the oldest and most widely known rage comic faces.
Google Hangouts was a cross-platform instant messaging service developed by Google. It originally was a feature of Google+, becoming a standalone product in 2013, when Google also began integrating features from Google+ Messenger and Google Talk into Hangouts. Google then began integrating features of Google Voice, its Internet telephony product, into Hangouts, stating that Hangouts was designed to be "the future" of Voice.
Voat Inc was an American alt-tech news aggregator and social networking service where registered community members could submit content such as text posts and direct links. Registered users could then vote on these submissions. Content entries were organized by areas of interest called "subverses". The website was widely described as a Reddit clone and a hub for the alt-right. Voat CEO Justin Chastain made an announcement on December 22, 2020 that Voat would shut down. The site was shut down on December 25, 2020.
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational technology company that focuses on media and online business. It is the second and current incarnation of the company, after Verizon Communications acquired the core assets of its predecessor and merged them with AOL in 2017. The resulting subsidiary entity was briefly called Oath Inc. In December 2018, Verizon announced it would write down the combined value of its purchases of AOL and Yahoo! by $4.6 billion, roughly half; the company would be renamed Verizon Media the following month in January 2019.
Mary-Belle Kirschner, better known as Belle Delphine, is a South African-born British media personality, pornographic actress, model, and YouTuber. Her social media accounts feature erotic and cosplay modelling, sometimes blending the two together. Her online persona began in 2018 through her cosplay modeling on Instagram. Her posts on the platform were often influenced by popular memes and trends.
V Live, sometimes referred to as V App, was a South Korean live video streaming service that allowed celebrities based in the country to broadcast live videos such as live chat sessions with fans, performances, reality shows and award shows on the internet. The service was available for streaming via web browsers on Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as apps on iOS and Android devices. The company was launched by Naver Corporation in late August 2015, and transferred to Weverse Company on March 2, 2022. It was shut down after merging with Weverse on December 31, 2022.
Clinton Francis Barton is a fictional character portrayed by Jeremy Renner in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise—based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name—more commonly known by his alias, Hawkeye. Barton is depicted as an expert marksman, archer and hand-to-hand combatant, with his preferred weapon being a recurve bow. Barton, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., is sent to kill Natasha Romanoff but decides to recruit and befriend her instead.
Google Podcasts is a podcast application developed by Google and released on June 18, 2018, for Android devices.
Quibi was an American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman as CEO. The service raised $1.75 billion from investors. It launched in April 2020, but shut down in December 2020 after falling short of its subscriber projections. In January 2021, Quibi's content library was sold to Roku, Inc. for less than $100 million. The platform's concepts and failure inspired widespread mockery.
The Fortnite World Cup was an esports competition based on the video game Fortnite. It took place between July 26–28, 2019 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City, United States. A total US$30 million prize pool was available across the various competitions.
Escapex, stylized as escapex, was a mobile app developer specializing in white-label fan engagement apps for celebrities. It was founded by Sephi Shapira in 2014 and has raised $18 million in funding. It allows celebrities to reach fans directly, as well as receiving revenue from fans through its freemium model.
Sarah Projansky is Associate Vice President for Faculty at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. From 2008–2020 she was Professor of Film & Media Arts and of Gender Studies, and Adjunct Professor of Communication. She's also an author of a number of books including Spectacular Girls and Watching Rape.
Spotify Live, formerly Spotify Greenroom, was a social audio app by Spotify, that allowed users to host or participate in live-audio virtual environments called "room" for conversations. Each room had a maximum capacity of 1000 people. The app was available on Android and iOS, competing with Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse in the social media segment. It was shut down on April 30, 2023.