The collectors of celebrity memorabilia: A qualitative re-evaluation of celebrity worship levels

To explore how celebrity memorabilia collectors use their memorabilia collections to engage with a media persona(e), we draw from two distinct concepts. The first concept is Brown’s definition of celebrity worship. This serves as the lens to explore how audiences engage in this process of worship. Specific attention is given to three key anchor points within this definition: commitment, love and devotion. The second concept is Maltby’s three levels of celebrity worship. This provides a framework to explain the ways in which the memorabilia collectors use their collections to conform or disconform to various levels of celebrity worship. A total of 21 in-depth interviews were conducted with collectors of celebrity memorabilia. Findings support a need for a total reconceptualization of celebrity worship levels and an introduction of a newly conceptualized level to adequately explain celebrity memorabilia collectors. Furthermore, findings also suggest a conceptual unity between the two concepts. Overall, our study provides a more diverse way of understanding celebrity memorabilia collectors.