Team 411 talks Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson

You’ve already read some of their beautiful insights into the world of Twilight and The Runaways star Kristen Stewart. They’re Team 411 (also known as the incredibly intriguing KStew411 Twitter team), and they’ve got limitless viewpoints on all things Kristen.

This time, the duo takes on Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart – you might know ‘em as Edward and Bella in the Twilight series – and how the media and public portrayal and reception of the two might be a little unbalanced of late.

First, some important things to remember about Team 411.

• Though we are Kristen-first, we do love Robert Pattinson. He’s The Sparkly One! We think he’s cute and likeable and charming, and we certainly hope his talent proves out and he goes on to have a solid career.

• We’re pro-Robsten since way back. If you tell us that you think they’re just super special friends who simply like to rehearse lines together, even at two o’clock in the morning when they’re between films, we’re going to ask how the view is from your house on the banks of De Nile.• Not everyone has to like Kristen Stewart—as we’ve said before, she’s not for everyone. (Although KStew fans are the coolest fans. If you just thought to yourself, “I don’t like her that much,” you are now 10% less cool than you were before you thought that.)

So keep these three keys in mind as you read. We like Rob Pattinson, we’re Team Robsten, and we don’t care if you like Kristen Stewart or not, because this isn’t about liking her, it’s about respecting her.

I once dated a beautiful man. I mean a seriously beautiful man. He was six-five, built like an Olympic swimmer, and had blonde hair that curled just so. Everywhere he went, people literally stopped and stared. They assumed he must “be someone” because surely somebody that striking was an actor or a model or the lead singer of an up-and-coming band. The whole experience was soul crushing. Why? Because no one ever saw me. They only saw him, and even if he was holding my hand, whispering sweet nothings in my ear, random women would come up to us and give him their phone number. Even though I knew he would never cheat, wasn’t interested in these other women, and that he chose to be with me, in the end, I had to break up with him. Because my self esteem could not take it. I couldn’t handle the day-to-day disrespect of perfect strangers insinuating that I wasn’t good enough, or pretty enough, or talented enough to be with this amazing creature. It was really hard on me, and I hated having to give up an otherwise good relationship, but I just couldn’t deal with turning into a jealous cranky shrew because other people would not leave us alone. Do you know what was worse? It was how crushed he was. But he understood my reasoning, because he had been through it before. Nearly every relationship he had ended because his girlfriend couldn’t deal with the pressure of being seen as “not good enough” for him. It’s a crap situation for everyone involved, and it’s a rare kind of crap because it has nothing to do with compatibility or issues that exist between the two parties in the couple. It’s entirely the fault of strangers!

I think you can see where I’m going with this.

Every time someone implies (or in some cases outright says) that Kristen Stewart isn’t good enough for Robert Pattinson, they demean a choice made between mature, consenting adults. Even if you think they’re just good friends, you’re still diminishing the person your idol chooses to spend time with. I am aware that there are KStew fans that view Pattinson as inferior to her, but let’s be honest. They’re not nearly as numerous or vocal as the Pattinson fans who don’t like Kristen. Whether you think of Robsten as an eternal love story for all time, or as plain old friends, they each deserve to be respected by the fans because they’re responsible for bringing our favorite characters to life. And Kristen doesn’t deserve to be hated on just because she hangs out with Rob Pattinson. We happen to think Kristen is one of the best things about Pattinson right now. It shows remarkable good taste on his part to aim so high.

And he is aiming high, because Kristen Stewart is at the top of her game, and all signs indicate she can have any type of Hollywood career that she wants. While Pattinson is still proving his talent to the general public (and before you get all het up, remember that Johnny Depp and Leonardo Di Caprio both famously overcame the “just-a-pretty-face” label in the same manner that Pattinson is now doing, by pursuing thoughtful, offbeat roles after a career-making turn in something unforgivably cheesy), Kristen is already considered one of the top dramatic actresses under twenty. She is the go-to choice of some of the best names in filmmaking. She has an A-list work history that includes names like Foster, De Niro, Sutherland and Hurt. Every role for an actress under twenty-five is crossing her agent’s desk and from all that, Kristen is selecting challenging, different roles such as Joan Jett and teenage runaway/strippers, roles that simply push her higher into the upper echelon of actresses. Her fans include not only previous co-stars, all of whom gush about her even years after working with her, but the likes of Sandra Bullock, one of the most successful (and coolest) actresses working today, and Dennis Hopper, who asked Interview magazine to be able to interview her for their 40th anniversary cover feature. Dennis freaking Hopper!

Kristen Stewart is the kind of actress fandoms usually salivate to get for their franchise. She is established with a respectable reputation, and she brings an air of artistic, indie credibility to the project. She doesn’t engage in lewd public behavior; she does not give the fans grounds to be embarrassed of her. If the worst thing the fans argue about is who she’s dating, she’s doing her job by not tarnishing the Twilight brand. Indeed, she only enhances it. And she lends all of that shiny Hollywood respectability to those around her, including Robert Pattinson. And yet one year into the franchise, she still gets hated on. Nearly every day Team 411 sees someone implying that she is not good enough for Pattinson, when she is, in fact, the best possible person he could connect himself to. Kristen is working so hard for us fans. We owe her better than sniping on her suitability for a man we’re never going to date ourselves, or harping on her for not fitting some preconceived notion of a “starlet.” We owe her our best, because that’s what she is giving us.

Source: Examiner