Why Fans Think Louis Tomlinson's 7-Year-Old Son Is 'Fake' & Being Used As A 'Publicity Stunt'
Babygate believer think Louis' son isn't real.
Instagram One Direction fans are known for their intense dedication to the boys in the band but one fan theory certainly took that dedication to delusion back in the 2010s.
Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik skyrocketed to fame after they were made into a band for the show X-Factor in 2010.
Since that moment, the 1D boys lived in the public eye, even becoming the center of various fan theories surrounding their personal lives.
The most famous fan theory is Larry Stylinson, which revolved around the idea that Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were involved in a secret, forbidden romance that their PR team tried to hide.
Both Tomlinson and Styles have denied the validity of the theory and even spoken publicly about its harmful effects on their lives. But Larry Stylinson isn't the only conspiracy theory surrounding Tomlinson and Styles.
One fan theory even claims that Louis Tomlinson’s son is fake.
Tomlinson had an on-again, off-again romance with Eleanor Calder, who he started dating in 2011, before splitting in March 2015.
Following the breakup, Tomlinson had a brief fling with Briana Jungwirth, an LA stylist, in May 2015.
In the fall of 2015, Jungwirth announced that she was pregnant with Tomlinson’s baby. Freddie Reign Tomlinson was born on January 21, 2016, making him an Aquarius.
But some 1D fans believe that Freddie isn’t real and was fabricated as a PR stunt.
These fans think that Tomlinson’s fatherhood was faked as a publicity stunt to distract from Larry Stylinson.
This conspiracy theory dates back to May 12, 2015, when the Twitter account @Brianafacts was established on the social media site.
Some fans claim that the account was set up by Tomlinson’s management team, a whole two days before he and Jungwirth were first photographed together, leaving a club on May 14, 2015.
These fans also cite a moment from a 2015 concert, one month after the two were photographed together, when Tomlinson threw a toy doll off the stage, exclaiming “It’s not real!”
Louis Tomlinson fans took this action as a foreshadowing of what they termed 'Babygate.'
Jungwirth’s pregnancy was confirmed on July 14, 2015, one month after the footage of Tomlinson tossing the toy appeared.
Suspicious fans noted claimed the pregnancy was made public before the 12-week mark, which is commonly considered a safe time to announce that someone is expecting.
These fans believe that the early announcement meant Jungwirth was never actually pregnant.
Freddie Reign Tomlinson was born on January 2016, yet the announcement of his birth has been called into question by Babygate believers.
On January 21, 2016, Jungwirth posted a now-deleted Instagram photo of her with Freddie, along with the caption, “1/21/2016 Freddie Reign. Love of my life.”
Tomlinson tweeted out Freddie’s arrival at 5.32 AM on January 23, 2016.
RELATED: Everything To Know About Rihanna's Baby Boy's Name
In the tweet, he stated that his son was born “yesterday" on January 22, 2016.
“He is healthy and pretty amazing,” the tweet read. “I’m very happy!!”
Eagle-eyed fans pointed out the discrepancy in dates and the use of punctuation in the tweet itself. According to fans, Tomlinson’s tweets usually leave a space between a word and an exclamation point. But his tweet about Freddie’s birth had two exclamation points with no space beforehand, leading fans to think Tomlinson wasn’t the one to send out the tweet.
Photos of Jungwirth leaving the hospital after Freddie’s birth were also analyzed by fans, who noted that she was seen walking, while most US hospitals utilize wheelchairs for postpartum patients.
This led fans to believe that the photos were staged to make the world believe that Tomlinson was, in fact, a new father.
The conspiracy theories grew even more intense after photos of Tomlinson and his newborn son were released.
The images of Tomlinson holding his baby are black-and-white photos, while the rest of his Instagram feed features color photos.
Fans believed that the photos were taken in black-and-white to make it easier to distort the images.
Some fans even went so far as to play around with levels on Photoshop, arguing that the baby was superimposed onto an old photo of Tomlinson, as it appeared that Freddie wasn’t touching Tomlinson’s body in the photos.
RELATED: 7 Strict Rules One Direction Had To Follow To Keep Their Management Happy
Some believed that Tomlinson isn’t really in the aforementioned image because his chest tattoo of half a heart is missing.
The second photo of Tomlinson and Freddie that was released caused even more fan uproar.
Some of Tomlinson’s tattoos are missing from the photo, specifically the dagger on his forearm and the number 28 on his fingers.
Believers of Babygate posit that the baby isn’t real at all — they think Freddie is a fake baby doll.
The seemingly outlandish theory is rooted in the baby’s hands being pictured in the same position in every public photo.
Those who believe in the doll theory also noted that Freddie’s eyes were always closed, leading them to believe he wasn’t real.
The fact that the photos were black and white was further proof to conspiracy theorists that Freddie was a doll, as that made the baby appear more realistic.
The fan theory seems to be just that — a theory — as in more recent photos of Freddie that Jungwirth has posted, the 7-year-old bears a striking resemblance to Tomlinson.
Wherever the truth lies, Freddie deserves a childhood unencumbered from the darker sides of fame.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.