Chappell Roan’s Views On Fan Behaviour Are Perfectly Understandable

Chappell Roan is the internet’s new favourite pop star. A true one-off figure, she blends an extravagant sense of pop theatre with a relatable openness. Using social media in a way that feels completely relatable, her slow-burn album ‘The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess’ has become a totemic text for a fresh generation of fans, spawning the bona fide hit single ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ in the process. In the space of a few months, Chappell has gone from underground flavour to mainstream royal – even challenging Taylor Swift in the process.

Along the way, she’s had to adjust. Overnight, Chappell Roan placed a two-part video online, flipping the script in the process – instead of taking questions from fans, she has a few queries of her own.

Re-asserting the right to place boundaries where she feels appropriate, Chappell called herself a “random bitch” – and insisted that her fans are the same.

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Calling out some public behaviour, Chappell said it amounted to “abuse, harassment, and stalking” before adding:

“I don’t care that this crazy type of behaviour comes along with the job, the career field I’ve chosen. That doesn’t make it OK. That doesn’t make it normal. That doesn’t mean I want it; it doesn’t mean I like it. I don’t want whatever the fuck you think you’re supposed to be entitled to whenever you see a celebrity.”

Continuing, the Midwest Princess said she doesn’t “give a fuck” if she’s described as “selfish” for declining hugs and photos with strangers; “That’s not normal. That’s weird. That’s fucking weird.”

And she has a point. Post-pandemic, we ask a lot of musicians and pop culture figures – in an era where we’re always on, and everything is content, there’s an overwhelming desire to be part of the narrative. You can see in the careers of numerous artists – just look at the outcry surrounding the simply shout of “mother is mothering” at a Mitski show, or the intrusions into the realm of boygenius. Social media has brought us closer to these artists, but not always in a comfortable way.

A bold, extremely direct speech to camera, Chappell Roan’s words didn’t land comfortably with some – a common reaction was that she is “not really cut out to be a pop star”. But isn’t this argument itself completely ridiculous? For one, Chappell Roan didn’t set out to be a pop star – her debut album wasn’t sculpted with arenas in mind. The tumultuous impact of the internet can transform a reclusive figure like Kate Bush into an international chart-topper via the power of a sync – it seems cruel to then expect every artist on the planet to arrive with the psychological toolbox required to navigate this.

Chappell Roan’s path to the mainstream hasn’t been quick, and it hasn’t been easy. As anyone who has been to one of her shows can testify to, Chappell leaves it all onstage – nothing is hidden away. The sheer emotional exertion this causes can’t be easy, and it will undoubtedly be compounded and magnified by the role social media now plays in our lives. Perhaps not every word in her message will be warranted, but this is a journey of growth and evolution, not just as an artist, but also as a person. She’s perfectly entitled to need space now and again – we all need to breath, after all.

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Words: Robin Murray