Simone is a Media and Popular Culture scholar specializing in participatory culture, (music) fandom, and media controversies. As an assistant professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam, she studies how fans engage with and disengage from celebrities and pop culture over time. She frequently features in (inter)national media to provide insights into the complexities of popular culture in the digital age. She has published various academic articles on e.g., the Backstreet Boys and Taylor Swift, and is co-editor of the book Participatory Culture Wars. Her next book is on Swifties, the Taylor Swift fandom.