Unpacking the Chappell Roan drama, from toxic fandoms to political missteps
My girl Chappell Roan is famous—like, really famous. The 26-year-old’s debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, first released in 2023, dominated the 2024 summer charts and a few of Roan’s girliest pop anthems (I’m talking ‘Good Luck Babe’ and ‘Pink Pony Club) saw insane streaming spikes. There wasn’t a girl or gay in the Western Hemisphere who didn’t know the iconic ‘HOT TO GO’ dance. But as beloved as Chappell is, she’s not immune to the wrath of the internet which holds her to an extremely high standard.
Welcome back to Explained By a Blonde. A warning: you might want to pause the Zoe Sugg vlog hun, because this is about to be a long one. This week, we need to talk about the literal witch hunt that’s currently going on against Chappell Roan. After establishing boundaries with toxic fans and subsequently making some political faux pas, it’s safe to say that Roan isn’t exactly in her fandom’s good books right now.
Now, before I get started, let me preface that while I might not agree with everything the singer has said recently, I do believe that Roan is a genuine and dedicated ally of both queer and marginalised communities. And once more, while holding a public person accountable is 100 per cent a valid form of social justice, completely decimating a young woman whose intentions hold no malice is not cute. Either way, let’s delve into things, girly pops.
Why are fans mad at Chappell Roan?
Things first kicked off in August 2024 when Chappell Roan took to TikTok to call out some incredibly creepy and toxic behaviour from a few of her fans. Specifically, the singer spoke about how she feels constantly “harassed,” “bullied” online, and “stalked,” as reported by the BBC.
The 26-year-old’s two videos addressing these issues, both of which were viewed by over 15 million people, showed an incredibly vulnerable side of the artist. Roan looked actively distressed as she emphasised that even though these types of behaviours have been normalised, it doesn’t make them okay.
@chappellroan ♬ original sound - chappell roan
@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
Some fans took this on board, sharing posts on X that sympathised with the artist and expressed their own personal anger over what people in the spotlight have to deal with:
Chappell Roan makes excellent music but i feel terrible for her because now she’s at the level of fame where she’s being stuck with #that kind of fanbase
— coffee (@eventualforever) June 17, 2024
My take on the Chappell Roan fan discourse is that someone sexually assaulted Tom Cruise on live tv at the Olympics in front of millions of people worldwide and it was treated as a funny little moment so yeah maybe some people need to be told to put their manners back in
— amanda (@jailedamanda) August 21, 2024
the hate chappell roan gets for having boundaries and telling people to stfu is just blatant misogyny and no one's changing my mind
— 𐔌 🐾 . fawn ⚢⚦ ꒱ (@lesboytism) September 22, 2024
No because it’s the way you people LOVED Chappell Roan until she got popular and now all of a sudden she doesn’t want to be stalked and harassed and is having a hard time coping with the ways fame has changed her life and you all HATE her?? I saw this coming from a mile away
— Ryn🍒 (@hamilclercs) September 23, 2024
However, not everyone reacted well to Roan’s videos. Not only did the singer begin to fall victim to a large ass hate train, people began to relentlessly critique her and throw shade for quite literally no reason:
when you think chappell roan can’t get any more annoying, she surprises you and outdoes herself. again.
— alaska on fire (@forsakenhell) September 18, 2024
always complaining about her little nothing-problems while giving nothing through her little nothing-music. i hate this bitch and the faster we move on from her, the better.
Chappel Roan is so stuck up and bitchy it's actually annoying. You're a mid level popstar bitch ain't mj https://t.co/I9JO4d90eH
— shrewd (@shrewdsee) September 20, 2024
chappel roan hates being famous & she’s annoying as hell so can we just make her un-famous again????
— 𝖈𝖔𝖗𝖞 𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 (@fvckkcory_) September 23, 2024
Following this uproar, Roan then put out another video on her TikTok clarifying that she was not intending to vote for Trump (if that wasn’t already very clear).
@chappellroan ♬ original sound - chappell roan
Personally, I understood why Roan posted the follow-up video, however, her encouragement to her fans to embrace “critical thinking” did feel slightly patronising. This is an incredibly terrifying time right now, especially for queer and marginalised communities, and so any comments made by any celebrity at this time will be taken seriously and to heart. Is Chappell Roan a terrible person for her recent political comments? No. Moreover, I agree with creators such as @simplysimone who can see the duality of the situation and accurately criticise the singer’s statement without completely annihilating her character.
@simplysimone As I keep saying, y’all want to only hear yourself talk instead of having actual discussions #chappellroan #2024election
♬ original sound - Simone Umba
Also, as a quick sidenote, has anyone else seen the conspiracy theory about Pop Crave having a personal vendetta against Roan? Because if that’s true, the world as we know it might just shatter. For context, Pop Crave (aka X’s go-to spot for all things pop culture), has been called out recently for fuelling “the Chappell Roan hate train” and purposefully manipulating certain quotes. Can we trust anyone these days?
Pop Craze fueling the Chappel Roan hate train needs to be studied and talked about. PC has never been good at not manipulating quotes but it's especially bad with their Chappel Roan tweets. It's disgusting actually https://t.co/txlP5uaExU
— Yellow is a tiny vampire 🩸 (@fangirl_yellow) September 22, 2024
Is the Chappell Roan fandom toxic?
One question I’ve thought of during the course of this deep dive is: Is the Chappell Roan fandom toxic? And it’s a multi-layered answer. For one, there are toxic groups within every fandom out there. Swifties, I’m looking at you.
However, it is evident that certain artists have it worse than others.
Chappell Roan has the worst fucking fanbase Ive seen in a long ass time
— jabby (@jabez_choi) September 23, 2024
As I’ve already hinted at earlier in this article, I do believe that Roan is held to an incredibly high standard. She’s incredibly important to a lot of people and her music has become a safe space for communities all over the world. Negative attention is inevitable but do I find it funny that the expectations placed on Roan happen to coincide with the fact she is an incredibly vocal liberal and progressive queer woman…? Yes, yes I do.
