Chappell Roan has captured attention not just for her rising music career but also for her candid discussions about mental health and the pressures of fame. As a bold and outspoken artist, she has sparked important conversations about the challenges of balancing personal well-being with public expectations.
Roan is bringing quite significant attention to the broader context of how female artists are often portrayed in the media and the ongoing shift towards greater awareness of mental health in the entertainment industry.
Roan has made headlines after cancelling her All Things Go Festival appearance. The singer, who hit an all-time rise to fame this summer, cited mental health for these cancellations, stating in an Instagram post that she needed “a few days to prioritize [her] health.”
While Roan’s set was filled by several drag queens who performed to some of the singer’s hits, many fans were upset by Roan’s last-minute cancellation.
On social media, several fans said they felt their money was “wasted” and were disappointed that the artist didn’t uphold her prior commitments. Roan also received backlash for cancelling two shows during her Europe tour due to scheduling conflicts. Several fans were upset, feeling that her reasoning for the missed shows was unjustified.
Surrounding Roan’s festival cancellation is a large amount of negative feedback towards the singer after she decided to call out predatory fan behaviour through an Instagram post. The singer addressed non-consensual physical and social interactions taking place outside her family’s home.
Roan was also outspoken on social media about her refusal to support Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris during the latest U.S. election, which did not resonate with some of her fans.
Through TikTok, Roan has shared her experience living with bipolar disorder along with the ups and downs she has faced living with mental illness.
Roan’s outspoken and honest nature surrounding her political beliefs and mental health has made her the recipient of a significant amount of backlash from fans and critics, as well as tabloids. Paparazzi and pop-culture outlets play a large role in the cultural perception of artists. Looking back through media history, female artists struggling with their mental health have received extreme amounts of negativity from magazines, often ridiculing vulnerable moments when these women do not live up to the expectations of fans and the public.
Two of the most well-known examples of media vitriol and the negative impacts of insensitive reporting are Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse. During the heights of their careers, both women publicly struggled with mental health and the negative impacts of fame, and their vulnerable moments were exploited for content by major magazines.
During Britney Spears’ public struggle with her mental health, headlines described her as a “time-bomb,” with photos of her partially shaved head, framing Spears as a crazy woman who was unfit to be a mother. They hoarded around her, taking suggestive and unflattering photos. The stigmatization of mental illness allowed tabloids to discredit Spears and use her for a story.
Despite Roan’s openness about her mental health and a shifting culture towards mental health awareness, she has still been labelled as unreasonable or ungrateful for speaking out against disrespectful treatment by the media and fans. Much like Spears, hoards of fans and cameras outside of Roan’s home cause her great distress.
After the release of Spears’ book The Woman In Me, people have begun to recognize the harms of invasive paparazzi and magazine coverage, yet when it’s happening with another artist, many turn a blind eye.
Similarly to Spears, Winehouse is one of the most well-known cases of tabloids and paparazzi’s mistreatment of a female artist. When Winehouse cancelled several of her shows in 2007 to focus on her health issues, she was met with hundreds of angry fans. When she returned to performing, she was frequently booed off stage as she publicly struggled with addiction and mental health issues.
Unflattering images of Amy ended up on magazine covers internationally, labelling her as an “unstable addict” who was ruining herself. After her death, however, many of the same tabloids chose to switch narratives and mourn the artist, yet in her darkest, most vulnerable moments, countless stories were produced and spread, sharing these vulnerable moments to cast a negative light on Winehouse.
Many articles shared about Roan have been negative, describing her attempts to set boundaries with fans and the media at large as tantrums. Yet, when looking back at the impact this kind of journalism has had on female artists, it’s clear that a more nuanced and consent-driven style of reporting is necessary to ensure the safety and health of these artists.
Roan’s recent experiences serve as a reminder of the ongoing challenges female artists face when it comes to public perception and the pressures of fame. In a time when mental health awareness is more important than ever, it’s crucial that both the media and fans reflect on the lasting impacts of their actions, taking into account the lessons learned from past tragedies involving stars like Spears and Winehouse.
Roan’s story is still unfolding, but it highlights the need for more empathy and a shift towards healthier relationships between artists, their audiences, and the media.