Roan at the 2024 VMAs.
Music artist Chappell Roan has recently announced her discomfort with how she’s starting to be treated as a well known musician, and it’s sparked a lot of controversy within her community.
Recently, Chappell Roan has been rising to fame at an astronomically high rate, and it’s seemingly a lot for her to handle. Roan’s hits “HOT TO GO!”, “Good Luck, Babe!” and “Pink Pony Club” have been all over Tiktok and Instagram. Since all of these songs have risen to popularity so quickly, Roan has seemingly gained a strong following overnight. She’s on the October cover of Rolling Stone, and she recently won the valued “Best New Artist” award at the 2024 VMAs.
However, there have been some downsides to her new-found fame. Roan first posted a video on Tiktok on August 19th, and in it she explains that although she was famous and beloved, she did not want strangers coming up and hugging her, people harassing her whenever she goes out, and she especially didn’t want strangers stalking where family members of hers live and/or work. She wanted people to know that she should be fully allowed to say no to hugs and chats, and that it should be normal for her to say no to these things.
Many supporters of Roan are pointing out that the Chappell Roan persona is different from her actual life, and that fans should be focused on Chappell Roan and not Kayleigh Rose (Roan’s real name).
However, there was a great deal of backlash from commentators and influencers around the world due to this Tiktok video, as many people argued that Roan wanted to be famous, so she indirectly signed up for the constant harassment she endures.
Chappell Roan then made an Instagram post, and in it she was defending herself after the media called her boundaries unreasonable. This post was written, and included phrases such as, “I’ve been in too many non-consensual physical and social interactions and I just need to lay it out and remind you, women don’t owe you s***” (Chappell Roan).
This Chappell Roan controversy is really drawing attention to the issue that famous people are constantly harassed. Although it is the norm, it shouldn’t be. Chappell Roan is brave for bringing this issue up, as a very small number of celebrities have directly addressed this ongoing issue like Roan has.
“I think people really listened,” Roan said most recently in a short interview during the VMAs, when asked about how the public has received her message. “Just like my experience around New York City, even like the past few days, like, people have been so respectful. Like, no one has been creepy to me, or like harassed me. It’s been like, I feel very heard, and it feels good.”
Perhaps Chappell Roan is helping to set an updated standard for future celebrities who want to stand up for themselves and their right to their personal space.