Chappell Roan: she’s your favorite artist’s favorite artist. But not quite her biggest fan’s biggest fan.
Amidst a supersonic boom in her career, Chappell Roan came to TikTok with two videos that left fans feeling divided — perhaps because the videos were directly addressing Chappell’s problems with some of her fans’ behavior.
Does Chappell’s blunt callout make her a diva? A naive girl unfit for the demands of pop stardom? Or do her videos force people to confront the problematic aspects of fandom culture?
Chappell Roan’s Recent TikToks
About a week ago, Chappell Roan, who typically only posts videos of herself performing, came to TikTok costumeless and bare-faced. She posted two separate videos, back to back, to share her complaints about fame.
@chappellroan ♬ original sound – chappell roan
In the first video, Chappell asks fans if they would approach a random person on the street and ask to take a photo with them, or if they would start rumors about a random person they don’t know online. Chappell compares herself to that random person.
@chappellroan Do not assume this is directed at someone or a specific encounter. This is just my side of the story and my feelings.
♬ original sound – chappell roan
In the second video, Chappell declares that despite knowing fan interactions are typical for celebrities, she still finds it incredibly weird. She makes it obvious that this is a boundary she wants to set with her fans.
Additionally, in a recent interview with podcaster Drew Alfonso, Chappell mentions that some obsessive fans are stalking her and her family.
Some people feel that Chappell Roan was way too blunt in her videos — that she’s ungrateful and shouldn’t be famous if she can handle the sacrifices that must be made. However, there seems to be a bit more nuance to Chappell’s grievances than what meets the eye. To understand why Chappell made the videos, it’s important to first understand her journey of becoming a pop phenomenon.
Chappell Roan’s Rise to Fame
Chappell Roan has been trying to find her footing in the music industry for nearly a decade. From an unsuccessful EP to singing her songs on the park with her keyboard and a mic, Chappell has admitted time and time again that she’s put in all the hard work to find musical success.
However, over the past year, her 2023 hyperpop album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess blew up exponentially fast. This summer was even deemed a Chappell Roan summer. Chappell was selling out venues, with resale tickets going for as much as $400.
This summer, Chappell has also been dominating the musical festival scene. In fact, Chappell Roan reportedly had the largest Lollapalooza crowd ever. The most shocking part? She was not even a headliner for the festival.
Just last year, Chappell was touring in venues that can only hold 2,000 people. Now, people are fighting tooth and nail to see her live.
I believe that many who have a negative response to Chappell’s TikToks fail to take into account the mental toll that an unexpectedly massive level of fame would have on a person. With the widespread attention also comes an era of Chappell’s life that is unfamiliar and borderline scary. It’s no wonder she’s struggling to grapple with her newfound lack of privacy.
Chappell’s videos may not be the perfect way to address the situation, but they do bring up valid points. With social media and the internet, fandom culture is at an all-time extreme. Maybe it’s time to explore some problems within.
Fandom and Privacy
One thing that undoubtedly accompanies fame is a decline in privacy. Depending on your level of fame, if you are in the public eye, you can hardly run regular errands without fans spotting you and asking for a moment of your time.
These interactions between celebrity and fan are considered normal. It is almost expected that if you spot your favorite celeb in the wild, they have an obligation to take a picture with you. But should this expectation be the norm?
Even though fans know the celebrity they are approaching, people tend to forget that the celebrity does not know you. Pressuring celebrities to engage with fans can put them into uncomfortable, stressful, and even unsafe situations.
While it is tempting to capture a moment with your favorite celebrity, it is important to remember that they are real people too. Rather than condemn a celebrity for one bad street encounter with a fan, perhaps we should try to consider that they, too, can have bad days.
Changing Perceptions of Songs
Another, more mundane, issue with modern fandom culture is that artists can no longer have tight control over the meaning of their songs.
With the prevalence of social media, songs have the opportunity to blow up overnight. And when songs reach audiences they didn’t originally intend to, their meaning can easily be lost.
Take, for instance, Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!”. A short clip of this song blew up on TikTok, effectively reaching audiences on all sectors of the app. People began to post videos that completely missed the original meaning of the song, which made some fans quite upset, considering the song is about a girl denying a past queer romance.
While this is not the most severe issue, it is still interesting to see how gaining huge fame can also take away some artist agency. Music is subjective, and always will be. But there is no doubt that it could be frustrating as an artist to have your work constantly misconstrued.
A Lack of Humanity?
One of the most concerning aspects of modern fandom culture? The lack of empathy.
When artists become sensationalized, much like Chappell Roan, the internet seems to turn them into something bigger than life. Something other than human. And this leads people, especially those hiding behind a phone screen, to treat them with a severe lack of empathy and compassion.
It is perfectly okay to critique your favorites. However, when the critique turns into blatant cyberbullying and harassment, does this not cross a line? Though it may not seem like celebrities are real people, they, too, have access to the internet. They, too, face the possibility of seeing every bit of hate they receive.
A Possible Middle Ground?
In reality, when a celebrity hits a certain level of fame, it will become impossible for them to live the same lives as normal people. While it can be hard to sympathize for people who appear to live glamorous, sensational lives, we, as fans, have to remember that we do not actually know celebrities.
Parasocial relationships and views based solely on internet content can be extremely dangerous. Love from fans is what builds an artist’s career. But, the demanding pressure of fame can also break an artist mentally.
So, continue to support your favorite artists. Continue to send them love. But remember that at the end of the day, every performer is just that: a performer. Every celebrity is a real person, just like me and you.
