Chappell Roan had an explosive rise to fame, going from opening Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS tour in February 2024 to having possibly the largest daytime set in Lollapalooza history later that year. With this exponential popularity growth, Chappell has undeniably used much of her platform for good causes, including the founding of the Midwest Princess Project, meant to “uplift trans youth and LGBTQ+ communities through action, care, and connection,” as said on her website. Furthermore, she is also known for the times she stood up to the paparazzi, setting a standard of respect towards female celebrities. However, controversy surrounds one of her latest professional decisions, and we’ll be going through all of the details.
On December 8th, 2025, Chappell Roan announced her partnership with the makeup brand MAC as a MAC Ambassador via Instagram. A makeup partnership in and of itself wouldn’t be all that unusual, as her bold makeup is a defining part of her performing persona. However, what many people have a problem with is that the partnership is with MAC itself, a company known to indirectly allow animal testing and to support the genocide in Palestine.Â
Because MAC itself doesn’t test animals, they are able to market their brand as cruelty-free. However, they continue to sell to countries where animal testing is required by law, thereby perpetuating the animal testing market. Additionally, MAC is on many boycott lists because of its parent company, The Estèe Lauder Companies, which includes the key person Ronald Lauder, known for his pro-Israel views.Â
Chappell’s decision to partner with MAC upset many of her fans, not only because of the questionable morals of the company, but also because of the somewhat hypocritical nature of the decision. Back in 2024 during the election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, while Chappell said she was voting for Kamala, she rejected endorsing her. This was because, as she states in a TikTok, “there is no way [she] can stand behind some of the left’s completely transphobic and completely genocidal views.” Personally, while I do think it was well within her rights to refuse endorsing Kamala, the issue now is that she is partnering with a company that supports the very views she once admonished.
Another issue about this partnership is that there are plenty of other brands that support the values Chappell claimed to uphold, and ones that Chappell even used before. A big example of this is Sunset Makeup, a queer-owned and pro-Palestinian small business that was responsible for Chappell’s iconic Statue of Liberty look at the Governors Ball back in 2024. This look was a statement on freedom, and Chappell captioned her instagram post of the look with the line: “with justice and liberty for ALL,” and Sunset Makeup’s values stood with that idea.
While there is the possibility that Chappell was initially not aware of the problematic implications of supporting MAC, the comment sections under every post since the partnership call attention to the issue. As of now, more than a month after the announcement, she has yet to directly address the concerns of her fans. All in all, while I love Chappell’s music and how she’s used her platform for many good causes, I sincerely hope she reconsiders this partnership.Â