Stop being weird, please
It’s now been a couple of weeks since Chappell Roan came under fire. For what? Asking for privacy and daring to set boundaries with her fanbase.
To the average person, this seems like a reasonable request, right?
Wrong. To a certain demographic of the internet, Chappell Roan is now being painted as being overdramatic, and even undeserving of her fame. While scrolling through this discourse on X and TikTok, I couldn’t help but wonder if people were a little too Hot-To-Go cancel Chappell Roan. Does her level of fame negate her right to privacy? Does her being a celebrity mean she doesn’t deserve to feel safe?
To say Chappell’s fame has skyrocketed in recent months has been an understatement. After the rise in popularity of her songs on Tiktok and her most recent single “Good Luck Babe” proving to be a hit, Chappell Roan found herself going from a niche indie artist to mainstream popstar in just a few short weeks. Her set at Lollapalooza was the largest in the festival’s history, and her Midwest Princess Tour and other festival appearances have been selling out like crazy.
For many, Chappell’s presence in the pop scene is a breath of fresh air. She is unapologetic in her self expression and her lesbianism, and gives platform to other queer artists by having local drag queens perform at all of her shows. She has been very vocal about her love of queer culture and queer art, and has also been vocal on her political stances, such as her support for Palestine and criticism of the US Government. She’s made it rather clear that she’s doing what she’s doing because she loves performing and being an artist, not because she just wanted to be famous.
Everyone seems to love Chappell Roan right now, but the love from a select few seems to be bordering on obsessive, and that is ruining the Pink Pony Club for the rest of us. Recently Chappell has disclosed that she has faced stalking, and that some fans have also been harassing her friends and family.
This is quite frankly unacceptable, and it was completely within Chappell’s right to speak out about this. The bottom line is that there is no degree of fame that negates someone’s right to privacy and security. From swifties to k-pop stans to now Chappell Roan fans; stan culture has gotten way too out of hand, and I think some people need this rude awakening:
Your favorite celebrity does not know you. They are not your friend. By performing for you, they’re just doing their job. That’s it.
While fan interactions are always special, they need to be taken with a grain of salt. Meeting your favorite artist, no matter how special or intimate you may perceive the interaction to be, doesn’t make you any more special than the other people at that concert, or the other people who listen to their music. Your favorite artist accepting your gift or hugging you or taking a picture with you or giving you their autograph just means they’re good at their job; nothing more. Just because celebrities in the past, like Britney Spears and Taylor Swift, have put up with crazy and inappropriate fan behavior doesn’t mean current artists like Chappell should.
Harassment is not a rite of passage to being famous and, if anything, it being the status quo in the past goes to show how badly the status quo needs to change.
The way some people act around their favorite artist reminds me of how some men act at a strip club. Just because the dancer gives you a lap dance doesn’t mean they’re in love with you, and just because your favorite artist exists doesn’t mean they’re in love with you, either. Your parasocial relationship, regardless of how special it is in your brain, does not negate boundaries and privacy.
Celebrities have a right to safety, as shown by numerous tragedies in the past. In 1993, Selena Quintinilla was murdered by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club. Additionally, in 2016, Christina Grimmie was shot and killed by Kevin James Loibl, who shot her three times at point-blank range when she went to hug while signing autographs.
History has shown that celebrities have a right to worry about their safety when it comes to fan interactions, and to say that they don’t have this right is ignorant and selfish. If Chappell Roan wants to set boundaries with her fans, that’s within her right to do so. If Chappell Roan wants to stop making music because some people in her fanbase can’t respect those boundaries, that’s within her right to do so.
When did we forget that celebrities are also people?
I’m in support of celebrities being meaner to their fans, because some of you need that reality check. You are never entitled to another person’s space, regardless of who they are.