Chappell Roan or Chappell Moan? A breakdown of all the Midwest princess’ controversies

From turning down the White House to cancelling concerts, there’s a lot

3 months ago

After years of hard work in hopes to break into the music industry, Chappell Roan has since gone from being the cool, niche independent singer – or as Chappell puts it herself, “your favourite artist’s favourite artist”- to one of the biggest viral pop sensations of 2024 and someone who everybody’s talking about. However, this surge in fame hasn’t been without its challenges for the singer.

Recently, the powerhouse vocalist has stirred up some drama, making headlines for more than just her hit songs. So, incase you’re interested, here’s a rundown of all the Chappell Roan controversies throughout recent months.

Does Chappell Roan even want to be famous?

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On Friday 23rd August, Chappell posted a video on her Instagram, explaining how when she’s not on stage, she has been forced to implement “boundaries”.

She also spoke about her need to set boundaries: “For the past 10 years I’ve been going non-stop to build my project and it’s come to the point that I need to draw lines and set boundaries.

“I’ve wanted to be an artist for a very long time. 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 shit.”

Chappell added that she doesn’t tolerate harassment and detailed instances where she is “not in work mode”.

“I chose this career path because I love music and art and honouring my inner child, I do not accept harassment of any kind because I chose this path, nor do I deserve it.

“When I’m on stage, when I’m performing, when I’m in drag, when I’m at a work event, when I’m doing press, I am at work. Any other circumstance, I am not in work mode. I am clocked out.”

She explained her stance had “nothing to do with the gratitude and love I feel for my community” and “for the people who respect my boundaries”.

But in response to Chappell’s online outburst, some fans found this post to be abrupt, expressing that her desire to have millions of fans, all the while expecting millions of people to all meet her personal boundaries is unrealistic.

Others also felt she should take more time to appreciate those who helped propel her music to fame.

However, whilst there are mixed responses to Chappell’s rant about the normalisation of stalking behaviours towards celebrities, a large amount of fans maintained their support, with one X user stating: “She’s kinda real for this… celebrities shouldn’t receive backlash for trying to establish basic boundaries.”

And as Chappell clarified further in a following Instagram post, this was not a message directed to all of her fans, she still feels the love and appreciation for them.

“I want to throw fucking parties for gay people onstage. Like, that’s my favourite part of this.

“And I want people to feel safe at my shows and feel like a community. I want to feel that way, too. I love you. And love is not transactional. And I think you know that. Thank you for understanding.”

She cancelled a concert last minute to perform at the VMAs

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While many fans empathised with Chappell’s struggles with maintaining privacy and boundaries when dealing with fans, this career decision has definitely put her in some hot water in recent weeks.

On August 29th, Chappell cancelled two shows only five days before they were scheduled, announcing: “Due to scheduling conflicts, I have had to make the extremely hard decision to cancel my Paris and Amsterdam shows.”

However, this scheduling conflict arose because she chose to attend the prestigious VMAs instead.

Despite the previous Chappell Roan controversies, this decision left thousands of fans who had already travelled and booked tickets disappointed, having already spent their money on accommodation and transport and without getting the performance they had paid for.

After refuting the claims that she did not care for her fans by claiming she cares about the community at her shows, and that love is not transactional, the patience of many fans ran dry. One Instagram user commented: “Folks aren’t entitled to your personal space, but fans who paid for shows very much are entitled to that. Hope the VMAs make you that bread tho”.

And another frustrated fan explained: “Thank you Chappell for announcing the cancellation of your shows five days before they happen, which means I cannot get the money back for my bus to Paris bc I could only cancel it up to seven days before my trip.”

Many further highlighted Chappell’s hypocrisy in saying that she wants live under the radar and perform for her community and fans, yet she cancelled a concert fully booked of dedicated fans only five days prior, for the VMAs – perhaps a career driven move.

Declining to perform at the White House’s Pride event

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Chappell also caused some stir earlier this year when she rejected the White House’s invitation for her to perform at a Pride event in June.

For the latest cover of Rolling Stone, the singer shared that she originally intended to accept the White House’s invitation to the event — but she planned to protest the Biden administration’s involvement in Israel’s attacks on Gaza instead of performing one of her songs.

“I had picked out some poems from Palestinian women. I was trying to do it as tastefully as I could because all I wanted to do was yell,” she said.

“I had to find something that’s tasteful and to the point and meaningful, and not make it about me and how I feel. I don’t know if I’ll ever get that close in direct sight of the president ever in my life. This is my shot.”

However, Chappell shared that her publicist dissuaded her from going through with the act of protest, advising: “You mess with the President and the government, your security—and that of your family—isn’t guaranteed.”

Chappell has recently expressed that she still stands by her choice not to attend the event.

Yelling at a photographer whilst at the VMAs

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Most recently, Chappell Roan did finally appear at MTV’s Video Music Awards on 11th September, and was seen yelling at someone in a group of photographers to “Shut the fuck up.”

However, in the moments following the incident, it was revealed that a photographer had first shouted “Shut the fuck up!”, seemingly at Chappell Roan, prompting her to turn around and snap back.

Chappell Roan explained the controversies and the outburst specifically later in the evening to Entertainment Tonight, saying: “This is quite overwhelming and quite scary. I think for someone who gets, um, a lot of anxiety around people yelling at you – the carpet is horrifying. I yelled back. I yelled back! You don’t get to yell at me like that.”

Another theory has since come out that the photographer was actually shouting at the crowd to be quiet, and Chappel just got the wrong end of the stick.

Chappell Roan has been contacted for comment.

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